The TSS Earnslaw 1912
by Venetia Featherstone-Witty
Title
The TSS Earnslaw 1912
Artist
Venetia Featherstone-Witty
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
The TSS Earnslaw is a 1912 Edwardian vintage twin screw steamer plying the waters of Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand. It is one of the oldest tourist attractions in Central Otago, and the only remaining commercial passenger-carrying coal-fired steamship in the southern hemisphere.At the beginning of the twentieth century, New Zealand Railways awarded 20,850 pounds to John McGregor and Co shipbuilders of Dunedin to build a steamship for Lake Wakatipu. The Earnslaw, designed by naval architect Hugh McRae, was named after Mount Earnslaw, a 2889 metre peak at the head of Lake Wakatipu. She was to be 51.2 metres long, the biggest boat on the lake, and the largest steamship built in New Zealand.Transporting the Earnslaw was no easy task. When construction was finally completed she was dismantled. All the quarter inch steel hull plates were numbered for reconstruction much like a jig-saw puzzle. Then the parts were loaded on to a goods train and transported across the South Island from Dunedin to Kingston at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu. Six months later, after being rebuilt, on 24 February 1912, the TSS Earnslaw was launched and fired up for her maiden voyage to Queenstown, with the Minister of Marine as captain.She then became a valuable vessel for the New Zealand Railways (NZR) and was known as the "Lady of the Lake".
The Earnslaw worked with her sister ships, the paddle steamers Antrim and Mountaineer and the screw steamer Ben Lomond, transporting sheep, cattle and passengers to the surrounding high country stations.
In 1968, the Earnslaw was very nearly scrapped but she was fortunately rescued. She was leased by Fiordland Travel (now Real Journeys) in 1969, and later purchased by the same company in 1982. She was taken out of service for a huge makeover in 1984. Her 12 metre high funnel was painted bright red, with the hull a snow white, and her kauri timber decks glassed in.
During her long years on the lake, the most serious accidents to occur were two groundings on the shingle shores of the lake.In March 1990, the Earnslaw carried Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Other royalty to travel on board have been the King and Queen of Belgium and the Prince of Thailand.The TSS Earnslaw made a brief cameo appearance in the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) as an Amazon River boat.
FEATURED 11/24/14 in "Ships, Boats and Dinghies"
FEATURED 3/3/15 in "The World We See"
FEATURED 3/5/15 in "3 A Day AAA Images"
FEATURED 3/16/15 in "Premium FAA Artists"
Uploaded
November 21st, 2014
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