Post by flyjoe180 on Nov 12, 2011 8:37:45 GMT 12
Wed, 09 Nov 2011 1:19p.m.
By Kim Choe
A little-known piece of World War One history has been gifted to the maritime museum.
The 99-year-old launch The Nautilus saved hundreds of soldiers' lives when it served off the coast of Gallipoli, and now it's retiring in Auckland.
Allan Williams took his beloved Nautilus for one last hurrah in the Auckland Harbour, before retiring it to become a museum piece with history stretching back to World War One.
“There are many people in NZ now whose relatives were saved by this little boat in Gallipoli,†he says.
Built in Auckland, the Nautilus was commandeered by the Navy in 1915 to help ANZAC soldiers injured in the Gallipoli campaign.
“I serviced backwards and forwards, taking the wounded from Gallipoli shores back to hospital ship,†says Mr Williams.
Six stretchers were squeezed into its tiny cabins to deliver soldiers to the much larger Marama for treatment.
Williams' son convinced him to buy the Nautilus after it caught his eye in Lyttleton Harbour two decades ago.
Over the years it's been lovingly restored - even the bullet holes scarring its kauri body have been patched up.
“Al the work we've had on it - it'd be a pity not to see it looked after in the future. And at this museum I know it will be,†he says.
“We're about preserving and telling our maritime story. And the Gallipoli campaign is a significant part of New Zealand's history. And to have an object that's linked to it from a Maritime perspective is very significant,†says Maritime Museum CEO Murray Reade.
The Nautilus will be kept in working order - keeping the little boat's big history alive.
3 News
Read more: www.3news.co.nz/WW1-boat-gets-new-home-in-Auckland/tabid/420/articleID/232189/Default.aspx#ixzz1dQnkX9SD
By Kim Choe
A little-known piece of World War One history has been gifted to the maritime museum.
The 99-year-old launch The Nautilus saved hundreds of soldiers' lives when it served off the coast of Gallipoli, and now it's retiring in Auckland.
Allan Williams took his beloved Nautilus for one last hurrah in the Auckland Harbour, before retiring it to become a museum piece with history stretching back to World War One.
“There are many people in NZ now whose relatives were saved by this little boat in Gallipoli,†he says.
Built in Auckland, the Nautilus was commandeered by the Navy in 1915 to help ANZAC soldiers injured in the Gallipoli campaign.
“I serviced backwards and forwards, taking the wounded from Gallipoli shores back to hospital ship,†says Mr Williams.
Six stretchers were squeezed into its tiny cabins to deliver soldiers to the much larger Marama for treatment.
Williams' son convinced him to buy the Nautilus after it caught his eye in Lyttleton Harbour two decades ago.
Over the years it's been lovingly restored - even the bullet holes scarring its kauri body have been patched up.
“Al the work we've had on it - it'd be a pity not to see it looked after in the future. And at this museum I know it will be,†he says.
“We're about preserving and telling our maritime story. And the Gallipoli campaign is a significant part of New Zealand's history. And to have an object that's linked to it from a Maritime perspective is very significant,†says Maritime Museum CEO Murray Reade.
The Nautilus will be kept in working order - keeping the little boat's big history alive.
3 News
Read more: www.3news.co.nz/WW1-boat-gets-new-home-in-Auckland/tabid/420/articleID/232189/Default.aspx#ixzz1dQnkX9SD
