| LIST OF FILES IN ORDER OF POSTING |
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| HMNZS IRIRANGI a collection of interrelated stories from the years this station operated on the Desert Plateau Waiouru. The collection started with a booklet from the 1982 Final Reunion and has grown. 2024 is probably the last update to the story of a place many remember with great fondness CLICK |
| ALMOST HMNZS NEPTUNE A brief report of the loss of this cruiser in the Med. I have only publishede chapters 16 and 17 from the book by Jack Harker. Frankly the rest of it while a true account of the ship and its activities is hard work reading. For the dedicated only. She was homeward bound to New Zealand with many who had left NZ in the very early days of WW2. She was not fully incorporated into the RNZN at this time. Only one man survived the sinking and he was from the UK. The loss was deeply felt throughout NZ but in particular. from the Lower South Island where many of the lost had come from. STORY |
| THE COASTGUARD STORY This is an authorised reprint of Captain Barry Thompsos history of the foundation of the Royal New Zealand Coastguard .The title of this book is DEEDS NOT WORDS, as is their motto. The history covers into the late 1990s. COASTGUARD INDEX |
| WELL DONE ACHILLES This is an authorised reprint of Jack Harker QSM narrative of HMNZS Achilles the hero of the Battle of the River Plate and her time with NZ. ACHILLES INDEX |
| BEGIN AFTER FIVE TAPS 1/2/2024 One of the first miseries on joining the Navy as a Radio Operator was to be taught to touch type. The physicality of the experience would not be tolerated today. However it was without peer the most important skill the Navy ever gave you. CLICK |
| THE TANGIWAI DISASTER 29/1/2024 70 years ago Christmas Eve. The Queen is on her first visit. In the dead of night the bridge at Tangiwai washes away………. CLICK |
| THE QUEENS MESSAGE 1/2/2024 Deeply entwined with the Tangiwai Disaster was the presence of the Queen Elizabeth II. Traditionally the Monarch broadcasts to the Commonwealth with a message for her people. This story is about Irirangi transmitting her message and the incredible amount of technical expertise NZ’rs demonstrated to make it so. CLICK |
| SIMPLE BOAT BUILDING 1930 This is a MOBYS exclusive inherited from my old website Woodenboat New Zealand. A new experiene for you if you are new here, it is a book. CLICK |
| THE POLYNESIAN STAR CHART. We forget this nation was populated across our shores. In the days before GPS, sextants and chronometres [and european mariners] the traditional explorers looked to the heavens for guidance. In effect nothing has changed because most of what they could see is still out there. CLICK |
| WHITEBAIT FRITTERS ALL YEAR ROUND 29/1/2024 Almost a national dish if you can get them. Now you can. CLICK |
| MINNIE MOLTOK SAILS AROUND THE ISLAND 29/1/2024 A father and daughter sail a Mirror dinghy around Denmark. CLICK |
| WAIRUA CHRISTMAS 29/1/2024 I build a Welsford Navigator and Joan and I spend three days sailing the Hauraki Gulf CLICK |
| THE RATTLER My first railway adventure catching the train from Auckland to Waiouru for posting to HMNZS Irirangi CLICK |
| PAKAWAI 29/1/2024 29/1/2024 The Bluff steam tug was built in Glasgow and steamed aroud the world to its life of work as the Bluff pilot boat and tug. One of her clinker rowing boats survived against all odds. This the story how Alister rebuilt Pakawai into a lovely little motor yacht. . CLICK |