Steam tug William C. Daldy (1935)

The historic steam tug William C. Daldy was built in 1935 by Lobnitz & Company in Renfrew, Scotland for the Auckland Harbour Board, New Zealand.  She was named after William Crush Daldy, a British-born sea captain, member of the Second New Zealand Parliament (1855-1860), and first chairman of the Auckland Harbour Board from 1871.  The vessel is now maintained by a preservation group in Auckland and chartered out for functions and cruises in the city's Waitematā Harbour. 

The William C. Daldy is powered by two coal-fired boilers. In 1958, the tug spent 36 uninterrupted hours keeping a tow on a barge carrying a 1,200 ton pre-assembled section of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, then under construction, when a violent storm swept up the Waitematā Harbour threatening to overpower the barge and destroy or damage the bridge section; over the course of those 36 hours, the William C. Daldy burned 40 tons of coal.

Although slated to be scrapped in 1977, the William C. Daldy was purchased by a group of local enthusiasts (the William C. Daldy Preservation Society) and is now berthed in the Viaduct neighbourhood of the Auckland Central Business District.

Photo taken 21 November 2016