Toroa Albatross Sculpture
FUNDRAISING AUCTION ON TRADE ME, STARTING 7th NOVEMBER
The Toroa Preservation Society is very pleased to circulate this notice of an upcoming auction on Trade Me to raise funds for the restoration of the last steam ferry. Dedicated Toroa restoration volunteer Mike Walls has carved this Albatross, or Toroa, from original kauri planking which will be replaced during the restoration.
On the evening of the 7th of November the sculpture will be listed on Trade Me. The reserve price for the sculpture, together with a copy of The Paddlesteamers, by ferry historian David Balderston, will be $500. To access the listing, type the bold heading below in the Trade Me search box. We do hope that that you will bid:
UNIQUE KAURI SCULPTURE THAT ENCAPSULATES 95 YEARS OF HISTORY
This unique 400 mm high Albatross sculpture was hand-carved from a piece of the original NZ kauri hull planking of the last of Auckland’s fleet of steam ferries, the Toroa, whose name is the Maori word for albatross. Launched in 1925, the Toroa is being restored to steam again on the Waitemata, carrying passengers as a heritage excursion steamer. To get there, the restoration project needs ongoing funding and the assistance of more volunteers. For the story of the steam ferries and the Toroa restoration, go to steamferrytoroa.com
The winner of the auction will also receive a copy of the latest of David Balderston’s series of limited-edition histories of the Auckland ferries, The Paddlesteamers – 230 pages of in-depth documentation of the 19th-century side-wheeler steam ferries.
The proceeds of this auction go towards the restoration of the Toroa, so think of it as a fundraiser that will give you great satisfaction when you bid generously to win the auction. Think how well this artwork will grace your coffee table, and of the provenance that comes with it. Or you could be the generous benefactor providing a handsome trophy for your boating club, golf club or other organisation while supporting the return of a wonderful maritime artefact to operation on the Harbour.