Toroa Facts & Figures

The Toroa, the last of the Albatross-type double-ended steam passenger ferries to be built, operated on the Waitemata Harbour between the city of Auckland and the North Shore, mostly on the Devonport run opposite the Makora, replacing The Peregrine.

S.S. TOROA	SPECIFICATIONS
BUILDER	George Niccol, ship owner & ship builder, St Mary’s Bay, Auckland, New Zealand. Ironwork by the Senior Foundry. Machinery installed by H.M. Warner, Quay Foundry, Auckland
OWNER	Devonport Steam Ferry Company Limited
LAUNCHED	28th April 1925
DECOMMISSIONED	8th August 1980
REGISTER DIMENSIONS	Length Breadth Depth Gross Tonnage	130.75 ft 31.4 ft 9.9 ft 309 tons	39.85 m 9.57 m 3.02 m
ARRANGEMENT	Two-decked, double-ended ferry—propeller, rudder & wheelhouse at each end
CONSTRUCTION	Composite: 3-inch (76mm) kauri (Agathis australis) timber planking bolted to steel bulb-angle framing, with steel bulkheads and main-deck beams.
ENGINE	Triple-expansion steam engine, by Aitcheson, Blair Ltd, Clydebank, Scotland. Stroke 21 in (533 mm); bore 12, 20 & 32 in (305, 508 & 813 mm). Nominal horse power 51; brake horse power 350
BOILER	Coal-fired ‘Scotch’ marine type, by A. & W. Dalglish, West of Scotland Boiler Works, Pollokshaws, Glasgow. Twin Morrison furnaces. Rivetted construction. Operating pressure 180 psi (12.4 bar; 1241 kpa).
PROPELLERS	Gunmetal, four-bladed. Diameter 6 ft (1.83 m); pitch 9 ft (2.74 m), adjustable. One at each end, shafts directly coupled to each end of the engine crankshaft.
SPEED	11.25 knots at trials
COMPLEMENT	Crew: Four—skipper, deck-hand, engineer, stoker Passengers: 1221 river limits (enclosed water limits) ; 682 extended river limits (inshore water limits)

Above: Arrangement plan for Toroa‘s Scottish-made machinery, all under Job No.149

Top: General arrangement of the new ferry for the DSFCo