Ship at port in Whakatane, New Zealand

[GeoffTurner]

Hi all, this is a picture sent home to Brisbane, Australia, by a sailor (we think the man front left) from Whakatane, New Zealand. The postcard is undated but says: "I hope you won't take a fit when you see this. It was taken on board at Whakatane. The crowd is all the sailors and firemen. Will." We think it was sent by William Peters to his second wife, Nance. He seems to be wearing a ring which suggests it was after they married in 1912. He died in 1919. So that gives us a way to date it, we hope. I don't know if others have ideas about whether the fashion suits that time. At the time ships were carrying hardwood from Brisbane to New Zealand. There was an on-again, off-again rail project near Whakatane. But access to the port there was very tricky and ships offloaded some of their cargo in Auckland so they could get over the bar. Perhaps Nance thought he was going to Auckland and he thought she might "take a fit" to learn he was elsewhere. Rootschatters in another section have been very helpful and have suggested this section might be able to help with the picture itself. Thanks, Geoff

[DanNC]

Hi, Geoff,

I might be the only one, but I'm not sure what kind of help you're looking for. Did you want some guesses about the date or did you want the photo cleaned up?

Cheers,
Dan

[Handypandy]

slight clean...

[Fresh Fields]

Hello.

When this topic was posted upon the NZ board, I helped research the possibilities and recommended to Geoff that he posted on this forum, to see if the specilasts here could assist.

So thanks Andy for the clean up of the wear and tear. What concerns me, is I can not find similar collars and ties pre 1919, when Wm Peters died, and that is later than the main hardwood contract deliveries. ss TASMAN of 179 tonnes was the ship that provided a weekly service to Auckland, and whos superstructure is similar to that, which can be seen in the photo.

The regular skipper of the TASMAN, through that period, was Captain Chris FAULKNER who turned 62 in 1914.

Alan.

[GeoffTurner]

I was hoping for a clean-up of the picture, so thanks for that Handypandy. As for dates, I was just explaining why we thought it was between 1912 (when he married the recipient) and 1919 (when he died). Hope that explains it better DanNC.

[DanNC]

Yes, it does, Geoff. Thanks!   

[Treetotal]

I think the photo could well have been taken between the years that you suggest.
Carol

[Fresh Fields]

I went looking for photos of the regular Captain's family, and wondered if the tall ladd [Rt] could have been one of his son's, but John Lees FAULKNER'S occupation, upon enlistment, is given as accountant, and he served overseas from 1915 into 1918.

Alan.