Tofua 1

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john sefton
Posts: 1816
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:59 pm

Tofua 1

Post by john sefton » Wed Dec 16, 2009 7:49 pm

Passenger ship steam, coal fired.
Built 1908 by Denny Bros. Dumbarton, Scotland.
Three decks, schooner rigged.
Gross tonnage 4345.44 nt 2634.27. Length 350.3ft. Beam 48.2ft. Draught 20.55ft
Accomodation for 145 passengers, 161 saloon and 44 second class.
Owners Union S.S. Co of New Zealand.
Registration closed 25 May 1934 on sale of vessel to Japanese for breaking up.
Log Book Feb 1988.
Fiji SG676 Niuafo'ou SG57
Attachments
SG676
SG676

aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: Tofua 1

Post by aukepalmhof » Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:42 am

Built as a passenger-cargo vessel under yard No 821 by Wm. Denny & Bros., Dumbarton, Scotland for the Union Steamship Co. of New Zealand.
Launched as the TOFUA. Named after a island in Tonga.
Tonnage 4,345 gross, 2,634 net, 4,400 dwt. Dim. 106.77 x 14.69 x 8.70m.
Three decks and schooner rigged.
Powered by two triple expansion steam engines, 4,400 ihp, twin shafts, speed 13¾ knots maximum.
Passenger accommodation 101 salon and 44 second class passengers.
January 1908 delivered to owners.

Special built for the inter island trade between New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands, mostly general cargo to the islands and fruit on her return voyage.

12 April 1908 she left Liverpool for her maiden voyage via South Africa to Sydney.
23 June 1908 she left Sydney for her first voyage to the islands.
16 July 1908 she arrived for the first time in Auckland with a cargo of fruit.

She served all her career constantly in the islands trades, except during World War I when she was used as a troopship, and later for a brief period in the San Francisco run.
She sailed for the first time in the San Francisco run in June 1919 from Sydney via Wellington, then via Raratonga, Tahiti to San Francisco.
13 December 1920 she left for the last time San Francisco in this service.

As late as 1930 a voyage on the ship was reasonably priced, an advertisement in an Auckland newspaper did say, a romantic holiday for three weeks on board the TOFUA to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa cost only £45.

12 April 1932 she arrived for the last time in Auckland, thereafter laid up, her registration closed on 25 May 1934 when she was sold to Miyachi K.K., Japan, where she was broken up in Osaka in the 2nd quarter of 1934.

Also on Fiji 1999 63c sg1044., scott?.

Niuafo’ou 1985 13s sg, 57A scott57a 1990 42/2p50 sg139/142, scott
Tonga 1982 32s and 47s sg 818/19.


Sources: North Star to Southern Cross by John M. Maber. Register of Merchant Ships Completed in 1908. A Century of Style by N.H.Brewer.
Attachments
tmp19B.jpg
tmp19C.jpg
1982 Tin-Can-Mail-Centenary TOFUA .jpg
1982 Tin-Can-Mail-Centenary. Tofua jpg.jpg
Last edited by aukepalmhof on Sun Feb 02, 2020 8:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.

D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen
Posts: 871
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:46 pm

Re: Tofua 1

Post by D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen » Tue Feb 21, 2017 3:10 pm

Niuafo'ou 1985, 13 s. StG.57A
Attachments
tofua 1.png
tofua 1 2.jpg

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