Demolition work has started on a
century-old Picton ship.
Workers began tearing down the Echo, owned
by Port Marlborough, on Wednesday morning.
The scow has sat on blocks at Picton marina
after years carrying freight between Blenheim and Wellington. The ship served
as a cafe and restaurant for many years.
Port Marlborough projects manager Rose
Prendeville said demolishing the ship would take between two and four weeks.
Disruption to traffic was expected to be
minor, Prendeville said.
Port Marlborough applied for resource
consent to demolish the Echo last year after the company purchased the scow
from private owners.
Prendeville said the ship was "well
and truly beyond repair" by the time Port Marlborough bought it.
"We don't like to see old ships go but
the state of it was such that we were concerned it was an earthquake
risk."
Port Marlborough consulted with the
Marlborough Historic Society, the Edwin Fox Society and Marlborough Museum to
make sure valuable historic items were preserved from the ship.
Prendeville said items saved from the ship
included deck lights, port holes and the ship's wheel, which was presented to
the Edwin Fox Society. It was possible that some of the ship's timber would
also be salvaged.
Many of the original items of historic
value were stripped while the Echo was under private ownership, Prendeville
said.
Picton man John Norton, who worked loading
and unloading cargo from the Echo in the 1950s, stopped to watch the demolition
work on the Echo while walking his two dogs on Wednesday.
The Echo had a varied career, Norton said.
"It's from another era really."
He said he was not too sad to see the ship
go.
"It's useless now. It's past its used
by date."
Aucklander Ben Altoft, whose parents live
in Picton, said it was sad to see the Echo go.
"It's a shame when an old landmark is
demolished."
Brian Brown, of Picton, said he had friends
who worked on the Echo when he lived in Lower Hutt about 40 years ago.
"It's a pity really [to see it
demolished] but it had to be because it's just got too rotten."
Cougar Line co-owner Jill Evans said the
Echo had been at the Picton marina for the 13 years she had been with the
business.
"It's part of the town. It's always
sad to see a piece of history go."
Source: stuff.
22 April 2015
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