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TEV Wahine

1960s in Wellington1965 ships1968 disasters in New Zealand1968 in New ZealandCook Strait ferries
History of the Wellington RegionMaritime incidents in 1968Pages containing links to subscription-only contentShips of the Union Steam Ship CompanyShipwrecks of the Cook StraitTurbo-electric steamshipsWellington Harbour

TEV Wahine was a twin-screw, turbo-electric, roll-on/roll-off ferry. Ordered in 1964, the vessel was built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland for the Union Steam Ship Company's Wellington-Lyttelton Steamer Express Service in New Zealand.The Wahine began transporting passengers for day and overnight trips between New Zealand's inter-island route between the ports of Wellington and Lyttelton in 1966. The Wahine was permitted to carry a maximum of 1,100 passengers (or 924 berthed passengers in 380 cabins spread over seven decks).On 10 April 1968, near the end of a routine northbound overnight crossing from Lyttelton, she was caught in a fierce storm stirred by Tropical Cyclone Giselle. She foundered after running aground on Barrett Reef, capsized and sank in the shallow waters near Steeple Rock at the mouth of Wellington Harbour. Of the 734 people on board, 53 people died from drowning, exposure to the elements, or from injuries sustained in the hurried evacuation and abandonment of the stricken vessel.The unfolding shipwreck drama was covered by radio and television crews, as the Wahine ran aground within a short distance of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. Newspaper crews, and other journalists and photographers, provided immediate news coverage documenting the passenger rescue and loss of life.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article TEV Wahine (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

TEV Wahine
Breaker Bay Road, Wellington Moa Point

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N -41.347222222222 ° E 174.83888888889 °
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Outer Rock

Breaker Bay Road
Wellington, Moa Point
Wellington, New Zealand
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Steeple Rock
Steeple Rock

Steeple Rock/Te Aroaro-o-Kupe is a large rock off Seatoun at the west of the entrance to Wellington Harbour, rising 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The rock plays a role in warning ships off the coast. It is the location of a marine light and an unbeaconed trig station (‘Steeple Rock Light’, geodetic code B0XX). Its Māori name is Te Aroaro-o-Kupe (The front of Kupe or The presence of Kupe). The name was officially changed in 2009 from the English "Steeple Rock" to the current dual name of Steeple Rock/Te Aroaro-o-Kupe as part of the 2009 Treaty of Waitangi settlement between Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika and the New Zealand government. The previous Māori name of the rock was Te Ure o Kupe (The penis of Kupe). Kupe, the legendary discoverer of Aotearoa, is said to have injured himself on the rock while swimming. In earlier times Steeple Rock was also known as Pinnacle Rock. This should not be confused with The Pinnacles, a group of rocks extending from the tip of Point Dorset, south of Steeple Rock.While Steeple Rock is not as much of a hazard to shipping as Barrett Reef to the south, several ships have got into trouble around the rock, for example: 1844 Royal William, sloop. Got stuck and had to be pulled off Steeple Rock. 1874 Anne Melhuish, barque. Got stuck at Steeple Rock. 1889 Willie McLaren, barque. Damaged when it hit a rock near Steeple Rock. Took on water, so the captain took the ship to Worser Bay where it sank. 1921 Rona, barque. Ran aground on Steeple Rock. Refloated and repaired. 1968 TEV Wahine, inter-island passenger ferry. The Wahine struck Barrett Reef and then drifted north until she foundered near Steeple Rock. 53 lives lost.

12 Fife Lane
12 Fife Lane

12 Fife Lane, (also known as the first state house) Miramar, Wellington was the first state house under the First Labour Government of New Zealand. Completed in 1937, the three-bedroom, one-bathroom house was built with plastered brick walls and a concrete tile gable roof and sited on a 505 m2 (5,440 sq ft) section The building is classified as a "Category I" ("places of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value") historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.The house was opened on 18 September 1937 by Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage and several cabinet ministers. The ministers carried furniture into the house, including Savage carrying a rather cumbersome dining table. Savage carrying the table became "the defining symbol of the first Labour government's state housing programme".The ministers handed the keys to the first tenants, David and Mary McGregor. David McGregor was a tram driver for the Wellington City Council, earning a wage of £4 7s 9d (equal to $8.78 in modern New Zealand dollars) per week. Out of this total he paid the state £1 10s 3d in rent ($3.03), just over a third of his pay. The house was sold to the McGregors in the early 1950s after the successor First National Government allowed state tenants to buy their houses. After David and Mary died in the early 1980s, the house was sold back to the Government in 1983 and became a state house again.The house was the venue for the 50th anniversary of the state housing programme. For the 60th anniversary of state housing in 1997, The New Zealand Herald visited the house, which at the time was occupied by John and Winnie Nysse and their three children. The market rents imposed on state housing by the Fourth National Government meant the family were paying 73.5% of their income ($215 out of $292) in rent, compared to the 34.5% paid by the McGregors in 1937.On 25 September 1986, the house was registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage item, with registration number 1360. It was registered for its historical significance (as a symbol of Labour's housing programme), for its cultural significance, and for its architectural significance.