Star power

From screen actor turned US president Ronald Reagan to former pro wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, there’s no shortage of stars who’ve enjoyed varied and long careers.

But for sheer longevity in the public’s affection, few could surely rival a Gisborne landmark called the Star of Canada

A Category 2 historic place, the Star of Canada started life as a cargo ship, built in Belfast in 1909 and designed to transport chilled and frozen goods. But this life was cut short when the ship ran aground off Gisborne’s Kaitī Beach on 23 June 1912.

All, however, was not lost. Her captain’s cabin, chartroom and wheelhouse were salvaged then transported to an empty section where William Good, a local jeweller, turned the structures into what became a tourist attraction and, for a time, a home for his daughter Lorna.

When Lorna died some 70 years later in 1983, she left the Star of Canada to the city of Gisborne. And the city heartily embraced the gift. Led by the Gisborne West Rotary Club, funds were raised to move the Star of Canada in 1985 to its current site in Kelvin Park, where it overlooks the Taruheru River and forms part of Tairāwhiti Museum.

Eloise Wallace moved from Napier to take up her role as Tairāwhiti Museum director eight years ago and has since joined the Star of Canada’s legion of local fans.

“As an historian and a keen sailor, I’m always interested in maritime history, and knowing there was this unique part of the museum was one of the things that attracted me here.

“Because what better way is there to explore and learn about the past than in an historic building? You can stand in the ship and imagine its voyages, the people who worked on it and the night it was wrecked on the beach,” she says.

As detailed in its Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga listing report, the Star of Canada was built in 1909 by Workman, Clark and Company for the Tyser Line. Able to carry 130,000 carcasses of mutton, it first travelled to New Zealand in 1910 in order to transport frozen meat and other produce from here and Australia back to England.

The ship had made six trips to New Zealand before that fateful night in 1912, just two and a half years later, when its anchor came away in a storm and it was wrecked on rocks on the Gisborne foreshore. Despite tremendous efforts over several days to empty the ship of its cargo and save the ship, the vessel ultimately had to be abandoned.

Salvage of the parts of the ship that today comprise the Star of Canada was undertaken by AC Mitchell; the parts were first purchased by a tobacconist, Mr Miller, and then by jeweller William Good for £104. William had the structure moved, by greased railway lines and a steam roller, to a section beside his own home on Childers Road, where he set about turning it into a popular maritimethemed tourist attraction.

Among the many items related to the Star of Canada held by Tairāwhiti Museum is a visitors’ book that records those who set foot on the ship during this era; the first to sign the book was then Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward.

When William’s daughter Lorna married in 1927, a kitchen, bathroom and other facilities were added to the rear of the structure to provide the couple with a home. While Lorna ultimately returned to live in her childhood home next door, she continued to maintain the Star of Canada as a private museum.

In the years immediately after Lorna bequeathed the building to the city, public fears arose about its condition. This prompted locals, led by Rotary New Zealand members, to shepherd the Star of Canada to its next iteration – as a public maritime museum. A public parade, which included a complement from the HMNZS Hawea and the Gisborne City Brass Band, escorted the Star of Canada to its new site, where it remains today.

More than 30 years later, Eloise reports its popularity hasn’t waned.

“The community has a real attachment to it. Older people remember when it was still a house, some remember when it was moved in the ’80s, and for every young person who comes here on a school trip or with their family it’s probably their favourite part of the museum.”

Some of the Star of Canada’s original fittings and fixtures are still in situ, and these artefacts add to that feeling of connection, she says.

“The buckets, the bells, the footplates – they all help to join the dots that this is part of the actual ship that ran aground all those years ago. An overall theme of the museum is the importance of the sea, and of voyaging and vessels to our region, and the Star of Canada really brings that to life.”

To further share the story of the maritime disaster, Heritage Tairāwhiti plans to erect interpretation signage at Kaitī Beach that will direct the public back to the museum building. The building itself is owned by Gisborne District Council, which shares maintenance duties with Tairāwhiti Museum – a model that will ensure the historic place’s ongoing protection, Eloise adds.

“With its shared maintenance and public accessibility, everyone is behind the Star of Canada being cared for and preserved in the long term. I don’t think anyone will ever forget about her; we have a lot of love for her.” heritage.org.nz/list-details/3554/ Star of Canada