Clevedon Wharf &
River Boats

Clevedon Wharf & River Boats

Clevedon Wharf Reserve, 48 Clevedon-Kawakawa Road
Trail marker #9

The Clevedon Wharf was once a community meeting place. Sited at the highest navigable point on the river, the wharf enabled river transport to Auckland and beyond for passengers and goods and all manner of boats navigated the river. But as farming grew in the area, so too rose the need for reliable river transport.

  • In 1865, Thomas Hyde and George Couldrey had the 15-ton cutter Rapid built, giving the first regular passenger and goods service. They also opened a general store at the bridge and this was where the Port of Clevedon developed. Adjacent services included stockyards and a sawmill and a storage shed, and later a smithy and a hotel.

    However, it was not ‘plain sailing’. “Multiplying instances of spoilage, disappearances and careless handling of goods, the occasional pranks played by high-spirited youths… plus inconveniently competing timetables” (VB, p. 268) provided motivation for Clevedon locals to improve the situation by establishing their own local-backed company to handle trade, and thus was born the Clevedon Steam Navigation Company.

  • In 1897 the SS Hirere was built for the newly-established Clevedon Steam Navigation Company. It was a small ship, designed for some of Auckland’s most difficult waterways.

    Many locals were shareholders in the new company and their influence provided for an improved and more consistent service.

    In addition to handling goods, the Clevedon Steam Navigation Company offered passenger trips between Clevedon, Auckland, Thames, Waiheke, Whitford and Howick. Operating much like a bus, families living on the river edge or the coast, could board at a number of landings or row out to meet the Hirere in a dinghy.

    As with many rural areas of New Zealand, rapidly improving roads and modern vehicles made localised marine transport uncompetitive. In 1928, after 30 years of faithful service the Hirere made her last voyage under the banner of the Clevedon Steam Navigation Co. The Hirere had given excellent service and provided an essential role in the development of the district’s transport needs.

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You are currently at Heritage Trail Location #9, Wairoa Wharf & River Boats

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Wairoa River Bridge

The information for each site has been thoughtfully prepared in collaboration with the Clevedon Districts Historical Society, drawing on Voices of Belonging by Jessie Munro, Yesteryears by F. Murray, and records from the McNicol Homestead Museum. Together, they tell the story of Clevedon and the people and places that made it the community we know today.

A special acknowledgement to photographer Donna Jepsen for her work capturing these sites as they appear today.