White Wings Vol I. Fifty Years Of Sail In The New Zealand Trade, 1850 TO 1900

The Helen Denny

The Helen Denny.

Captain Ruthe's Old Ship.

A pretty little vessel that brought many hundreds of passengers to all parts of the Dominion from 1875 until 1896, was the Glasgow built ship, Helen Denny, one of the Shaw, Savill fleet. Although only 728 tons she had a fairly good turn of speed and made many passages between London and the several New Zealand ports, considerably below the average, under a fine old sailor, Captain William Ruthe, who passed away at his residence, Grafton Road, Auckland, on the 17th June, 1924, at the advanced

The Helen Denny.

age of 82 years. The captain had a most successful career at sea, and when he retired—1886—his last passage to New Zealand being made in the ship Zealandia—he had never met with an accident. When he came ashore, he set up in business at Napier, but he did not remain there long before he made his way to Auckland. He purchased Rotoroa, the island at the back of Waiheke which was always called Ruthe's Island in later years, and there he farmed for many years, eventually selling out to the Salvation Army who have established a home for inebriates there and reverted to the native name of the island. Mrs. Ruthe accompanied her husband on many of his voyages and both daughters were born at sea. Captain Ruthe completed several voyages in the Helen Denny and ran the ship in 1875, immediately after she was converted into a barque, to Napier in 85 days from Plymouth. During the run from the meridian of the Cape the barque logged 310 miles during one 24 hours—a truly fine performance for a vessel of her tonnage. On this trip the Helen Denny left Plymouth on July 30 with 229 immigrants. She crossed the equator 27 days out, passed the Cape on September 18 and carried strong winds when running down her easting. The run from the Cape to Napier was made in the good time of 23 days.

Captain Peters also made a fine run of 82 days in the Helen Denny. Leaving London on April 28, he anchored his ship at Lyttelton on July 19, 1880. On the passage out of the Helen Denny to Lyttelton in 1890, the barque had a rough experience in the Southern Ocean. During a very severe gale, the topgallant bulwarks were washed away by moun-page 159tainous seas and the decks cleared of everything movable.

Captain Carnell who brought the ship to Auckland in 1886, reported a very tedious passage from the start. The vessel was detained in the channel with an easterly gale for ten days, when light winds were met with right along to the equator. The Cape was passed on the 70th day out and thence heavy gales were encountered when running down her easting. She was detained for twenty

Captain Ruthe.

days between Cape Leeuwin and Tasmania.

the Helen Denny was launched in 1866 as a full rigged ship, but she was changed to a barque a few years later. During the first ten years after she was built, she sailed under the flag of Patrick Henderson and Co., from Glasgow to Rangoon and other ports in the East.

the Helen Denny built by Robert Duncan of Glasgow was an attractive little vessel and her fine lines have been praised by more than one writer. When sailing ships began to go out, before the oncoming of the steam tramp, the Helen Denny was sold to Messrs. Turnbull and Co., of Christchurch and was engaged in the Intercolonial and interprovincial service. She came to Auckland from Lyttelton on two occasions with wheat. The barque was subsequently purchased and sailed by Captain F. Holm. He was succeeded by his son.

The old vessel is now a hulk lying in Wellington harbour, the property of the Paparoa Coal Co.

the Helen Denny's outward records were:—

Sailed.	Arrived.	Captain.	Days.
To Auckland.
July 11	Oct. 17, '86	James	99
Mar. 6	July 20. 91'	Carnell	135
To Wellington.
Mar. 15	June 25. '82	Ruthe	102
Sep. 12	Dec. 18, '84	James	97
Aug. 11	Nov. 19, '85	James	100
To Lyttelton.
Apr. 28	July 19, '80	Peters	82
June 3	Sep. 22, '90	Carnell	112
To Dunedin.
June 12	Sep. 9, '77	Ruthe	89
		Land to land	78
May 14	Aug. 21, '79	Ruthe	109
July 3	Oct. 9, '83	James	98
Sep. 14	Dec. 12, '87	James	88
Sep. 2	Dec. 26, '88	Carnell	114
Oct. 29, '95	Feb. 24, '96	Tait	119
To Nelson.
July 6	Oct. 30, '76	Ruthc	116
May 22	Sep. 2, '78	Ruthe	102
May 2	Aug. 23, '93	Carnell	113
May 14	Sep. 21, '94	R. Newby	130
To Napier.
July 29	Oct. 22, '74	Ruthe	90
June 27	Sep. 20, '75	Ruthe	85
To Bluff.
Apr. 6	July 13, '81	Ruthe	98
June 25	Oct. 18, '92	Carnell	115

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White Wings Vol I. Fifty Years Of Sail In The New Zealand Trade, 1850 TO 1900

The Helen Denny

The Helen Denny.