Ceremony to celebrate completion of Rangiriri restoration

A piece of Hamilton’s history will be celebrated this Sunday [7 March] when a civic ceremony is held to mark the completion of the PS Rangiriri restoration project.

The year-long project has seen the vessel lifted and conserved, and interpretive panels constructed to education visitors about the vessel’s history and significance.

Hamilton City Council initially committed $242,900 towards this work and a further $181,000 was granted last July by the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board.

Councillor Peter Bos, who has been a strong supporter of the project, said “it is pleasing to see the project now complete and this historically significant vessel now preserved for years to come”.

Commissioned by the New Zealand colonial government in 1864 for use on the Waikato River during the New Zealand Land Wars, PS Rangiriri arrived too late to be involved in any conflict and was instead used as a supply and transport vessel on the Waikato River – bringing Hamilton’s earliest settlers to the city, including Lieutenant Steele, namesake of the Hamilton East park.

The civic ceremony will be held at Memorial Park this Sunday at 10am and will be supported by a full day of free Children’s Day activities on the east bank of the Waikato River, as well as free Children’s Day celebrations in and around Waikato Museum, located on the opposite bank.

Click here for more information about the Children’s Day celebrations on the East and West Banks, including a schedule of activities.