A work in progress, as more is discovered.
Helpfully, Wyruna appears numerous times in newspapers (and therefore on Trove), predominantly for racing activity, where it features as an A Class yacht participating against the likes of Nerida, Stormy Petrel, Norallie and others in longer offshore events. Nerida in particular is still being sailed by the Hardy family around Sydney Harbour.
Naval Architect/Designer – Walter Reeks, Sydney.
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/reeks-walter-8172
Builder – William Holmes, Sydney – based in Lavender Bay, a well known historic boat builder.
http://arhv.anmm.gov.au/en/people/details/10746/w-holmes-boat-builder
Construction – Kauri planking, over Australian hardwood ribs, kauri deck beams. Copper clenched nails. Initially copper sheathed, possibly due to an intention to spend some time in brackish water at American River, Kangaroo Island. Interior fully lined, with kauri feature timber, possibly some blackwood, with teak companionway and hatch. Original deck was direct laid hardwood with canvas. Later features likely include jarrah toerails and bulwarks/rubbing strips.
Delivery – constructed during 1912, and delivered by steamer from Sydney to the first owner Henry Hampden Dutton in South Australia in either late 1912 or early 1913.
Ownership History
1912 to 1923 – First Owner – Henry Hampden Dutton was of the third generation of the pioneering Dutton family of South Australia. Wyruna is known to have spent much of this stage of ownership in use in Victor Harbour and Kangaroo Island, as the Dutton family moved between their residences. Several references to Wyruna are found in the autobiography of Geoffrey Dutton, the son of Henry Hampden. Its presence is recorded in numerous events in Victor Harbour during this period.
It appears to have most often been in the care of Walter Jeffrey, who later became the harbour master at Victor and apparently resided on Wyruna for a number of years while it was under HHD’s ownership. Walter later tragically drowned in 1947 while returning to Granite Island, after the car he and his brother were in fell off the causeway to the island.
1923 – 1932 Dr E Crozier – H H Dutton sold Wyruna to Dr E. Crozier, after advertising it nationally from 1919.
1932 – Sold by Dr E Crozier to Mr H G Hogan. This was noted in The Advertiser on 4 Mar 1932, with some additional detail that DR Crozier had kept the boat at Kangaroo Island.
1933 – Charles Vincent – likely purchased from MR Hogan. Mr Vincent was an office holder with the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron, and frequently raced Wyruna during his ownership, which (in the fashion of the time) was recorded in the local papers.
1933 to 1943 – John Rischbieth was given Wyruna in 1933 as a 16th birthday present from his father, who purchased it from Charles Vincent. John owned Wyruna until about 1943, and nearly repurchased it about 1959/1960. We only just missed this fantastic connection to the vessel, with John passing away in 2017. John recounts a number of stories from his early days with Wyruna in an article in the RSAYS online archive found at:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wuDYl5q8uyN3R_op1NlRmVxKplkO1Uz2
1956 – William (Bill) A Conly – who installed a plate on the aft deck, pictured below. Bill is believed to have passed away in 1966 aged only 52, but was the possible seller when John Rischbieth saw it for sale in 1959/1960. William Conly is recorded as registering Wyruna in the RSAYS archive – with this record undated, but likely around 1956.
Subsequent ownership history yet to be confirmed in detail, but includes a period with my grandfather, Tasman Binder, during the 1960’s.
1961 – P Richardson – survey requested on behalf of the owner at the time (June 1961), with this document subsequently being in the possession of Tas Binder (the third!). It seems possible/probable that this report was for the sale purposes at the time it was commissioned.
1965 – 1968 – Tasman Binder (the second) – a log kept by Tas II when Wyruna was in his ownership. A useful record of several local trips, around South Australia from 1965 to 1968. It is understood to have been sold by Tas II around 1969/1970.
1972 to 1973 – John Wright (tbc) – also known as “Smokey”. It is believed John purchased Wyruna from Dr Alan Cotton, although the timing for this is not currently known. Dr Cotton is noted to have purchased Wyruna from Mike Tipping, in an RSAYS newsletter.
1973 to 2019 – Ivan Knight. Ivan purchased Wyruna in October 1973 in or around Pt Pirie, South Australia. He recalls taking it to Whyalla for a pre-purchase inspection, as that was the only slip with the depth at high tide to take Wyruna. Ivan was 26 at the time, and subsequently lived on Wyruna for a number of years, including for a time in Pt Lincoln. Ivan moved to Melbourne with Wyruna, and in around 1981 planned some deep maintenance on land purchased partly for the purpose. A series of events lead to the vessel not leaving its Altona backyard until Dec 2019, for restoration. We have a number of photos of the boat during this period, in the archive. Also below, a great article from the Port Lincoln Times of April 1974 (with accompanying photo) of the plans for when Ivan purchased Wyruna the previous year. A constant project boat it would seem.
The search continues for more detail, although we are getting close to the full history!
Rig Change – originally constructed as a gaff sloop, the rig was changed to a ketch at some point, originally believed to be in the 1930’s, but now understood to have occurred after WW2, potentially in the 1950’s. While the original Dutton photos show a sloop rig, there is one later photo with a cutter configuration.
At one time, I considered that the trigger for the rig change could have been an incident during the 70 mile Orontes Cup race in March 1933 which saw gaff, main boom and spinnaker boom all snapped during the return leg of the race, however this now seems unlikely. It remains an interesting event nonetheless, as described in the news article below.
Under consideration for the restoration is a return to the original rig – guidance from experts welcomed. This is being encouraged by many, and is being assisted by the poor condition of the masts, which will need replacing.
As of April 2022, we are strongly considering a bermudan rig, over either a ketch or gaff rig. Further update (Nov 22), still genuinely considering both the original rig, in a more faithful “classic” style, or more of a modern rig.
