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The Inconstant
The Final Journey |
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No one had the money to make the Inconstant seaworthy. Shipwright William McKenzie bought the vessel at auction and sold it to John Plimmer in 1850 for £80. Plimmer gained Governor Grey's approval to locate the vessel on the foreshore at Lambton Quay. He then had to haul the Inconstant from Te Aro. |
 Notice in Wellington Independent newspaper November 1849. |
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"...when the tide was down they fastened empty oil barrels and hogsheads all round her, and laid out a large anchor away in deep water... ...at high water [I] began to haul on to ropes with about forty men... And all the people passing came to lend a hand and in Barrett's Hotel she was christened the Noah's Ark..."
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When the ship was in place, Plimmer had the bilges filled with spoil. A pitched roof was added to the midsection of the hull and the upper works of the bow section cut away. The new 'building' measured 20.4m by 9m. The lower part of the ship formed a basement. A small bridge provided access to the Ark from Lambton Quay. |