Whanganui Paddle Boat

The Whanganui Riverboat Centre and Museum is the home of New Zealands only coal-fired Paddle Steamer named “Waimarie”. She was designed and built in 1899 by Yarrow & Co Shipbuilders at Poplar, London and transport in kit form to Whanganui.

The Paddle Steamer Waimarie is a historic riverboat based on the Whanganui River in New Zealand. We had a fantastic River cruise. The Skipper was a very knowledgeable young man and the engineer was a very interesting character with the widest mop of grey hair.

The organ below was created by Ian Chamberlain. It features 64 notes, constructed from rectangular pipes of various lengths. To tune the organ, he made the pipes slightly longer and adjusted them using a 4-inch water pressure tuning gauge that he designed himself. The organ plays many old recognisable tunes. Click on the video below to hear the organ car in action.