# Papanui (1898)



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Here is a picture of a model of PAPANUI which I built some years ago. The ship came into the island of St. Helena with a serious bunker fire in 1911. Shortly after the passengers disembarked, she blew up and sank in shallow water. The steering gear was still visible above water until a couple of years ago and I have been aboard on several occasions whilst serving aboard R.M.S. ST. HELENA between 1979 and 1992. The model is no longer in my possession and I have no idea of its present whereabouts.


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## rms (Jul 16, 2005)

*Papanui*

My parents and myself lived on the Island of St Helena in the 60s 70s . My father dived the wreck and salvaged the propeller, we have one of the Brass propeller nuts and tiles off the iterior of the ship.I now live in NZ


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## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

I remember the big hexagonal brass propeller nuts, they were popular as doostops on the island and I saw several of them. They held the blades on to the boss and the pitch of the propeller could be altered, but it had to be done in drydock. Being in shallow water, it was an interesting sight snorkeling over it. I also looked at the remains of the full-rigged ship SPANGEREID ex FAIRPORT which was scuttled again because of fire a few hundred feet from the PAPANUI and whose wheel is now in the dining room of the consulate hotel.

Please visit my website 

http://miniatureshipmodels.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk 

where there will be more items of St. Helena interest coming soon.


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