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Abstract

The Weerutta was the last trading ketch built by John Wilson at
Cygnet in 1904. She has been described as “one of the prettiest modelled
and neatly sparred vessels on the river”.
Commissioned by Frank Henshaw, a Hobart-based
mariner the Weerutta was 48’ long, 14.2’ beam, 4.4’ deep,
and 18.14 tons. She had a stringy bark hull, Huon pine decks,
spars of oregon, a scroll figurehead and elliptical stern.
The Weerutta transported produce from Pipe Clay Lagoon to
Hobart until 1926 when Frank Henshaw sold her to Percival
Thiessen of Geeveston, who used her on a similar run from
Waterloo on the Huon River to Hobart.
In1933 Weerutta was purchased by Bern Cuthbertson Snr.
for carting firewood, shellgrit and timber out of Devonport,
and later used the to transport the firewood he cut from Bruny
Island to Hobart.
In 1938 the vessel was converted for fishing by the Tasmanian
Government to trial the catching of tuna.
“Weerutta’s” first tuna cruise commenced on the 9 May 1939
and she returned a week later with a ton of bluefin tuna caught
off the south east coast of Tasmania.
While plenty of tuna were found over that summer, their price
was low and they disappeared over winter. The CSIRO then
offered Cuthbertsons a contract to find tuna in NSW.
The tuna was canned by H. Jones and Co.
In 1943, Weerutta was sold to the Defence Forces, her army
number AK 90. Sadly she was last seen in 1945, disabled
and rotting on a sandbar up river from Lae in New Guinea. From: Fishing today / Tasmanian Fishing Industry Council (TFIC). Photograph Collection Pr.Shp1

Item Type:	Image
Authors/Creators:	.
Keywords:	Photograph, Tasmania, Constitution Dock, trading ketch, University of Tasmania, Special & Rare Collections, Fishing Today
Collections:	Other Special Collections Photograph Collection
Additional Information:	Photograph from the University of Tasmania Special & Rare Photograph Collection Pr.Shp. 1
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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