Corrugated iron child's canoe
Vessel numberHV000795
Builder
Albert Green
Vessel type
Unusual Watercraft
Datec 1930
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 2.75 m × 0.49 m (9.02 ft × 1.61 ft)
DescriptionThe 2.75 metre long canoe is only about 500mm wide. The stem is built in the typical folded fashion where the ends of the rectangular sheet of light gauge corrugated steel (usually used for tanks and panelling) are brought together with a crease in the middle, and in this case, formed around a wooden stem frame of 2in by 1in timber, then riveted and filled with tar as a caulking compound. The stern is formed into a transom with the wooden frmae or plank on the inside and main hull has been ‘pushed ‘ into a rounded bottom and flat side cross section.
An early image of the canoe in use shows a stern formed in the same way as the stem or bow, so at some point this must have been modifed to a transom, perhaps to fit more children in the back.
The Green family lived on the Clarence at Lower Southgate, which is close to Lawrence and opposite Woodford Island. Rex Green was the father and his son Albert Edward used the canoe. It’s narrow width suited young children, and it was probably paddled around by the Green family children in local dams or lakes, and maybe in the more sheltered parts of the Clarence River too.
It was given to the Lawrence Historical Society by Gwen Green, and placed in their collection at their museum in the old ABC Radio building at Lawrence. It remains on display at the museum as a significant regional artefact from the Depression era.
SignificanceThe corrugated iron canoe was built in northern NSW in the 1930s. It was built by the Green family from Lower South gate on the Clarence River NSW, as a family boat for the kids. It is an excellent original example of a typical sheet metal canoe built from available materials without any plans, a type that was prolific around the country in the first half of the 20th century.
c1888
