Good Riddance to the Waipa Delta

Here's a fact as we consider the departure of the Waipa Delta - the people of Auckland don't care so its doomed to failure on the Waitemata Harbour. Here's your second fact about the paddle steamer - the paddles on the boat are actually fake, they don't actual paddle the boat and it was only ever for show.

Last week we at WUA were busy completing a photo-essay on the Grey Street Bridge. It so happened that our expedition coincided with the final day of the Waipa Delta in Hamilton. It was literally below us within spitting distance. Won't go over the too-ing and fro-ing between the owner Mark Goudie and the City Council, couldn't care less, but if there's one thing that we are sure of its the people of Auckland wont care at all.

The boats licensed for inland waters only, that means it has to have a coast on both sides. The boat will now be based at the Auckland Maritime Museum at the Viaduct Basin. Ugh. Ugly. Down town Auckland's bad enough during the day but the Viaduct at night would have to be one of the most awful places in the civilised world. Public drunkenness, people urinating on each other, fighting, violence, oppression, random acts of stupidity and that's just what goes on inside some of the bars.

I can imagine the commentary now "here we are travelling along the Auckland Waterfront to our right we have extensive tagging and vandalism, there's currently street crime in progress over there, to your left you can see a group of homeless people who for warmth appear to be setting on fire one of their group..."

The Waipa Delta in Hamilton positioned itself uniquely and made a statement by voyaging to the city of the damned its reduced itself to a sideshow in a freak location. Now it will reside in a cheesy location (Bluebeard the pirate didn't really die in the 18th Century, no he leads the School holiday program at the museum.) How on earth will it survive?