Rapaki (steam crane)

The steam crane Rapaki was a historic ship in New Zealand.

Service history
On 24 December 1925 the Lyttelton Harbour Board ordered an 80-ton self-propelled floating crane, called Rapaki. She was named after the settlement close to Lyttelton of the same name. She was built at a cost of £42,000. The Rapaki took 109 days to sail from Greenock, Scotland, to Lyttelton, arriving on 28 July 1926. Rapaki was one of two steam cranes in New Zealand waters, the other being the Hikitia which as of 2024 can still be visited on the Wellington Waterfront. Rapaki operated in Lyttelton for 60 years. During World War II Rapaki was requisitioned for war work in the Pacific. It had been intended that she go to the Middle East, but after Japan joined the war this plan was cancelled.

At the end of her working life, Rapaki was transported to Auckland, and became an exhibit at the Maritime Museum on Auckland's waterfront. In December 2018, the Rapaki was towed to Wynyard Wharf to be broken up. Some of its parts were given to the Hikitia.