But while the blaze marks a sad chapter in the Tui’s long life, the ship’s history stretches back much further than its years as a museum, restaurant or derelict tourist draw. The Tui was never intended for showmanship or maritime glamour. It was, first and foremost, a workhorse – a purpose-built kauri lighter constructed to ferry sacks of refined sugar from Chelsea Sugar Refinery in Birkenhead to the docks in Auckland. This was long before the Auckland Harbour Bridge existed, when port logistics depended on these utilitarian vessels.
The National Library identify Tui as schooner “in existence in 1837”. Tui was one of a fleet of seven timber lighters operated by the Colonial Sugar Company. She was probably double or triple skinned with polished kauri planking and tanekaha ribs, her hold imbued with the smell of sugar from decades of transport. After becoming redundant following the bridge’s completion in 1959, most of these lighters were sold off, with many becoming pleasure boats or floating homes.
Tui, however, took a different course.
In the late 1960s, diver, explorer, and maritime treasure hunter Kelly Tarlton saw potential in the ungainly sugar boat. Tarlton had already started salvaging relics from significant New Zealand shipwrecks — including coins from the Elingamite and cannon balls from the Boyd. His growing collection needed a home, and Tui, stripped of its past and ready for reinvention, fit the bill.
Tarlton oversaw the transformation of Tui into a three-masted barque, even sourcing kauri masts from the wreck of the Canadian ship Endeavour II, which had gone aground at Parengarenga. By 1970, the once-plain lighter was unrecognisable — complete with rigging and historical gravitas. Kelly Tarlton’s Museum of Shipwrecks opened to the public in Waitangi and quickly became a must-see attraction.
The museum housed extraordinary artefacts retrieved by Tarlton and his team, including the famed Rothschild jewels from the wreck of the Tasmania, coins from the Elingamite, and a cannon from the L’Alcmène. Operated with the help of his wife Rosemary, the museum won several tourism accolades, including the 1974 Busk Cup and a 1977 Tourism Design Award.
“R.i.p Kelly Tarlton s” Tui”… In life you grow to love things that you become familiar with. Te Tui was a huge part of a lot of people’s childhood and adult memories ,it allowed us to be Pirates of the Caribbean or to feel and visualize something amazing …Thank you Kelly for bringing “Tui’ to us and Thank you” Tui'” for being ours you will be greatly missed..xox” Esme Shermin on Facebook
But after Tarlton’s untimely death in 1985, the museum’s fortunes slowly changed. It remained open under Rosemary’s stewardship until disaster struck in 2000, when a kitchenhand named Keith McEwen stole an estimated $300,000 in gold and artefacts from the museum. The heist spelled the end of the museum; the insurance company refused to pay out, and the artefacts were never recovered.
By 2003, the Tui had been sold but after housing numerous ventures, more than 20 years later Tui was left to decay.
Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 accelerated its deterioration, stripping planks from the hull and drawing the attention of the Northland Regional Council. Still, in 2024, there was a glimmer of hope. TriOceans, a marine research institute based in Kerikeri, bought The Tui with plans to restore her as a marine education centre — a vision not far from Tarlton’s original mission of educating the public about New Zealand’s maritime history.
TriOceans began early restoration work in 2025, backed by funding from Foundation North. Their goal was ambitious: to combine mātauranga Māori with modern science and create a space for learning, conservation, and community involvement. Progress was slow but symbolic — a potential new chapter in Tui’s varied life.
That chapter may now be in jeopardy.
Today’s fire, which broke out around 4am, left the wooden vessel badly damaged. No one was on board, but authorities have warned local residents in Paihia and Waitangi to avoid the area and keep windows closed due to smoke.
Reports suggest that Tui may now be unsalvageable. Her history, however, is indelible. From sugar barge to treasure museum, from shipwrecked masts to crime scenes, and from restaurant to educational vision — The Tui has witnessed more than most vessels ever will.
