Queenstown's TSS Earnslaw steams toward greener future

The Lady of the Lake - Queenstown's TSS Earnslaw - has celebrated 110 years since it first set sail. But its owners say it has not run out of steam yet.

The TSS Earnslaw marked its birthday on Tuesday with a cruise and a commitment to ditch coal in favour of a more sustainable fuel source.

Local rangatahi braved a cold, windy morning to send off the TSS Earnslaw on its birthday cruise on Lake Whakatipu.

The iconic vessel nearly did not make it to the milestone - it was due to be scrapped in 1968.

But RealNZ founders Les Hutchins and Lady Olive Hutchins decided to buy and restore it.

Granddaughter Madeleine Peacock joined the family business while staying with them at age 14.

"My mother said to me that it's time I did my family duty, and I had to dress up as - I think it was Puff the Magic Dragon or Pot the Magic Dragon ... in this almighty big dragon suit that didn't fit me," Peacock said.

"I had to walk around town with a basket of lollies and point to the Earnslaw. I remember crashing into poles, losing my lollies."

She loves the feel and sound of the Earnslaw and how it lists to one side depending on where everyone is standing.

Generations of the Hutchin's family joined the cruise, along with supporters, and celebrated with a special birthday cake and song.

The Hutchins' grandson Skipper Ryan Hodges remembered his grandfather Les Hutchins taking him down to the engine room and showing him how they shovelled coal into the boilers.

He enjoys sharing the TSS Earnslaw with tourists each day.

"I think people are just blown away when they actually realise just how many original parts there are on it.

"Just the other day we were up showing some staff members ... the original compass. The compass has got this little wee old kerosene lantern in there, cos the Earnslaw predates power."

Laurie Stanton had been on the TSS Earnslaw for nearly 18 years and was today's skipper.

"110 years for a steam ship anywhere in the world is pretty amazing. This is our special ship and this is our special day, so I think it's quite a momentous occasion.

"This is a living, working piece of history, this ship, and long may it continue. Fortunately the company's committed to it and Queenstown wouldn't be the same without the Earnslaw."

RealNZ chief executive Stephen England-Hall was proud to mark the occasion.

"It's a pretty special day. It's hard to believe that 110 years ago today the Earnslaw made her maiden voyage on Lake Whakatipu."

New beginnings for powering the Earnslaw are around the corner

The steam-powered ship still uses coal in the original 110 year-old boilers, and the Earnslaw has been criticised for the smoke it produces.

In 2021, an Otago Regional Council greenhouse gas emission inventory said the steamship was responsible for about 1 percent of Queenstown Lakes District's transport-related greenhouse gas emissions.

RealNZ investigated different fuel sources to create steam more sustainably, and had narrowed its potential options to wood pellets, biofuel, and hydrogen.

England-Hall said any commitment needed to stand the test of time and have a sustainable supply chain.

"Obviously we want to maintain the integrity of our Edwardian and Victorian technology and engineering and the steam system that runs those beautiful old steam engines.

"So what we're looking for is a change of heat and, of course, heat generation can come from any source."

Peacock was pleased the company was shifting towards the Earnslaw toward a more sustainable future.

"It was something that was always really important to granddad when he started the company, and so that's a legacy that continues today, so it's lovely to be here with everyone and to celebrate."

England-Hall said a final decision was a few years away, with a couple more years needed to make it happen.