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News
Mini replica jogs veteran's memories of HMNZS Royalist
Thursday, 08 January 2004
By MARTHA McKENZIE-MINIFIE
THERE was no mistaking the identity of the model cruiser that greeted Arthur Westaway during a visit to a friend’s Howick home.
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ZS Royalist, made by Howick resident Dick Hopper.
Times photo
So realistic was the model of the HMNZS Royalist, it brought back memories of the egg and bacon sandwiches he had for breakfast while on board the original more than 60 years ago.
“I first went aboard in the middle of the night,” the World War II veteran recalled about the first ship he served on in the four years he served with the Royal Navy.
“I slung up my hammock and went to sleep – when I woke we were at sea.”
A British boat, the Royalist was loaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy during the 1950s and ’60s.
Complete with its anti-aircraft guns, radar, ship’s bell and captain and officers, the precise model is one of many made by talented Howick enthusiast Dick Hopper.
“Some people breed birds, I breed ships,” Mr Hopper said.
“It becomes a passion over a lifetime. It stemmed from my interest in the navy.”
Mr Hopper indulges his pastime for about four hours a day, depending on family commitments, and has fashioned a collection of models including the HMNZS Canterbury and HMNZS Taranaki.
“The real Royalist is 48 times bigger,” said Mr Hopper. “My model of it is built from plans I got from the navy.”
The watertight model cruiser has previously been exhibited at Hobsonville’s Model World on Monterey Park. This year Mr Hopper plans to tour the replicas to service clubs throughout New Zealand.
His current project is finishing a scale model of the passenger ship Northern Star, which brought Mr Hopper and his family to New Zealand.
