(1834–1909)

Henry Green designed and built successful racing yachts in Dunedin during the 1870s and 1880s.

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Dunedin – boatbuilding hub

Henry Green, often referred to as H. T. Green, arrived in Dunedin from Sydney around 1864, joining family members already there. He worked as a boatbuilder with his father, George Green, and brothers, but did most of the design and building of their significant yachts.

In these gold-rush years, Dunedin was the country’s financial and shipping hub. Yacht racing was becoming popular in the main centres, as was race betting. Considerable prize money was on offer.

Green was among various boatbuilders meeting the demand for racing yachts in Dunedin. His Auckland contemporaries included Robert Logan Sr, Charles Bailey Sr and John Waymouth Jr.

Winning yachts

Green’s most famous yacht was the 35-foot (10.67m) Spray, built in 1869. She won at least 100 races in Dunedin, Lyttelton, and Auckland, collecting a small fortune. The wins included races at six successive Lyttelton Regattas.

Zephyr and Ripple were also prominent Green yachts. Zephyr (1879) won many races, including the lucrative ‘Championship of New Zealand’. After some modification, the boat voyaged from Lyttelton to Dunedin twice – some feat for a racing thoroughbred.

Ripple went on to become a household name in Otago, and her greatest rival was Anonyma also built by Green.

** ‘Beautiful workmanship’**

Historian Harold Kidd describes Green’s yachts ‘as beautifully modelled and showing extreme speed’. Characteristics included ‘double-planked hulls … shallow bodies … a lack of beam and absence of outside ballast’.

Green continued his successful career upon returning to Sydney in 1889, where he died in 1909.