Halvorsen 38 Bridgedeck

Halvorsen 38 Bridge Deck Cruiser "KWEENA"

Details- KWEENA was built in 1933 by Lars Halvorsen at Neutral Bay Sydney for Mr AO Fairweather. She is a classic Halvorsen bridge deck motor cruiser for the period. The raised wheelhouse is well forward with two berths below the forward deck. There is a step down to the saloon cabin leading aft into a small open cockpit, with a shelter top above. The 11.58m (38 foot) long hull has a plumb stem and a strong flare to the raised topside contrasting with a tumblehome in the topsides at the transom. The vertical framing of the windows and horizontal cabin top lines give it a stately appearance appropriate to its displacement speed of 10 knots. The carvel planked hull has a hardwood keel and framing, and Queensland maple cabin planking. The forward cabin sleeps two, while the saloon settees double as sleeping berths to accommodate guests.

History- AO Fairweather owned a furniture business in Camperdown, Sydney and became president of the Furniture Manufacturers Association in 1936. He was also a member of the Royal Motor Yacht Club and KWEENA is reported taking part in the Pittwater Regatta held on December 30th, 1933. He remained the owner at least until the early 1940s. By 1941 he was Vice Commodore of the RMYC, but the Second World War then dominated life, and the Sydney Morning Herald of 28 August 1941 reports that Fairweather and other members of the RMYC were all joining the Auxiliary Naval Patrol Scheme. KWEENA was requisitioned for War Service on January 4 1943 and Fairweather was paid 1,150 pounds on June 4th 1943. As HMAS KWEENA it was employed as a general-purpose vessel, then commissioned in July 1943 as a Naval Auxiliary Patrol boat in July 1943, where it acted as a tender to the Sydney shore establishment HMAS Penguin. Tom Wayland is recorded as a commanding officer in July 1943. It was paid off in March 1944 and sold back to Fairweather for 600 pounds later in 1945. KWEENA's subsequent history is not recorded until about 2004 when it was sold by Adam Gilchrist to Nicholas Heijke. In 2006 the previous owner bought KWEENA and put together a project to give her a complete restoration from keel to top of mast. Completed in Batemans Bay NSW. She was re-launched in 2012 and featured at the Classic and Wooden Boat Festival in October 2012 at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

HMAS Kweena
Australia HMAS Kweena
Owner
Mr William Ogilvy Fairweather (1933-1943,1945-?)
Royal Australian Navy (1943-1945)
Builder Lars Halvorsen Sons, Neutral Bay, Australia
Launched 1933
In service 1933
Fate In service[1][2]
Australia
Name HMAS Kweena
Commissioned July 1943
Decommissioned March 1944
Fate Returned to civilian service
General characteristics
Type Motor cruiser/Auxiliary patrol boat
Length 38 ft (11.58 m) o/a
Beam 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Draught 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)
Speed 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
HMAS Kweena (also known as Kweena), was a motor cruiser launched in 1933, that was requisitioned and commissioned as an auxiliary patrol boat and tender vessel during World War II by the Royal Australian Navy.

Launch and pre-war service
Kweena was built by Lars Halvorsen Sons of Neutral Bay, Sydney for Sydney based furniture manufacturer William Fairweather in 1933. A motor cruiser, the vessel was built for comfort, with a cruising speed of only 8 knots. Fairweather was a member of the Royal Motor Yacht Club of New South Wales, and the vessel was recorded as taking part in a local regatta in December 1934. Fairweather himself would become the Vice Commodore of the Yacht club in 1941. Kweena would remain in his ownership until June 4 1943, when she was purchased for £1,150 by the Royal Australian Navy. [1][2]

War Service
In August 1941, Fairweather and other members of the Yacht club joined the Auxiliary Naval Patrol Scheme, [3] and on 4 January 1943, Kweena was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy to serve as an Auxiliary patrol boat. In July 1943, she was commissioned at HMAS Penguin in Sydney to serve as a tender vessel, before being relocated to the training base HMAS Assault in Nelson Bay by October 1943.[4] She was eventually paid-off in March 1944, being sold back to Fairweather for £600 in 1945.[1][2]

Post-war service
Kweena's post-war service is unknown until 2004, when she was sold, before being sold again in 2006. Between 2006-2012, she underwent a complete restoration, eventually being re-launched and put on temporary display at the Australian National Maritime Museum. [1][2]

References
"Kweena". Australian National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
"Halvorsen 38 Bridgedeck". Coastwide Marine. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
"Motor Boating". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 1941. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
"HMAS Assault at Nelson Bay Port Stephens - 1942/43". Port Stephens History. Retrieved 19 October 2025

Locations: Coffs Harbour - Port Macquarie - Pittwater - Sydney Harbour - Batemans Bay