The Toroa, named for the Northern Royal Albatross, is a passenger ferry which used to serve Auckland, New Zealand, primarily travelling between the Devonport, New Zealand and Auckland CBD ferry terminals. Together with her sister ship Makora, she ferried about 20,00 passengers a day, until she was taken out of service in 1980.[1]
The ferry has since been purchased by the New Zealand Maritime Trust, and a volunteer group, the Toroa Preservation Society, is working towards a restoration. However, the well-restored vessel sank in 1998 at Birkenhead in a storm. Recovered, the ferry now sits on land in Henderson, where restoration work is continuing slowly but regularly.[1]