This model is of the Rarawa, a schooner rigged twin screw steamer which was built in Scotland for the Northern Steam Ship Company in 1903. She was used on the New Plymouth to Onehunga run until 1929 when she was laid up in Auckland. The Government purchased her along with three other company vessels in 1940 and the Navy used her for parts. Rarawa's dismantled hull was beached on Rangitoto Island during World War II and large sections of the bow and stern are still easily identifiable about 200 metres west of Boulder Bay today. This model is thought to have been displayed in the offices of the Northern Steamship Company before it was donated to Taranaki Museum in 1960.