Oil on canvas (1000 x 750)mm
The scene shows activity in the cove some time prior to the launching of the ship in November 1848. It is recorded that at times there were up to ninety people working on the vessel. I have chosen to represent the ship with a primer coat of red lead ... there were other possible primers but red lead seems the most likely. Beside the 'Stirlingshire, work is proceeding on the schooner 'Vivid'. At the far end of the workshop on the left is a forge and the house of Capt. Jeremiah Nagle and his family is on the right. One imagines that trading with the local Maori was essential to feed the workers and families, together with supplies sent up from Auckland.