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Story: Canoeing and rafting

Folding canoe

Image
Folding canoe

A partly assembled folding canoe featured on the cover of the second edition of White water canoeing in New Zealand in 1953. Named ‘Errant III’, it was the first folding canoe to be made in New Zealand. Folding canoes, based on those used by the armed forces, were popular after the Second World War. The frame, which could fold down to fit into a sack, was bolted together and covered with a waterproof canvas skin.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: White water: canoeing in New Zealand 1, no. 2 (1953-54) (S-L 771-COVER)

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Canoeing and rafting – Canoe clubs and competitions, 1920s–1960s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/13080/folding-canoe (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009, updated 18 July 2016.