Walter Reeks

{{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Walter Reeks

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| birth_date = 25 February 1861

| birth_place = Christchurch, Hampshire, England

| death_date = {{dda|1925|10|2|1861|2|25|df=y}}

| death_place = Mosman, New South Wales, Australia

| occupation = Naval architect

| spouse =

| parents =

| children =

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Walter Reeks ({{Daterangedash|1861-2-25|1925-10-2|dmy}}) was one of the earliest naval architects in Australia and is known for designing yachts, ferries and coastal ships.{{Cite book |last=Prescott |first=A. M. |url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/reeks-walter-8172/text14287 |title=Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Reeks, Walter (1861–1925) |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |year=1988 |location=Canberra |ref=ADB |access-date=2018-01-28 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130231141/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/reeks-walter-8172/text14287 |archivedate=2018-01-30}}

He was born in Christchurch, England and migrated to Australia in 1885.

Reeks apprenticed with Alexander Richardson and at shipbuilders George Inman & Sons in England. He became an expert at yacht design and propulsion.

He was active in the Sydney yachting community on arrival in Australia and joined several of the yacht clubs and engineering associations. He was Vice Commodore for the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron from 1906 to 1910.{{Cite web |last=Payne |first=David |title=Walter Reeks |url=http://collections.anmm.gov.au/en/people/details/10745/walter-reeks |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131023429/http://collections.anmm.gov.au/en/people/details/10745/walter-reeks |archive-date=2018-01-31 |access-date=2018-01-29 |website=Australian National Maritime Museum |language=en}} He was president of the NSW Engineering Association in 1914.{{cite news |date=11 May 1914 |title=PRESIDENT WALTER REEKS |volume=XIII |page=7 |newspaper=Construction : Weekly Supplement To Building |issue=314 |location=New South Wales, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article234767235 |accessdate=31 January 2018 |via=National Library of Australia}}

He worked for various Sydney ferry companies between 1890 and 1915, a period in which the ferry system saw significant growth. He designed the first double-ended-screw Manly ferry, the Manly (II), and the Kuring-gai, which became the model for Manly ferries of the first half of the 20th century.{{cite book |last1=Gunter |first1=John |title=Across the harbour : the story of Sydney's ferries |publisher=Rigby |isbn=0727007157 |page=31 |year=1978 }} Other Sydney ferries designed by Reeks, including all but one of the early-20th-century 'Lady' ferries, such as the Lady Denman{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article234755287 |title=WALTER REEKS. |newspaper=Construction : Weekly Supplement To Building |volume=11 |issue=237 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=26 August 1912 |accessdate=31 January 2018 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}} and Lady Scott, and all of the Watsons Bay ferries, such as the Vaucluse. He also designed the Hobart ferries Derwent and Rosny.

Reeks married Mary Emma Kent in March 1889. They had a daughter, Thelma, and son, Kent. Mary died in 1895 and Reeks married again in 1900. Reeks's son was murdered in England in 1914.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221560550 |title=MR. WALTER REEKS'S SON. |newspaper=The Sun |issue=1115 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=22 January 1914 |accessdate=28 January 2018 |page=8 (FINAL ESXTRA) |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |date=28 January 1914 |title=Late Mr. Reeks. |page=2 |newspaper=The Scrutineer and Berrima District Press |location=New South Wales, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133379629 |accessdate=28 January 2018 |via=National Library of Australia}}"Reek Murder Still Unsolved." Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, Manchester, England 11 Feb. 1914: 9. British Library Newspapers. Web. 28 Jan. 2018.

Reeks died in October 1925.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28063335 |title=Mr Walter Reeks, Death Announced |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |issue=27,378 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=3 October 1925 |accessdate=31 January 2018 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}} Several of his yachts are extant as of 2018, including Boomerang and Ena in Sydney.{{Cite news |last=Crafti |first=Stephen |date=2015-05-10 |title=Auctioning of the luxury steam yacht Ena designed by Walter Reeks |language=en-US |work=Financial Review |url=http://www.afr.com/business/sport/auctioning-of-the-luxury-steam-yacht-ena-designed-by-walter-reeks-20150506-ggv9s4 |url-status=live |access-date=2018-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130231140/http://www.afr.com/business/sport/auctioning-of-the-luxury-steam-yacht-ena-designed-by-walter-reeks-20150506-ggv9s4 |archive-date=2018-01-30}}