The Sinclairs of Lyttelton

There were two major boatbuilding families in Lyttelton in those early days, the Millers and the Sinclairs, both with Scottish origins. The Millers are identified with the famous yacht Pastime. The Millers’ rivals were the Sinclairs – William Sinclair and his large number of descendants.

In 2019 I wrote three Vintage Perspective articles about the Millers and Pastime, which is now close to being launched after a major restoration by Craig Wild at Tamahere. It is time for a companion piece on the Sinclairs.

William Sinclair was born in 1822 in Caithness in northern Scotland. Like most Scots, he received a good education, at a level far higher than in most