It's one of those ‘whatever happened to…' stories.

In this case it's a container crane and it's missing. A model of a container crane, a substantial and intricate working model of a container crane.

The mystery comes on the back of last week's The Weekend Sun story about the decommissioning of the Port of Tauranga's oldest ship-to-shore gantry crane affectionately known as Tango.

Wind back to the 1970s. Our port is agitating for a container crane.

'However, people in high places didn't want Tauranga to become a big port,” says Bill Janes of Greerton – furniture maker, car restorer, modeler, sculptor, artisan. His role in this mystery will become clear.

'And when the port tried to borrow money for the crane, they wouldn't give it to them.”

Was this self-interest on behalf of the big established ports? Was Tauranga getting too big for its boots?

Bob Owens, the late businessman, Mayor, Bay of Plenty Harbour Board representative, etc, etc, etc, didn't become a self-made billionaire by capitulating to those who said; ‘No'.

He was straight on the phone to Bill Janes. 'He wanted a big scale model of the Libherr crane they were planning to buy,” says Bill. And he wanted it yesterday. It would be a working model, it would be 138cm high and more than 210cm wide taking in the jib. And in a glass case.

'The idea was to take the model around the region – sell the idea to the people – so they would take out debentures to pay for the crane ourselves. Between $3.5 to $4m I seem to recall,” says Bill.

So the man with a reputation for being able to make anything from anything got some drawings from Liebherr. And for the following two months he buried himself in his workshop – 13 hours a day, seven days a week. Hand crafted from brass. 'My wife was a crane widow. I did three months' work in two. We made it, just!”

Bill and the mising 1970s Liebherr model gantry crane.

The crane worked too. In the engine housing were the workings of an alarm clock driven by an electric motor. A trolley and hook would travel out along the load jib. Bill was a man for detail.

And the plan all came together for Bob Owens. And Tauranga. He got his model, he got his money and he got his life sized crane.

'I can't remember how much I got paid or whether I got paid. I know Bob offered my wife and I a trip back to the United Kingdom, but I had a business to run so that was no good. He probably got it gratis.”

With the real crane being decommissioned and dismantled next month, the model takes on new significance. But where is it?

Some of the older hands at Port of Tauranga can remember the crane in a glass case. And they remember it being smaller than Bill's specs. But no-one knows where it is now.

'I was quite proud of that crane, one of my achievements,” says Bill. One of his many achievements. But then in the same breath. 'Well I don't care a cuss, after all it's theirs.”

But we should all care. It's history captured in brass.

When the model crane was pulling in the debentures at the Hamilton show, it broke down. Bill the fixer was called to fix it.

'On the long straight flat roads on the other side of the Kaimai Range I got stopped by a stern-faced cop. I said: ‘What have I done? I am innocent'.”

The fact was the crane was working again and Bill wasn't needed. This was before cellphones so his wife called the cops, who stopped his car and turned him home again. 'In those days traffic cops were quite co-operatives,” jokes Bill.

The hunt for a Bob Owens' idea fashioned from brass by Bill goes on. We will keep you informed.