Plans by movie heavyweights including Peter Jackson to restore part of Wellington’s Shelly Bay to be used as a base for a rare war launch have been scuttled. The project would have resulted in the restoration of the old Shipwright’s Building and slipway in Shelly Bay and the creation of a naval-themed museum.

The building would have been used to refurbish the World War II harbour defence launch Koura to its former glory, including replica weapons, but a request for funding of up to $200,000 from Wellington City Council has been turned down because of the tight economic times and new Maori ownership of surrounding land in Shelly Bay. Movie men’s wartime boat hopes slip away