NEPTUNE'S HEAVY TOLL.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17472, 5 June 1922, Page 11

NEPTUNE'S HEAVY TOLL.

NEW ZEALAND'S WRECKS. LONG AND TRAGIC LIST.

The record of past wrecks on the New

Zealand coast is a long and tragic one.

Appended are brief particular of the most serious and many of the minor disasters: — A terrible wreck was that of H.M.S, Orpheus, 21 guns, which went on to the Manukaiu Bar on February 7th, 1863,

' through steering by a chart which was ' then obsoleto, the channel having shifti ed considerably since the chart was > made. There were 256 officers and inen j on board, and only G9 were saved, 187 , losing their lives. 1 j The Huddart-Parker steamer Tas- ' | mania, was wrecked at Table Cape, on . the east coast, on July 20th, 1897, with : the loss of the lives of 10 members of the crew. The passengers and crew , took to the boats. Two boats capsized, . eight lives being lost in one case anfcl > two in the other. > The wreck of the Huddart-Parker steamer Eiingamite, while on the 1 voyage from. Sydney to Auckland, occurred on November 9th, 1902. The vessel carried about 180 passengers and crew. A few were drowned at the wreck, but the majority got into the boats and rafts. One raft was adrift I for four daya before being picked up, and one boat was never recovered. Altogether 45 lives were lost.

Sunk by Enemy Mine. The Huddart-Parker steamer Wiminera was sunk by the explosion of a German mine off the north coast of New Zealand, during the war period, on June 26th, 1918. Of the 151 persons on board the vessel 26 lost their lives, this number being composed of 10 p;issengere and 16 members of the ship's company, including the master Captain K. J. Kell. Tiie disaster occurred early i in the morning, while the Wimniera was on the way to Sydney from Auckland. The Northern Company's steamer Kin, 1 Ora, which was engaged in the West ; Coast trade, was wrecked off the Mara- ; kopa river on June 13th, 1907. Three 5 lives, including that of Captain Black- I lock, were lost. Other steamers lost by : , the same company were the Gairloch, I off Oape Egmont, in 1903; the Muratai, i off the Hen and Chickens, in 1908; and ! the Tasman in the Bay of Plentv on Juno 12th. 1921. ' The steamer Ventnor, which Was conveying the remains of disinterred Chinese from New Zealand to China was wrecked off the Hokianga coast in October, 1902. Twelve members of the crew were crowned, and the gruesome cargo waa also lost. Memorable South Island Disaster. | The loss of the Union Company's steamer Tararua, which was wrecked on the reef off "Waipapa Point, Foveaux Strait, on April 29th, 1881, is the most memorable wreck of a passenger steamer that has occurred on the coast of the South Island. The Tararua was on her way from Dunedin to the Bluff • when the disaster took place. Some 130 lives —llO passengers and 20 members of the erew—were lost, only about 20 being saved- h _ The steamer Taiaroa, owned bv the Union Company, was wrecked in 'thick weather at Waipapa Point,j ju t n f ,rtii of the* Clarence river, South Marlborough, on the passage from Wellington to Lyttelton on the night ° n f April 11th, 1886. The passengers and crew took to the boats, but three' of them were swamped, and most of their occupants drowned. In ail about 33 lives were lost. The Union Company's steamer Olian | which left Greymouth for Dunedin u'ijh a cargo of coal and timber in May, lgyg ' and which was sighted off Ca]>e Camp- ' bell two or three days later, was never I seen again. She was supposed to have I foundered. Captain Brewer and a crew of about 30 were lost. Tho Union Company's steamer Penguin was wrecked in Cook Strait while 1

on the voyage from Picton to. Wellington, on February' 12th., 1909. Seventyfive lives were lost.

The Union Company's steamer Waikare was lost at the West Coast Sounds on- January 4th, 1910, while on a holiday excursion, through striking an uncharted rock. No lives wero lost.

The Tyser steamer Star of Canada dragged her anchors and was wrecked at Gisborne on June 23rd, 1912. No lives were lost. The New Zealand Shipping Company's steamer Tongariro struck a pinnacle off Bull Rock, near Portland Island, East Coast, on August 30th, 1916. In this case also all hands were saved.

The Federal-Shire . steamer Devon was wrecked on the rocks at the entrance to Wellington Harbour on August 25tli, 1913. Several other vessels, principally small sailing craft, have been lost at this spot. The crew were lauded safely. The Houldor liner Tyrone was wrecked near AVahine Point, close to the Otago Heads, on September 27th, 1913. No lives were lo6t.

The barque Constance Craig, which disappeared with all hands in 1907, was supposed to have foundered off the New Zealand coast. The barque Loch Lomond disappeared in the same way in 1908. The old and well-known steamer Stormbird wa6 wrecked at the entrance to the Wanganui river, on September 2nd, 191' S. Three members of the crew were drowned. The Anchor Company's steamer Charles Edward was wrecked there some time previously.

Some Early Wrecks Becalled.

Among early wreclcs were those of the barque i'ifeshire, the first immigrant ship to land passengers at Nelson, on the Fifeshire Rock, February 20th, 18-12 ; the Queen Bee, at Farewell Spit, on August lGtli, 1877 (one life lost), and the steamer White Swan, off Flat Point, south of Napier, on Juno 28th, 1862, with Government records.

Following are some of the other wrecks on the New Zealand Coast: — Airedale, steamer, near New Plymouth, February loth, 1S71; Lillie l)elham, in Foxeaux Straits, December, 1883; Maitai, s.s., at Mercury Island, 1885; Splendid, barque, at Kaipara, 1890; Awaroa, echooner, at Poverty Bay, 1892: North Star, barque, at South Head, Kaipara, 18£3; Alexander Newton, barque, at Portland Island, 1834; Sovereign, schoonei, at Castle Point, 1534; Christine, schooner, at AVaitotara river, 1894; Spray, schooner, at Gisborne, ]BSS; Hermione, shin, Cook Strait, 1895; Zuleika, iron slap, "Wellington Heads, 1897; Pirate,. scow, Portland Island, 1897; Elginshiro, steamer, off Timaru, 1897; Lord of the Isies, schooner, Kaipara., 1900; Ariadne, steam yacht, off Oamaru, 1902; Marguerite Mirabeau, French barque, Akatore Beach, 1906.