Mr Gerard Comments On General Grant Story

Press, Volume C, Issue 29503, 3 May 1961, Page 20

Mr Gerard Comments On General Grant Story

(New Zealand Press Association)

, WELLINGTON, May 2. A story in the Lands and Survey Department’s Staff magazine about the wreck of the General .Grant at the Auckland Islands nearly 100 years ago had found its way into the English press, and had aroused enthusiasm among those who thought there was a fortune in gold for the picking up from the floor of the ocean at Auckland Island, said the Minister of Lands (Mr Gerard) commenting on the recent publicity on the refusal of salvage rights. "In point of fact,” said Mr Gerard, "it is doubtful if there ever was a fortune in the General Grant. It is believed that she carried 2470 ounces of gold and nine tons of spelter, which could have

contained some gold extractable by a difficult chemical process. The ship's manifest also showed 170 packages which some think contained gold being taken home by passengers, but that is pure conjecture. “The seas around the Auckland Islands are among the most treacherous in the world. The exact location of the cave into which the General Grant is believed to have drifted is not known and, even if it was, it is almost a certainty that the tremendous seas and treacherous currents of the last 100 years would long since have removed all trace of the wreck and its cargo. “It was against this background that the Lands and Survey Department and the Marine Department decided to dampen the enthusiasm of the would-be adventurers from England. However, if anyone is determined to risk a fortune, and his life, to go in search of something which probably does not exist, he will not find the department placing any obstacles in his wav.” said Mr Gerard. “The Lands Department’s only function will be to decide whether to grant the expedition rights to set up a base camp on the Auckland Islands, which are reserved for the preservation of flora and fauna.

“The Marine Department would determine the conditions of salvage in terms of the Shipping and Seamen’s Act. 1952,'* said Mr Gerard.