REMNANT OF A MAN-OF-WAR WRECK.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1392, 16 January 1873, Page 2

REMNANT OF A MAN-OF-WAR WRECK.

The remnant of the wreck of a man-of-war has been found on the north coast of the North Island. Having visited it, a correspondent of the SoutJiern Cross says :— I visited the wreck I spoke of in my last, a day or two ago. It is an oval, 21ft by 15ft, part of the top side, from the main deck, upwards and downwards, of a large vessel. The timbers are underneath, lying in the bed of the creek. There' are four layers of Sin planking, the two inner ones laid diagonally to the timbers, the third parallel to them, and the fourth in the usual way, at right angles. The planking is fastened with innumerable wooden screws, and with iron and composition bolts. The Jatter are of copper and brass, insulated. There are layers of felt between the planking. There is a scupper hole visible ; and 3ft above, about 12ft apart, are two holes 9in by Sin or so, which I take to be port-holes. The planking is said to be American deal, and the screws American oak. Looking at the solidity of the construction, I can only suppose she has been a vessel of war ; and a settler here, who was resident in the Kaipara when the Alcmene, French frigate, was lost there some 20 years ago, tells me that parts of her wreck, which he saw, were precisely similar in construction to the piece 1 am writing about. The Maoris say it is 14 or 15 years ago since this came ashore, but that it has until lately been buried in the sand. A change in the course of the creek has taken place recently, and the wreck has been again exposed to view.