A REMARKAILE WRECK.

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19893, 23 May 1936, Page 17 (Supplement)

A REMARKAILE WRECK.

MYSTERY SHIP ON OCEAN BEACH (By E.H.S., Kawhia).

EFERENCE WAS MADE at the recent gathering of the Raglan 01d settlers‘ Association to the presence on the Ruapuke Beach of a portion of the hull of a large vessel, the origin of which remains a mystery. The information supplied to the meeting was substantially accurate, but some minor COPTECHODS and supplementary details may be of interest to your readers. As stated, the wreck was first discovered by the late Mr ’l‘. 8. Hill, at one time a chemist of Queen Street, Auckland, but later following farming pursuits at Buapuke and Raglan. Accompanied by the late Mr R. J. O'Sulhvan. inspector of schools, a thorough examination at the wreckage took place in 1875 as it then lay exposed in the bed of the Toreparu River, which flows into the ocean midway between ‘Aotea and Raglan harbours. They found a portion of the deck and sides of a large vessel, constructed. it is said. entirely of teak, boilt with three skin. on the diagonal principle, the planking being fastened together with wooden screws. or tree—nails and strength—ened with brass bolts. No metal nails had been employed in its construction, While the heavy beams and timbers were secured with large brass bolts of unusually good quality measuring th 10§in long and each weighing nearly Nib. So massive and strong were the materials andworkmanshlp, that it was at once assumed that the vessel had been intended for whaling purposes, its unusual construction being designed to resist the ice pressure of the Antarctic regions. The Ship’s Bell. Mr Hill and his companion found that the ship's bell had been removed, but that, immediately below where it had originally stood. was a bronze plate, inscribed with Tamil characters, of which language both were ignorant. With the object or obtaining expert evidence regarding the identity of the ship and the interpretation of the inscription, Mr Hill prised the plate from the deck of the vessel, and placing 'it in a box, forwarded it to Raglan for shipment to Auckland. That plate disappeared entirely and thus all evidence has been lost, which might have substantiated Mr Hill's theory that it may have been associated with the ship’s bell, said to have been found by [Bishop Colenso “in the interior of the North Island," and now de—posited in the Dominion Museum in W‘cllington. The origin of this belt remains a matter of conjecture, Colenso's statement being as quoted above, while Major Wilson describes it. as being found near Taupe. Another story credits its origin to Whangarei, where it is said the bell was found at the foot of an uprooted tree. Around its rim is engraved in Tamil lettering the words ”.\lohoyiden Buks" ((Ship's Bell) and it would have been most inter—esting had the 'bronze phite survived its transport for the purpose of comparison. Orloln of the ship. ' But the origin of the ship itself is shrouded in mystery, for the oldest Maoris of the district were unable to give Mr Hill any information as to when and how the wreck was cast ashore. Their ignorance may be attributed prob—ably, to the extremely unsettled condition of Maori affairs during the early part. of the 19th century and. to the fact that the majority of the tribes were comparative new—comers. The evacuation of this territory by To Rauparaha and the Ngati-Toas in 1819 had left the coastal lands open to Waikato settlement, and we find 'Ngati-Hauas and Ngati-te-Wehi occupying the Aotea frontages, while Ngati— Hikairo, Ngati-Maniapoto and Ngatl-Mahuta filled the open spaces around Kawhia. The continuous wars of Te Waharoa, the Ngati—Haua leader, and of the \Vaikatos under Potatau and other noted chiefs, followed by the events which led to the Waikato War in 1860 must have directed attention inland. Be that as it may, nothin" authentic is known of the wreck until 1875, when of; great flood of that year. when it is said the Maoris paddled their canoes from Waikato to Thames, and known to the Maoris as Tawhiri—Matea, exposed the ship to the view of Mr Hill and his companion. Subsequent Sightings. ' About the year 1890 the wreck again became visible. but nothing was done save the removal of a number of brass bolts and of the wooden tree—nails or tunnels which featured its planking, and before long it was again hidden under its blanket of sand. The last occasion when it appeared was in 191-3. and the writer was able to observe the cause of these periodical appearances. As already mentioned, the vessel lies‘, submerged by sand, to the north of the affluence of the river Toreparu, which receives its waters from a swamp of several hundred acres. In 1914 an exceptional deluge of rain was responsible for a high flood, which, according to an eye-witness (Mr F. E. 'I‘rolov) rose to such a level that the swamp resembled an inland lake. For a distance of two miles, a channel was torn through the whole length of the swamp and immense quantities of raupo and other vegetation were carried sea—.wards to be deposited where the river met the rollers. Thousands of tons of sand were also carried by the torrent,

and, cau ht by the ve etation. formed an impervious Clair! about a fnile long and inany chains wide to the southwald at the river mouth. The flood waters were thereby forceti to seek another outlet, and quickly swept away the sand on the northern beach, expOSIHS the “T 991; “I‘d—chaflnd' Those who wish to investigate the mystery. must either await another deluge, or follow the example 01’ HerculeS when he undertook the cleansing of the Aegean stables and divert the river by creating an artificial flood. An Alternative. . 1 From a \Vellington critic comes an interesting suggestion as to the origin of the wreck—a theory which can only be substantiated by the evidence of the variety of timber of which the ship is made, In 1855 the crack liner of the famous Black Ball Fleet left England on her maiden voyage to Australia. The “Schomberg” named after the hero of the Boyne, was the "biggest thing afloat" other time, and the commodore of the fleet. Captain Forbes, was taken off the “Lightning" to create a new record between England and Australia. His declared determination was: “Hell or Melbourne in sixty days”.— and he never reached the latter destination. Like the illfated "Titanic" and "Waratah," it was her first and only trip, and the “Schomberg” was piled up on a shoal at Cape Otway and broke up under the pounding surf. In 1866 some miners discovered portions of the wreck of a large ship well up above high-water mark on the west coast of the South island up the Tauperikaka River, near Arnott Point, and, in 1874, Mr Turnbull, harbour master. sent samples of the timber. with a description of the wreckage in all directions for identification, and it became fairly well established that a portion of the “Schomberg” had drifted across the Tasman and found a landfall on our shores. Now this vessel was three—skinned and her planking was fastened with wooden tree—nails or tunnels of altogether novel design—but was built of Baltic pine. Our \Vellington critic queries the statement that the Rue—puke wreck is constructed of teak. and suggests that it is really another portion of the “Schomberg.” Only its re—appearance from its sandy 'bed can, decide this point—and we must await a further flood or excavate. The Tasman Drift. That flotsam and Jetsam should find its way from Australia to New Zealand discloses nothing new or unusual. In 1906 a sealed bottle thrown overboard by the first officer of 5.5. “Moravian" near Cape Leeuwin (West Australia) with the customary message: “Finder please communicate" was picked up on the Ruapuke beach by Miss Muriel Saunders (now Mrs ’l‘. Comes, of Te Mata) and a calculation of its drift showed that the bottle had voyaged 3000 miles in 1!: months. Similarly. many other bottles containing messages have been found. including two sent by ”Aussies" on board iroopships during the war period discovered near the Aotea Heads, having found their way across the Tasman without mishap. Thus the theory of the Australian wreck is well within the realms of pos—sibility—always provided other details coincide. - The Tattooed Rocks. The suggestion that castaways of the wrecked vessel may have have escaped and were responsible for the re—markable carvings on the rocks just outside the Raglan harbour can scarcely be considered seriously. The “Tat—tooed Rocks" have been investigated by a number of authorities and the conclusion is practically unanimous that. they are of purely Maori origin. The special design is undoubtedly the work of a race of sun-worshippers and is distinctive of all carvings and tattoo configurations of the old Maori, as it is of the natives of Polynesia. it may be mentioned; incidentally, that the work of the .\lelanesian aborigines invariably runs in straight lines. The carvings on the “Tattooed Books" are identical with the “Ra-pe“ or scroll-work on the thighs and buttocks of an old—time “Ton" or warrior. Just as the artistic eye of some ancient Greek sculptor could discern the form of a beautiful goddess in the shapeless mass of marble before him—so some old-time Maori “Kai-\vhakaairo or Tohunga-ta" imagined 'he saw a human figure in the block of basalt on the beach and proceeded to practise his art. It must he also remembered that, at the probable date of the wreck, the whole coast was thic‘kiy populated with Maoris who have neither tale nor tradition of ship—wrecked mariners, while the first Europeans to discover it were as stated above. In conclusion. it may be mentioned that on a high headland overlooking the locality of the wreck stands a large pillar-stone just above the residence of Mr Wallace Thomson, and for many years it was associated with some see disaster. But investigations showed that there was no foundation for such a conjecture as the pillar bears the name of ”Karo-iai-riri" ("The Voice of the Angry Tide") and carries a very old legend that it emitted a warning to sea-farers regarding the approach of storm and tempest. The fact that a similar stone—pillar stands on the top of the old Manuaitu pa (about three miles distant) suggests that both were created as ~“’l‘u—aahu" (or shrines) or were tribal landmarks.