Light restoration brings memories

Press, 30 August 1977, Page 31

Light restoration brings memories

By

D. W. HODGE

A steaming light, one of three recovered from what is believed to be the wreck of H.M.N.Z.S. Manuka in the Chatham Islands by Mr J. Strachan, of Timaru, is being restored. One of the country’s foremost divers, Mr Strachan retrieved the port, staboard, and masthead lights, as well as the anchor light and compass from the vessel. The steaming lights are of copper and brass. The find is a reminder of the scheme for building minesweeping trawlers in New Zealand to meet the Navy’s requirements. A start was made on October 21. 1940, by an Auckland firm on the building of the first trawler, which was named Manuka. She was of composite construction — ot Kauri planking on steel frames. Two similar vessels, named Rimu and Hinau, were laid down at Auckland soon afterwards. The engines and boilers for these vessels were supplied from old steamers purchased by the Government from the Northern Steamship Company. The Manuka was commissioned on March 30. 1942. The three vessels, known as LL minesweepers, were fitted with electrical equipment to deal with magnetic mines. Two ships stationed a beam and each towing lengths of buoyant cable known as “tails" comprise the LL sweep. When an electric current is passed through the cables, a magnetic field is produced between the tails that will detonate a magnetic mine

within its area of influence. The ships themselves were protected by degaussing equipment. These sweepers spent many months of monotonous service on the New Zealand coast, long spells of harbour duty being varied only by training cruises from port to port. The efficiency of their constant training was not put to a practical test for no magnetic mines were ever found or suspected in New Zealand waters. A fourth composite minesweeper, the Tawhai, built at Auckland, was delivered in 1944 but not commissioned for service. The Hinau, Manuka, and Rimu formed the 194th Auxiliary Minesweeping Group. The Hinau and Rimu were retained in reserve and the Manuka was leased to the Chatham Fishing Company, a group of returned servicemen. Special conditions of the charter were that she would be used only in New Zealand waters and released to the Navy if required in the event of an emergency. Mr Strachan, who served in the Royal New Zealand Navy as a diver, played a prominent part in the recent expedition by the Seafarer to the Auckland Islands in search of the wreck of the General Grant and her bullion. Mr Strachan led a team of divers which recovered a plate from the wreck. The plate, which has the date 1862 on it, has been sent to America for evaluation. The underwater section of the Timaru Yacht and Power Boat Club, which has made numerous successful descents to wrecks

around the coast, owes its strength to the enthusiasm and skill of men such as Mr Strachan. Mr Strachan also took part in the Wahine salvage operation, and was one of a group which retrieved dumps of wool tossed overboard from the frighter Treneglos when she was stranded on the Patiti Reef. The Manuka had one boiler and one engine from the Rangitoto and a steering engine from one of the Norwegian whalechasers laid up in Patterson Inlet, Stewart Island. The Manuka was owned by the Wellington Trawler Company, and the following entry appears in the wreck register under the date of October 4, 1952:

“While ship was lying at anchor in Port Hutt, being used as a store ship for fish, vessel was observed to have sunk at her moorings. There was no person on board at the time of her founding.” The masts no longer show above water having been blown off, presumably in the early 19705. The Manuka lies just north of Alabama Cove, parallel to the shore with her bow towards the entrance to Port Hutt. She is upright on the flat seabed which is 11 metres below the surface. The port anchor and chain are still laid out in its mooring position. The planking has mostly rotted away but the frame is still intact. The engines and fittings have been removed. Port Hutt, the safest anchorage on the island, was a very isolated place at the time of the sinking of the Manuka. No-one lived there, and the ship appeared to have been laid up.