SCHOONER JEWESS

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 36, 11 August 1934, Page 21

SCHOONER JEWESS

AN EARLY WRECK

A fragment of. interesting' history, dealing with a ship whicli"was involved with, one of'the first wrecks on the New Zealand coast, liasJ come to hand. It is in connection with.the schooner Jewess, Of some' 57 tons' gross, which was wrecked' off Kapiti Island following a very severe gale on April 21, 1841.'The ship first arrived- in 'Wellington on May 17," 1840, -having on board a Mr.'C. Cohen as passenger.' It transpires that she was anchored off Somes Island some time after, about to sail for Sydney, when a southerly gale sprang up and drove her ashore on Petone Beach, or, more correctly,' Pito-ono beach as it was then known.

TJio owners of. the Jewess regarded her as a wreck and subsequently sold her to G. Hunter, Major Heapy, and J. Moore, who intended to break the ship up and convert her into a store. Moore, however, suggested that something better could!be done than breaking up the hull, being of the opinion that she could bo floated off under the right conditions. His partners agreed to the experiment, so, with the assistance of Maoris, the job was tackled. Wood was placed under tho Jewess, and after a great deal of effort she was floated off on one spring tide. She was then put into commission with Moore as captain to trade with the Maoris chiefly in the North Island. She made several trips in this service, bartering for pigs, flax, etc. When she was wrecked in April, 1841, she was on her. way to Wanganui from Wellington and had a number of settlors aud a full cargo aboard. Tho gale drove her away from an anchorage at Kapiti and totally wrecked her on a beach in the vicinity after having been, cast on her beam ends in tho attempt to make an offing. Two lives were lost —a, white and a Native being drowned.

Moore and Heapy. are stated, to haye been tho first men to take soundings iv

Wellington Harbour. They also went up the Hutt Eivcr for some miles in a whaloboat. Captain Moore piloted WakeficM's ships into Nelson. He later went to London and exhibited examples of New Zealand flax, etc., being presented with a modal by Prince Albert. After his visit to Great Britain Mobro went to Australia, and after some years returned to New Zealand.