“BOUNTY” RUDDER

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 January 1934, Page 3

“BOUNTY” RUDDER

RECOVERY REPORTED [PER press association.] WELLINGTON, January 4. The first news of the discovery by the Pitcairn Islanders of the rudder of the mutiny ship “Bounty” was told to a reporter when the Home liner “Mgtaroa” arrived in Wellington tonight. Two of the passengers had with them pieces of old, sea-roughened copper, which had been given, to them, from the “Bounty’s” rudder, by the Islanders when the Mataroa called there on Boxing Day. When the Mataroa anchored off Pitcairn Island to exchange mails, the passengers stated, the Islanders who came out to the ship in their doubleended rowing boats, told them that four days earlier the “Bounty’s” rudler had been found by them while fishing. They had seen it lying, uncovered, on the sea bed, and, with some difficulty, had salvaged it The rudder was left on the Island, but with them they brought two pieces of it. One of these, a copper bolt, they gave to Mr. J. Findley, the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company’s New Zealand representative, and the other, a small, sawn-off section of a copper bar, they gave to the ship’s chief steward, Mr. ■S. J. Gibling. One of the Mataroa’s round trip passengers was Commodore C. A. Bartlett. He stated that he spoke about the discovery to Mr. Christian, who is the Magistrate and chief person on the Island. Mr. Christian had assured him that there was little doubt of the rudder belonging to the Bounty, which was scuttled by the mutineers in the yar 1789, since when the presence of the remains of the ship had been a mystery. Mr. Christian had also said that the Islanders were still searching the sea bed in the hope of regaining some more of the wreckage. Commodore Bartlett said he had advised him to take the first opportunity of sending the rudder to the United Services Museum in London. He remarked to-night that he would try to get some more information about the discovery on the Mataroa’s visit to the Island on her homeward voyage.