Heydey of the Harbour

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 December 1934, Page 15

Heydey of the Harbour

f JJHE , shipping to Hokitika in the . early days was phenomenal. There are many photographs of the early times, giving tangible proof of the volume of shipping. Much of it was by sailing craft, and at least two tugboats were stationed constantly at the port for ready action, while many of the regular trading steamers, also, were prepared «to pick up a tow if circumstances permitted. Two fine fleets of sailing vessels were owned practically in Hokitika. The major fleet was conducted by James Chesney and Coy., and the vessels sailed mostly between Australia and Hokitika. The brig Zephyr was the clipper of the fleet, and on occasions did the trip between

Melbourne heads and Hokitika roadstead, in as fast a time as McMeehan, Blackwood’s steamers of Melbourne, of which the s.s. Albion was the flagship in the New Zealand trade. Chesney and Coy.’s boats, which included also the Circe, Prosperity, and others, retained a tug for their own use, the s.s. Lioness, plying at Greymouth, where her days ended. The second fleet was owned by the Westland Steam Tug and Shipping Coy., of which James Craig and Coy., timber merchants, were the chief figures. The Lizzie Guy was a notable craft of this fleet, and her tug was the Titan. The races for unattached sailing vessels arriving in the offing, between the Lioness and Titan were often the frequent joy of the watersiders, then a considerable number.

Of the many photographs of the early shipping, one notable picture is of some thirty larget craft lining the wharf, double breasted in places for the necessary accommodation. ~A fine painting of this photograph is on view at the Hokitika Public Library. Other photographs reveal many ships ashore along the beach or at the harbour entrance. The shipping losses in 1865, in ships and goods, ran into hundreds

Forty Ships at the Wharf

of thousands of pounds. One of the first wrecks was the Montezuma, driven ashore at the northern end of the town, where soon appeared the Montezuma Hotel. A leading auctioneer, Richard Reeves, afterwards a inember of Parliament, did a flourishing business selling wrecks and cargoes. His advertising bill for one month in the “West Coast. Times’’ ran to £250. On one day in 3 865, thirteen vessels sail-

ed over the bar, but the unlucky thirteenth was wrecked. In later years, one fine sunny morning, when no tug was available, some eleven boats sail-1 ed in, all without accident. The first boat to enter Hokitika was the Nelson, on December 20, 1864. The river mouth was then down near’ the South Spit, and the boat tied up to the bush nearby. Crowded with passengers and loaded with goods, the

entry was memorable. James Teer, a survivor from the wrecked General Grant at Auckland Islands, was the pilot. Some of “Jimmy’s” interesting outfit when wrecked, is to be seen in the Hokitika Museum. The cargo was landed on the beach, but a storm came on, the river rose, and before all the cargo could be secured, a quantity was washed out to sea, a serious loss to the importers. Among the passengers on the Nelson were Cassius and Comiskey, a firm which did much for the district, including Ross, where Cassius’ gold claim was one of the bonanzas of the field. Cassius left much property in Hokitika, including the; Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, which, j before it was destroyed by fire, ranked i as one of the four chief theatres in ' New Zealand.

The next steamer to enter was the Wallabi, which in after years was a regular trader as a cattle-boat between Wanganui and Greymouth, before the West Coast began to supply its own beef. Small sailing craft next appeared, obe coming all the way from Invercargill, and another brought a party of 39 prospectors from the Jackson Bay region. Thereafter, shipping grew steadily, and the rushes in the south provided more scope for the traders. Okaritp had its port outfit, including a harbourmaster, and a customs officer. The Haast rush drew thousands south, one of . the Melbourne boats, the Alhambra, carrying hundreds, touching a. rock on the trip, since known to this day as the Alhambra Rock. Seventy years ago this Christmas, Hokitika was a port in being.