STORY OF THE STORMBIRD.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17264, 4 September 1916, Page 7

STORY OF THE STORMBIRD.

FIFTY YEARS ON THE NEW ZEA-

LAND COaST.

MAOIII WAR REMINISCENCES

The Stormbird (her name was originally registered as "Storm Bird") was generally believed to be the oldest fullpowered sea-going steamship in <icti\'6 commission in the wdrld, though her ' claim .was disputed by .one or two ancient river and harbour steamers. Sho was built on the Clyde in 1554, and her careei; had been one of continuous active service ever since that date. She was built by Messrs £awrio and Co.. and,,'during hor sixty odd years, had undergone many changes. Besides the fitting of new plates, she had two complete sets of new engines installed and three sets of cylinders since she was built. •

Tho Stormbird voyaged from Glasgow to Melbourne under sail, and took 116 days on the journey.'' She Was riggsd as a tOpiaii • schooner. She was originally intended to act as a tender to two steamers which Were to have been engaged in tile Melbourne-Panama trade, but the proposed scheme foil through. Subsequently the vessel was engaged trading between Melbourne and Westport, and later she was purchased by Mr John .tones, of Dunediu. .During succeeding years the Stormhhd passed through severalTianckVaud eventually she was purchased by \Mr C. Scager, of Wellington, and subsequently acquired by , the Wellington and .Wanganui Steam Packet Company. The Stormbird was an iron screw steamer of 217 tons gross and 129 tons net register, 130 ft long, 19.6 ft beam and S.bft deep. The- following account of the Stormbird's remarkable career was written for 'the "LytteltOn Times" several years ago :-*— '

Here she is, lying at the Wellington wharf to-day. off to Wanganui to-mor-row, and back again, plyjpg as sturdily up and down Cook btt'ait just as she has done for the past naif-century and more. " Stormbird, s.s., 217 tons, Powell, from Wanganui,''' is a regular weekly item in the "Arrivals" of the daily paper shipping columns. A fitting name for the old hooker, too;. her bows have lifted to the surge of a thousand fctbnhs,.. and. will, no doubt, lift to a good, niany more, for she is still in good go.ng order, and making good money for her History there hangs to that sea-battered clcl coaster, and something of romanco and adventure too. Pity she basnt a tongue like Jason** magic talking plank in the Argo of old, Wherewith to tell us of. the wild doings she lias seen and the strange souls sho has* carried. The old steamer has been.much altered and repaired in Tier time, a new plato here and a new funnel there, and a lengthening of her hull by seventeen feet or so. But she is still the Stormbird. She is an iron vessel, and was built dm the Clyde, in the year 1854 r—the time of the Crimean war. She came nut to Australia in that' year, when the Victorian gold diggings wero tho talk of tho world. . In those days her name was in two words, Storm Bird. From Melbourne she was brought across to New Zealand, and on the New Zealand Coast she has traded ever since. She is but a small and commonplace looking cargo-carrier now, hut back in the f" sixties" she was a passenger ship of importance. The Government frequently chartered her as a troopship in the days of the Maori war, and many a soldierly party crowded her cabin and hold. Maori warriors, too, sho carried many a time, for hundreds of Natives fought on the Queen's side-; aud Maori prisoners of war, some for penal servitude, some for exile in tho far-off Chatham Islands. One coastal trip of hers I with a Government force is worth telling of, as typical of the Stotmbird's experiences in the lively days of long ago. ■ It was the Stormbird which, in November, 1865, 'took a Government contingent under Colonel M'Donnell, after fighting the HaUliaus in the' Bay of Plenty district, from Opoliki to Wanganui, in order that they might join the force under General Chute, in tho coming campaign on tho West Coast. A peculiar incident illustrative of ' p Maori fanaticism and superstition occurred while tho contingent were boarding the steamer. The force was partly pakeha and partly Maori; the Native* were friendlies, of the Wanganui tribe. Colonel M'Donnell (issued Orders to the men to prepare for embarkation, but told them not to attempt to

cross the Opotiki bar in canoes. This prohibition did not suit the Wanganui warriors, for they had taken a lot of loot from tho captured Hauhau villages,.and. it was not likely that there would bo room for it all in the shipV boats. • So they disobeyed M'Donnell. They obtained two canoes, and in these a number of the knpapas, with a large quantity"of loot, attempted to cross tho bar. As M'Donnell had foreseen, the dug-outs capsized, and the Maoris lost everything except themselves. They were all picked up but one. That man was Pitau, a Maori prophet. " Pitau," says Colonel Gudgeon, who tells the story, "had unfortunately prophesied his own'death. This was the voice of the atua., tho Maori oracle, that spoke, through his lips when tho campaign first began: ' You will be successful in all things, 0 Wanganui! Only ope man will die, and that will bo Pitau.' This deliverance of tho atua was doscidedly rough on Pitau. At the Kiorekino light, near Opotiki, a short time previously, ho had sought death, but not a bullet or a tomahawk .touched him. His reputation was at stake. He must restore it ero Wanganui left the waters of ©potiki. The canoe capsize was a chance not to ho lost. Better death than disgrace and loss of mana as a. prophet. So out of pure bedevilment and cantankorousness Pitau the tohunga threw up his arms and went to tho bottom. Farewell, Pitau I You wore true to your faith—such as it was."

Tho Stormbird steamed off for Wellington and Wanganui with tho contingent. All went well until Wellington was reached. While lying in this harbour someono persuaded tho mate to show the dark warriors the use of the ship's gun, a small cannon. He loaded the gun and put a red-hot iron to the touch-hole, but as it did not go off at once ho went to-tbe muzzle with some of the Maoris to find out the reason. Of course, the charge must go off and explode as soon as they got there, with tho result that the foolhardy mate and a couple of inquisitive Maoris were severely,wounded, and had to be taken ashore.

Tins wa„s a terrible aitua, {evil omen: misfortune) in Maori eyes; it boded ill for the . coining campaign. Nothing could put things right out a couple of days' spell 'and spree) in Wellington. But Colonel M'Donnell came on board with orders k> start at once for Wanganui. The csiptain prepared to put to sea. Orders were given to weigh anchor, and tho officers went to their ;toa in the little cabin.

"Suddenly)" s>ays Colonel Gudgeon, "there was an awful hubbub. All ran, on*, deck and found that some'of the contingent had taken possesliou of the capstan, declaring that the steamer should not go. Tho ringleaders were dancing tho wardance and brandishing their guns in a manner truly terrific to those who did not konw them. A few moments changed the face of affairs. Lieutenant Wirihaua seized the chief man and lifted him, despite his struggles, over tho bulwarks with the intention of throwing him overboard, and ho was only prevented by tho' united strength of a dozen of the'man's relations. 1< nially tho ringleaders were tied hand and foot and peace restored, but on arrival at Wnnganui tile whole thing broke out again, and it was then found that ' General' Meto Kingi was the instigator of this row, as he had been o£ all others throughout tho campaign.'.' Later on, in 18GS. the Hauhau Maoris imprisoned on tho Chatham Islands, planned to seize the Stormbird on ono of her visits to tho Chatham Islands with stores for the military station there; Tho steamer was expected from Wellington, and Te Kooti and his two hundred followers had concocted a plot to take "possession of her when sho dropped anchor, and escape to New Zealand. But in place ol the Stormbird, tho three-masted schooner Rifleman arrived at Wharekauri, as the Maoris call the Chatham sj laden with Government stores, and as all students of New Zealand history know she was seized, and Te Kooti aiid all his people returned to this island in her, forcing the mate to navigate the vessel and land theft).-at Whareongaonga, a short distance south ,d' Gisborne. Soon thereafter occurred th« Poverty Bay massacre.

In those days the appearance of the Stormbird. was somewhat different to that she wore in her later days, at any rate, in § respect of rig. Sail-power as an auxiliary to steam was of more importance then than iMs now and she was rigged as a topsail schooner, carrying a couple of headsails, fore-topsail and fore-trysail and a large mainsail. She had a. schooner bow, too, and bowsprit, instead of the straight stem she was given later. In September IS9I the Stormbird ran on the breakwater at Wangnmvi. There were, sixty passengers on board, hut no lives wore lost, aud sho was subsequently towed off by the steamer Moa. In her day the Stormbird was one of tho crack passenger ships of the New Zealand coasts.

INTERESTING INCIDENT RECALLED.

THE WRECK OF THE WHITE SWAN.

The wreck of the Stormbird recalls a chapter in the early history of the colony. When the seat of government was removed from Auckland to Wei-' lington the" public: records and papers of tho colony were taken aboard the steamer White Swan, which left Auckland on Thursday, June 27, 18(52, for Wellington, via Napier. She also carried a large number of the members of the General Assembly to the session. At daybreak on Sunday, June 29, having left Napier the previous afternoon, she struck i a sunken rock, and as she began to sink she was run ashore, and tho engines kept going to prevent her slipping off. A landing was discovered free from surf about a quarter of a mile distant, and about ion o'clock all passengers and cargo that could be taken aWay wore safe on shore. There they Wero looked after by a runholdar (Mr Moore) and family, and assistance was sent for from Wellington. Tho following morning the White Sivan had almost disappeared. On the Wednesday morning the Stormbird arrived from Wellington, whence she had been despatched at an hour's notice on the arrival of the mossengers from the wreck, who by great exertion had managed to reach Wellington on Tuesday afternoon. All the passQiigers and all the luggage and stores that had beim saved were taken safely on board, and the little steamer that/had so promptly undertaken the duty completed it successfully by landing her freight in Wellington nt !tf a.m. on Thursday morning, all wellThe loss sustained, besides that of tho ship, comprised eleven boxes containing a portion of the public records and papers of tho colony, a twelfth being saved, much valuable luggage unci general cargo. Reference to tho loss was subsequently made in tho speech of his Excellency tho Governor (Sir George Grey) at the opening of tho General Assembly.