THE VESSEL OSPREY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 7342, 5 December 1884, Page 7

THE VESSEL OSPREY.

Oaptain Cain, who was one of the earliest settlers in the North Island, tells the Timaru Herald that he remembers the Osprey well, and has frequently been on board of her. She was one of twelve brigs of war of a new pattern which were built as an experiment to the order of the Admiralty by twelve of the leading shipbuilding firms in the United Kingdom. The Osprey was built by the well-known firm of White Brothers,’ of Opwes in the Isle of Wight, and was considered a magnificent vessel of her class at that time. She came to New Zealand in 1844 under the ’ command of Captain Patton, Sir Evurqrcl Homo being Commodore of tho station. In 1847 or 1848, when the Osprey was making Hokianga, then a favorite rendezvous of the ships of war, the sailing master mistook a, deceptive inlet on the coast, called Ealae Hokianga, for (ho harbor of his destination and rah the brig ashore, whore she became a total wreplj. This catastrophe, which W3|3 accompanied by tho loss of a midshipman and a whole boat’s crew, who were drowned by tho swamping of the boat in tho surf on tho beach, was said to I'.Wo been caused by a trivial incident. Tho pilot at Hokianga was ip the habit of displaying a red fiag as a signal to any approaching ship that the entrance was safb;’ahd Oaptain declared that lie wqs, induced to’ run ashore at False Hokianga by seeing what he took for this signal, but what turned out to be a Maori waving a red blanket. This story saved him at the Court martial, but there were • a good many people who thought it was more fit to be told to the marines than to anyboqy els'e. ‘However that may”liitvo' bfeeri, this is a strictly authentic account' of' tl|o loss of the Osprey, which Captain Oqin is quite sure took place not later than 1848, As to her having come out to Sydney or Melbourne, she may quite possibly have done so, because Sydney was the headquarters of the fleet, and there were a considerable number of troops both at Sydney and at Mel bourne. His impreqsiqh, ’nevertheless, is that she came first to New Zealand, and was constantly employed in the operations against the natives, or in visiting the scattered settlements along the coast, until she was wrecked iu the manner described.

CraiisTCHtTßCir, November 25.

A person writes to the Lyttelton Timas that there is now living in \VAnganui Edward Anchor, wags sAilraalcer on boaref of th’d 1 Qspvey at the time of the rescue of tho Bella’s boat after the loss of that vessel. The writer has been told of the circumstance by Aucher.