HISTORIC INLET

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7019, 6 January 1910, Page 5

HISTORIC INLET

DESCRIPTION AND SOAIETHING OF THE PAST. Dusky Sound is interwoven with tho romance, of the early exploration of the South Seas. The entrance to it was sighted.by Cook in the course of his historic voyage of 1769-70; it formed the same navigator’s headquarters for nearly two months when, three years later, he on board tho Resolution and Furneaux on the Adventure, returned to New Zealand on, the expedition which was to clear up so muon of the mystery which enveloped tho south; it was tho port of call and recruiting place of Vancouver in 1791; it was the headquarters (in 1702) of tho first sealing party (that under Raven) to try its fortunes iu New Zealand waters; it was practically tho colony’s first foreign trading port and it was tho scene of a wreck (that of the Endeavour) about which more mystery and romance wove itself than* about any similar occurrence in New Zealand’s history. The inlet took its name “Dusky 77 from the fact that Cook beat up toward the . entrance on tho occasion of his first voyage (March, 1769), just referred to, with the intention of entering. He misjudged the distance, however, and gathering darkness induced him to abandon the project in view of the .danger of navigating - unknown en■closed waters by dark. It was Cook’s : firm conviction that for tho requirements of foreign-going shipping an anchorage must bo established in -southern New* Zealand, and it needed ■only a. cursory glance on his second visit to convince him that Dusky Sound afforded just such shelter as twas required. In his “Alurihiku’ 7 Alc,Nab maintains that in his dia,gnosis Took 'accurately gauged the position; it was only tho coming of the steam • vessel which dispensed with the necessity of such a port. . On his second visit, accordingly, the navigator undcr--1 took a careful survey of the sound, •tho chart he prepared affording invaluable aid to masters of vessels for ’a century later. Of this second visit we read in “Alurihiku 77 that land was sighted on Thursday, March 25th, i/73, and in a thick haze Cook sailed |up to the mouth of a bay; which lie Itook to be Dusky, but which turned out to bo Chalky Inlet. Finding his mistake, he stood off for the night, •and entered Dusky Bay at noon. Making his way in by the southern entrance and. steering his vessel care-: fully amongst the numerous islets that met him there, after 117 days at sea, Icovering 36G0 leagues of ocean without 'seeing land, he let go his anchor un,der Anchor Island ih- 50 fathoms of water, and moored Ills vessel by a .hawser to the shore. Not liking the anchorage—and captains familiar with ‘Dusky .say it is a very bad one—Oook and his first lieutenant, Pickersgill, •wont .out in different directions to {look for a better. Both were successful, but Cook preferred his officer’s •discovery on the south-east of the bay, and the next morning the Resolution was worked over to Pickersgill Harbour. Entering by the beautiful, narrow channel between Crayfish Island and the mainland. Cook moored ■the Resolution “ in a -small creek, so near the shore as to reach it with a ■prow, or stage, which Nature had in la manner prepared for us in a large [tree whose end, or top, reached our gunwale/ 7 As the boats sent out {brought in great quantities of fish,

and numbers of . wild fowl were to be seen, and as no one had ever landed before oh any of the southern part of New Zealand, this was fixed upon as tho camping place of the party.

Assuming that a landing was effected by the Waikare’s company on the mainland at tho nearest xioint to the scone of the mishap, the passengers and crow would have camped within thro© to- four miles of the entrance to Pickersgill Harbour referred to above. Cook landed on -March 26th. and sailed again on Alay 11th, having spent nearly two months within the hospitable confines'of Dusky. The great work done during that period was, of course, the accurate survey and charting of the sound. “For although, 77 he

wrote, “the country bo far remote from the present trading part of -the world, we can by no means tell what future ages may make of the discoveries made in the present/ 7 The author’s visit to tho spot, writes AlcNab, was in January, 1905, during the trip of the Hinemoa round the sounds. We anchored close to the Point. To our right lay the narrow opening through which the great navigator had towed his vessel into the little sanctuary. In front of its Cook had cleared the bush to fix his various stations, and at the water’s edge could be scon the identical projecting ground from which the branches of trees reached the vessel •and locked in the yards. To our left was a little stream of fresh water which proved of such value. Her© w© were face to fao© with the moat his-

toric ground on all the southern portion of New Zealand. VAN COUVER’S VISIT. After Cook’s departure the sound remained unvisited by Europeans until 1791,- eight years later, when Vancouver, on route for the Sandwich Lsland. called there to provision, a visit, remarks AlcNab, which shows tho importance to tho navigators of that day of this well-surveyed harbour, and is another tribute to Cook’s farsightedness. A storm compelled Vancouver to forsake his anchorage at the entrance to Facile Harbour and make for Anchor Island Harbour to leeward. To enable her to ride out the storm the

MAP OF WEST COAST SOUNDS DISTRICT. THE GROSS (X) SHOWS THE SPOT WHERE THE IVAIKARE STRUCK A ROCK.

vessel, the Discovery, had to be completely dismantled. . Vancouver’s description of the appearance of the land surrounding the bay is a striking one. The bay, lie wrote* is interspersed ; with numerous islands and various inlets, affording an easy access into the country for about thirty miles, and it , is almost everywhere bound in by a rocky, indented shore forming in some places overhanging precipices of considerable height and for the most part , rising by a steep ascent to form exceeding high mountains whoso craggy cliffs , and dreary precipices are in a great measure hidden from the eye of the , beholder by a luxuriant covering of • verdant woods even from high wator- , mark to at least three-fourths of their , elevation.

INDIAN ISLAND. It xvas on Indian Island that what McNab describes as “tli© fix'st ‘at home* in Southern Now Zealand’ - ' took place* The explorers wero hailed from the island and Cook landed and had a chat with the natives, who proved to consist of a man, his two wives, a young woman and lad, and three children. The visit was tlirioo repeated. The island is described by Henry as a poor 1 anchorage, but a good boat harbour. The locality is thus referred to by Mcnzies (botanist to the Vancouver expedition) in his journal—“ From tills place we rowed to if we could meet with any of the; natives where they were first seen by Captain Cook. From here we were led by the wild and romantic appear-; once of a beautiful fall /of water ofj some hundred feet perpendicular into Cascade Cove, where we met Captain l Vancouver and Sir Whidberg in. thei pinnace, accompanied by a large partyj, of the midshipmen . in the outter.l They had left the ship early in thel morning, breakfasted in Pickersgili! Harbour and dined s ; here before our 1 arrival/* WEECK OP THE ENDEAYOUE TWENTY MONTHS AWAITING RESCUE. Lying beached , in Facile Harbour, about ten miles to the northward of the spot where a similar fate has now overtaken the Waikare, may still be seen the remains of the Endeavour, which, having discharged at Sydney, a cargo of cattle and grain, from Calcutta, anchored, in company with the Fancy, and in ohargo of Captain Bampiton, in Resolution Island’s snug harbour in October, 1795. Arrived in harbour a survey of the vessel (which had been making a great deal of water) revealed: that she was quit© un-. seaworthy and beyond hope of repair. All that was movable was accordingly taken from her, and having been unmoored she drifted, on to, the rock which holds her to this day. Shortly after the Endeavour left Sydney forty-six stowaways were discovered on board. As the Fancy was a small brig of only 150 tons the problem of victualling and providing* transport for the company—244 all told—became a serious one. Fortunately Raven’s sealing gang," fearful of the vessel (the Britannia) which hod. landed them, and which had continued her voyage to the (Jape of Good Hope, meeting with mishap and being unable to return for them, had, with the aid of material included in their equipment, . constructed a) small craft of native wood. This vessel, which events proved was not required by the sealers, was found by the Endeavour party still on the improvised stocks in Luncheon Oove (Anchor Island—within two miles of the Waikare’s position). She-was repaired as well os circumstances permitted, - and as a schooner, under the name _ of the Providence, put into commission, under Captain Dell, to carry ninety persons, but not before, disaffection had broken; out among the crews and quarrels between passengers, and stowaways. Captain Hampton’s declaration that none who refused to do his share of the work would return to Sydney in any vessel of his awed the crews into obedience. ’ Hampton took command of the Fancy, and ■ made- provision. for sixty-four of the shipwrecked mariners, writes Mr McNab. To complete the entire transfer it was necessary to arrange for ninety, and that

number was ultimately provided for by taking the long-boat of the Endeavour, and from her frame, with the fittings of the abandoned vessel, building a craft to sail to Sydney under tho command of Mr Waino. As this vessel could not be ready for three weeks the Fancy and Providence, bound for Norfolk Island, sailed without her, leaving her captain (between whom and Bampton. according to McNab, strained relations existed) to get to Sydney as best h© could. The Fancy and Providence arrived at Norfolk Island, Lieutenant-Governor King was apprised of tho plight of the castaways those who did not reach the island ho wrote to the Duko of Portland- “ They are real objects of pity, being so debilitated from extreme hunger that it will be some time before any labour can be got from them.” Tt was not until an American scow, tho Mercury, from Manila, called in at Port Jackson early in 1797 that an 'opportunity presented itself to Governor Hunter of sending a vessel to; Dusky Sound to seek tidings of those who had been left behind, and who, ( •up till then, had never been hoard .from. In September a small decked .boat arrived in Sydney from Norfolk ■lsland, and brought word that the Mercury had landed thirty-five people belonging to the Endeavour, who had’ .’been wrecked twenty months before, i Many were tho stories associated vfith ( the old wreck until, within recent, years, her identity was clearly established. One credited her with being tho Madagascar, hound from Sydney ;to England with a valuable freight of jgold, whose crew, so it was said, (mutinied, overpowered the captain •and officers, ran tho vessel into Dusky’ •Bay, and stole and buried tho boxes? ■of gold, marking tho cache by drivmg i a pick-axe deep into an adjoining tree 1 Robert McNab, in his “ Muri- 1 hiku,” has told tho real story, the' ■outline of which is given above. Oap- • tain Fairchild, .of the Hinemoa, in a| ‘letter ‘describing a visit to the wreck, jin 1878, mentioned that she was built; ■one-third of English oak and two-; •thirds of teak. Her stern was in 20ft, *of water, and her bow in sft only. In the early days the whalers used to| chop her away for firewood, and they had chopped her down to the water’s edge. In the Wellington Muißourh there .lies a curiousiron case, the ‘nature of whoso use is a mystery, taken by Captain Fairchild from the wreck. 4