OTAGO INSTITUTE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1856, 17 June 1887, Page 18

OTAGO INSTITUTE.

NOTES ON A DERELICT SHIP. An Interesting Historical Relic on the West Zoast of Otago-What Dr Hocken has to tell about the Derelict— Madagascar or Endeavour?— Visits of early Mariners to New Zealand— The Beginning of the Seal Industry— The Visit of the Endeavour and the Fancy — Why the Endeavour was Abandoned and how her crew and Pas sengers left— Those left behind. Dr Hocken contributed the following " Notes on the old Derelict Ship in Facile Harbour, Dusky Bay," at .the last meeting of the Obago Institute :—: — Ifc takes a great deal of time to make antiquities hence iv this comparatively newly - discovered country we have bufc few, and those only in procesß of formation. The last remnants of an old wrecked yeßsel are still to be seen, at favourable times, lying in Facile Harbour, Dusky Bay. Numerous and various have been the conjectures as to the how, whence, and where of this ocean waif, which, if my conclusions are correct, has been resting in its grave for near upon a hundred years. In the endeavour to unravel the riddle which the old vessel asks every' now and then, I venture to lay before the Institute this evening a few notes, the result of inquiries from many trustworthy people and of further research. The last discussion with which I am acquainted appeared in some of the December numbers of the Southland Times for 1882, under the striking heading, " The Madagascar Mystery." From this ft appears that the Madagascar was a ship bound from Sydney to England 36 years ago, in the good old days of early New South Wales and Victorian digging, and that she carried a valuable freight of gold. Nothing was ever heard of her. Notwithstanding this, it is Btated . that the discontented crew mutinied, overpowered the captain and officers, ran the' vessel into Dusky Bay, and stole and buried the boxes of gold, marking the' cache by driving a pickaxe deep into an adjoining tree. The crew," reduced to three by privation and exposure, managed to reach Lake Waka tipu, where they were hospitably treated by the Maoris and enabled to leave ths district, though in what direction is not said. The simple narrator goes on to say that the lucky man who finds that pickaxe will have no further cause to work for a living. I tell this wild story not merely because it is exciting and romantic, but as showing on how trifling a fouudatibn a conspicuous story is too often built, and how flimsy though positive may be the information vouchsafed to curious inquirers after something buried in mystery. Ten years ago, when on a trip to the West Coast, I first oaw this myste/ious vessel as our steamer passed her. Her stern was rather high out of the water, and unon it was plainly legible "Saville, London." But little more could be seen, as we so quickly glided past. Since that time I have allowed no opportunity to escape of gaining any reliable information of her. My first application was in 1879, to Mr William Docherty, who for so many years has avoided the haunts of men, and has preferred to bury himself in the wild fastnesses of the inhospitable West . Coast region whilst searching for mineral wealth. In response, Mr Docherty in the most obliging manner made a special trip to the old vessel, and sent me certain articles which he found in her, and most of which are now exhibited. In the interesting letter accompanying these relics he says : " What is left of her now is but the shreds of a wreck ; yet putting one thing and another together, one can fasten in his mind that she was once a large, well-put-together vessel. She must have been in a perilous and sinking condition when she came here, because ho who had command ran her ashore on the first beach insido the harbour. I travelled through the bush to several of the headlands, thinking that I might see some traces of humanity, but everything In nature was in situ there." The specimens sent coosist of lead and copper sheathing from off what remains of the stern, a rusted iron bolt, and, what is of more importance, pieces of bamboo cine and of stone ballast. This ballast is freestone, and under it, says Mr Docherty, are lots of cane, which he reasonably concludes to be dunnage — that is loose material thrown into a ship's bottom to prevent injury by water to the cargo. Captain Fairchild, of the Hinemoa. has most kindly given me a full ac-

'Ccrttnt of his visit to the wreck in 1878. He says :— "She is in a little nook, or pocket, so small that it was impossible for her to sail in. She must have been hauled in with ropes made fast to the trees. She is 180fb long, and about 32ft beam. Her outside piank is oin thick — all Bast India teak. She is i sheathed with pure copper, and all the bolts used in building her are pure copper also. She is built about one-third of English oak and two-thirds teak. Her stern is in 20ft of water, and her bow in sft only. She was known by the whalers to be there 65 years ago , and was an old ship then. In the early days the whalers used to chop her away for firewood, and they have chopped her down to the water's edge, and she only shows a little above the water at low water, spring tides. She is quite clear of the ocean swell, in a perfect snug harbour, and must havebeen ttvken there on purpose to be condemned. She has freestone and chalk for ballast, and has some little bits of bamboo amongat the ballast. She is a good model, and I think was a fast sailer, and she must have been between 700 and 800 tons register. I got one of her rudder beams off of her; It was composition, 'and was 2001b. It had the words • Saville, London,' on it. There are also some pieces of cast iron amongst the ballast. Her upper deck and beams are all gone, and nearly all her 'tween-deck beams have been chopped away by the whalers. The wood is quite sound, and has not been eaten by worms as might be expected. There is a good deal of fresh water where she lays, which keeps away the sea worms." Captain Fairchild iB very desirous of gaining the authority of the Government to raise her. He considers this could be done in a few days, and if aided by a diver, thinks that some interesting and perchance valuable discovery might be made. Certainly these are not times in which to incur any but the most unavoidable expenses. Still there would be no harm iv bringing the matter before the House, and if the cost were trifling, of giving effect to Captain Fairchild's laudable suggestion, When in London five years ago, I made pertinent inquiries, but with no result. The present firm of Shaw-Savill, is no continuation oroffshot of the Saville of our inquiry. Mr Wed Palmer, who died last year, and a sketch of whose eventful life will, I hope, soon appear in the Otago Witness, began sealing on the West and South coast of New Zealand 62 years ago. He knew the vessel well, and had cut wood from it. He did not know her name, nor where she came from, but said that Lascars formed part of her crew, and that he well knew a Lascar, who had been one of her castaways, and who was also engaged in sealing and whaling in one of the earliest gangs. Captain Stevens, near Hiverton— one of the last remaining, if not the last, of our ancient mariners— confirms this-. He came to New Zealand 45 years ago, and knew this Lascar, who died 30 years since, at Stewart Island, a very old man. He jtold Captain Stevens that the vessel sailed from New South Wales for London, and that she sprung a leak, whereupon a mutiny ensued. This scanty but important information was all I could gather from this source. Sir James Hector saw the wreck during his interesting explorations of the West Coast in 1863. He thinks he remembers the date "1790" following the "Saville. London." I have no such recollection ; and moreover, it is unusual to put dates on vessels. I omitted to mention that in the Wellington Museum there have been lying for many years one or two curious iron cases or boxes found by Captain Fairchild at the time of his visit. No one has hitherto been able to assign a use for these articles. They are parAllelopipeds, open at one end (which is very much broken, as shownin this sketch), and measured 3ft 3in in height by 13in in breadth. Their secret remains as unsolved as that of many a monolith. My own impression is that they were used to convey bullion. Such is a statement of all the facts connected with our subject 80 far as I have been able to gather them. What conclusion can be drawn from them? It seems highly probable that the conjecture offered by a correspondent in tbe Australian Ship Ding News of 1878 is correct — viz., that the wreck is that of theship Kndeavour.Captainßampton, bound from Sydney to India in 1795. In those early days of the convict settlement large suppliesof cattle, food, and stores were brought to it from India, and about this time an occasional return vessel would load at New Zealand— principally the Thames— with spars and masts for the use of the 8.1.0. service This was the germ of an extensive trade of this sort. The results of a good deal of research have proved so interesting, and has brought so many forgotten facts to light connected with the very early history of New Zealand, that I shall not hesitate to interweave some of them into this portion of my notes, especially as they confirm the identity of this phantom ship. Captain Cook, on the occasion of his second voyage to New Zealand in 1773, stayed for six weeks in Dusky Bay. His interesting description of this visit is accompanied by a, remarkably accurate chart. In few places in New Zealand did he find such plentiful refreshments as here, and he recommends any vessel going southward and needing a haven to make for it, as with the prevailing winds it is easily entered and easily left. It is therefore certain that in those early days any storm-stressed mariner steering south would seek ,this only known haven. The whale fishery in these seas had its first origin in October 1791, when five of the transport vessels after discharging their convict freight, and actingupon instructions received before leaving England, commenced to whale along the coast of New South Wales. Owing to various causes, which need not be recited here, their success was not very great, although fish were seen in great numbers, It was not long before the whalers went further afield. The first to visit Dusky Bay was the Britannia, Captain Raven, belonging to the great shipping firm ef the Messrs Enderby. After her. departure from Sydney, she touched at Dusky Bay in October 1792, where she left the second mate (John Leith) and several of the crew for the purpose of procuring seals,- the principal object of the voyage from England. She then proceeded on her way Ho the Cape of Good Hope, there to procure cattle and stores for the settlement. It is pretty certain that this was the commencement of the future great sealing industry of New Zealand, undertaken in the first instance by the English, and not ns is generally supposed by the Americans. John Leith, recognising the possibility of himself and party remaining indefinitely and uncalled for in Dusky Bay, wisely employed a portion of his time in building a little schooner wherewith to effect an escape in cane of need. The necessity for this did not, however, arise. The Britannia again arrived at Sydney from the Cape of Good Hope in June 1793, and was again chartered to proceed to India for provisions. It was determined by the Lieutenantgovernor that the schooner Fancy should accompany her as far hs Dusky Bay, and bring back full information regarding the seal fishery, spar cutting, or anything else that might tend to the benefit ofthe settlement. The vessels sailed in October, and the Fancy returned in November, reporting that the sealing party had procured 4500 skins. They had enjoyed excellent health, though the weather had been very bad— so bad indeed as often to interfere with their fishing operations ; heavy rains and gales, and qnce a shock of earthquake. The natives were very quiet and harmless, and indeed seemed rather ton void the party. Provisions were plentifulducks, woodhens, and fish. Tne little schooner of 65 tons was nearly completed, and was of course left. The accounts were not on the whole sufficiently encouraging to induce further attempts to develop industries in Dusky Bay. We now come to occurrences specially connected with these notes. In May 1795 the Endeavour, an 800-ton ship, Captain Barapton, arrived at Port Jackson from Bombay with _a large number of cattle and stores This Captain Matthew Wright Bampton had made pre vious voyages to the settlements— with cattle and provisions, and a third time he sailed for India to perform a, similar contract with the Government intending to touch at New Zealand by the way. It would seem to have been the practice in those days for two or more vessels to sail together for some dis* tant port. On this occasion the Fancy accompanied the Endeavour. This was in September, and it was on this voyage the disaster occurred. News of it were brought from the branch convict settlement at Norfolk Island in March 1796, seven months afterwards. It appeared that on reaching Dusky Bay the vessel was so leaky that she was there ran ashore and scuttled. Besides the crew there were more than 100 people on board. Fifty of these were exconvicts, whose term of sontence had expired, and the other 50 were what we term nowadays ,'stowaways. The little schooner which had been built and left by the sealing party three years before proved now a godsend. They finished it, and appropriately christened it the Providence. Crowded with as many people as possible, the Providence and Fancy sailed for Norfolk Island, arriving there in safety. Those left behind were to follow in a little vessel to be constructed out of the Endeavours longboat. This waif of the sea, then, which was named the Assistance, arrived later on at Port Jackson in a 6ad plight. The last mouthful of provisions had been consumed a day or two before her arrival. Indeed the scarcity of provisions had

necessitated leaving several people behind at Dusky Bay, where it was presumed they would not starve on seals, fish, and native birds. For six months these unfortunates, 35 in number, remained in their desolate solitude, when they were released by the captain of the American vessel Mercury, who landed them at Norfolk Island There were no facilities for sending earlier assistance, and tbe captain of the Mercury stipulated with the Governor, who sought his services, that as a return he should be allowed to take from the wreck any stores he might be In want of. Such is tbe conclusion of this interesting Btory, and I think there can now be no doubt that the enigma is satisfactorily solved, and that this derelict ship of Facile Harbour is none other than the Endeavour which was bound from Port Jackson to India— and that hero has she lain for the last 93 years. These interesting particulars have been gathered chiefly from the valuable journal of Mr Collins, first Judge-advo-cate and Secretary of the colony, published in London in 1798. It is not unlikely that the publication of this account may bring forth further information relative to the very earliest visits of civilised man to New Zealand, dating from Captain Cook. And with this view I have been careful to give exact dates. At the time referred to there were no newspapers in Sydney, but it is very likely that those published in India contain many references to New Zealand.