WELLINGTON THE MARINE CEMETERY OF NEW ZEALAND.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XL, Issue 9086, 19 May 1891, Page 3

WELLINGTON THE MARINE CEMETERY OF NEW ZEALAND.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — Having noticed some paragraphs on the above subject, brought about by a Wellington paper umcisely and unjustly endeavouring to fix that terra to this port, I send you a list of vessels I can remoraber being wrecked in Port Nicholson, and where many %es were also lost. I say , unwisely because their own harbodr and coast are not free of ships' bones. I might instance the late weather there when the Wallabi and many other vessels could not find shelter even y in the harbour. I also say unjuttly because from the Mamikau with its sad recollection of the Orpheus, down to Otago,',vith its later disaster to the Tararua, there is no place in New Zealand without its record of shipping disasters. On looking up my diary, I find that the losses of vessels on the Taranaki coast have been pretty free from loss of life, but I cannot say that for Wellington; for instance, my note book gives me the St. Vincent, ship, lost near Wellington (in Palliser Bay) in 1869, when 18 persons were drowned. The ship Wellington and barque Cyrus, lost near Wellington Heads in 1874, when 7 persons were drowned. Earl of South Esk, barque, lost at Wellington in 1874 ; luckily for those on board it was fine weather, for she went down in five minutes. Then, later on, the Colonist, _ schooner, was wrecked there with loss of life, and many other vessels, of which I can only remember the names of the Willie McLaren and Rose of Eden. Wellington has a hete-noir de mer, if I can so coin a word, called Toms' Rock, near Terawiti, which the captains of the Falcon, Wakatu, and Heversham know something about, the latter barque being totally lost there, I believe. — I am, &c, Miok Mabunspike.