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GOLD FROM THE SEA.
James Taylor. 1942.
Captain John Williams and
his crew on board the old salvage vessel Claymore recovered more than two
million pounds Sterling of gold from the Royal Mail Steamer Niagara off
the northern end of New Zealand. She had gone down in June 1940. The principal
diver in this remarkable recovery was Australian diver Johnno Johnstone.
This is the origional story of the salvage of the gold.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 270
pages, several mono plates. [ps]
Top: Australasian Publishing
Co. Pty Ltd. Sydney. 1942.
Hardcover, 271 pages, mono
plates.
Size: 150 x 230mm.
Below: George G.Harrap &
Co. Ltd. London and Sydney,
in conjunction with The
Australasian Publishing Co.
Indicates First published
1943, reprint 1947 (this edition).
Hardcover, 224 pages, mono
plates.
Size: 140 x 200mm.
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NIAGARA GOLD
The romantic story of sunken
treasure retrieved from record ocean depths in New Zealnd.
R.J.Dunn, in collaboration
with Diver J.Johnstone.
Published by A.H. &
A.W.Reed, Wellington, NZ, 1942.
Softcover, 51 pages, a few
mono prints. The earliest publication on the raising of the gold from the
Niagara off the north coast New Zealand in 1941. Several books have been
subsequently published on the raising of gold bars from the wreck - see
Gold From the Sea, above. A rare publication.
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THE ELINGAMITE AND ITS TREASURE
Wade Doak.
First published by Hodder
and Stoughton, London and Auckland, 1969.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 192
pages, mono prints.
The passenger steamer Elingamite
went down off the Three Kings Islands, north of New Zealand's north island,
in 1902, and took with it forty-five lives, and a wsmall treasure of jewels
in a suitcase. The jewels were recovered by the author and the respected
diver, the late Kelly Tarlton. (Much of the jewellery i on display at the
ship museum at the Bay of Islands, NZ, established by Kelly). This book
tells of the loss of the ship, its re-discovery, and recovery of the jewellery.
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THE
WAHINE DISASTER
Max Lambert and Jim Hartley
First published 1969 by
A.H. & A.W.Reed, Wellington. Several reprints.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 222
pages, mono photographs.
In the early hours of 10
April 1968, the 8,948 ton ferry Wahine struck Barret's reef on its regular
crossing of Cook Strait, between New Zealand's north and south islands.
Fifty-one lives were lost, the miracle being that it could have been much
worse considering the atrociou conditions. It was to be New Zealand's worst
maritime disaster since the loss of the Wairarapa in 1894, when 121 lives
were lost. [ps]
From the fly: Cook Strait
separating the North and South Islands of New Zealand, is an area of high
winds and strong tidal currents. In the fiercer gales the seas run high
and flying spray may reduce visibility to zero. The passage from the strait
into Wellington Harbour is narrow. In the very entrance lies Barrett Reef—a
chain of jagged rocks that reduce the main channel to a width of three
quarters of a mile. In severe storm conditions ships leaving or entering
the harbour exercise extreme caution: the Pencarrow coast has taken a heavy
toll. Despite this the regular ferry services plying between Wellington
and the southern ports had run with commendable safety and regularity for
80 years and more. Latterly a meteorological network and modern navigational
aids seemed to have minimised the risks. Even in the fiercest weather,
Wellingtonians would say no more than: "The ferry may be an hour or two
late this morning." In the early hours of 10 April 1968 the 8,948 ton steamer
express Wahine, pride of the Union Steam Ship Company's fleet, was battling
her way northwards to Wellington through weather that was bad, though not
abnormally so. But when approaching the position of maximum danger from
the reef she was struck by a storm of unprecedented ferocity. Visibility
dropped to zero; the ship's radar was disabled, and in wildly-plunging
seas she struck Barrett Reef. Badly holed, her engines out of action, she
drifted helplessly up-harbour to founder off the western shore.
Though men in ships big
and small risked their craft and their lives to go to the rescue in that
storm, 51 of the Wahine's complement of 735 passengers and crew lost their
lives. The miracle is that, in such conditions, the toll was so light.This
was New Zealand's worst maritime disaster since 1894, when 121 lives were
lost in the wreck of the Wairarapa off Great Barrier Island. In this book
the loss of the Wahine and the events that followed are narrated by two
journalists of the New Zealand Press Association who were covering the
events of 10 April and were directly concerned in reporting its sequel,
the official enquiry.From interviews with members of the Wahme's passengers
and crew, and with their rescuers, and from the official enquiry report,
Max Lambert and Jim Hartley have re-created in dramatic form, but without
pandering to sensation. |
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THE
WRECK OF THE GENERAL GRANT
Keith Eunson.
First published 1974 by
A.H. & A.W.Reed Ltd, Wellington, NZ.
Hardcover, 168 pages, mono
prints.
She went down in the Auckland
Islans south of New Zealand on 6 May 1866, and has never been found, inspite
o several determined and costly searches. Sixty-eight people perished,
many of them women and children - and a further six lost in the expeditions
to search for its fabled treasure. Hpw much gold was the ship carrying?
It is not known for certain, but at last sufficient to search for it.
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THE WRECK OF
H.M.S. ORPHEUS.
New Zealand's worst sea
disaster.
Roy M. Hetherington.
Cassell New Zealand, 1975.
ISBN 0 7269 3703 7.
From the fly:
On 7 February 1863 the British
warship HMS Orpheus was wrecked on a shoal at the entrance to Manukau Harbour.
Although the disaster occurred in fine con- ditions, rising surf later
prevented rescue boats from reaching the ship and, of the complement of
258, the final tally of deaths was 189, establishing the wreck as the.
most tragIc in New Zealand's history. The circumstances of ,he wreck were
shrouded in doubt and rumour until Roy Hetherington presented the relevant
details in one volume, enabling the reader to draw his own conclusions
as to the causes. Roy Hetherington has based his account on the personal
narratives of three people involved in the wreck; Edward Wing, shore signalman
at the time, survivor James Mason, bosun on the Orpheus, and Thomas Bellhouse,
a passenger on the rescuing steamer. Amongst other material pertaining
to the disaster Mr Hetherington has included contemporary reports on the
wreck and related events from the New Zealand Herald, and the full proceedings
of the Admiralty inquiry. The presentation is enhanced with photographs
of historical interest, including persons concerned and the area of the
wreck.
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