hartlepool history logo
close button

Lastingham - a general history

The following has been compiled from information held on a number of New Zealand Diving websites:
On September 1st, 1884, the two-masted sailing vessel Lastingham was nearing the end of her voyage from London to Wellington when she was caught in a gale. Unable to weather Cape Jackson point at the entrance to Queen Charlotte Sound, she was gradually driven onto the lee shore. She struck bow on and then immediately broached-to, with the deckhouse, boats and deck furniture quickly being swept away.

The ship’s crew and passengers now found themselves in two groups; the group at the bow managed to climb over the bowsprit onto the shore, but around an hour after the vessel struck the ship broke up and slipped off the rocks into deeper water, taking with her the ship’s Captain, his wife, 5 passengers and 11 crew.

It is said that when the ship struck and its condition was seen to be hopeless, the elderly Captain retired to his cabin and was last seen sitting at his table with his arms round his wife, with water up to their armpits waiting for death.

The survivors who reached the mainland, including the First and Second officers, were rescued after 40 miserable, cold and hungry hours by the crew of the ketch Agnes, who had seen the survivors waving a blanket. Many were bruised and cut and in a poor state of health.

The position of the wreck was located in 1966 after a painstaking search off Cape Jackson on the West side, about 20 meters off shore. She is lying in 10-20 metres of water on a shell and sandy bottom with some kelp covered reefs nearby. Underwater visibility is usually good, at around 7-8 metres.

The remains of the vessel are well broken, though her masts are still lying on the seabed nearby and her iron of the hull is now thickly covered with various seaweeds, soft corals, anemones, and sea urchins. This is also a profusion of fish life on and around the wreckage. Various interesting items have been recovered from the site by divers, including a small bell, sextant and a number of bottles, both full and empty. Also visible on the wreck site are steel rail tracks, “fossilized” barrels of cement, grinding wheels and sharpening stones. There is also a rumour that around 400 sovereigns still wait to be discovered.

The following is an account from one of the survivors:

‘The Lastingham was nearly at the end of a lengthy voyage, & all hands were looking forward to the pleasant prospect of being at their journey's end before another 24 hours had elapsed. Then weather of a fearful description was encountered, & the ship was driven into a bay on a lee shore. That was the land which should have been so welcome, that was seen in such a position & at such a time that it could only inspire forebodings of fear. As the gale increased the Lastingham could not weather the point, & was gradually driven on to the lee shore. The scene on board was a painful one. The shock came quite soon enough & those on board, numbering more than 30, gathered together to await their fate. One party assembled on the forepart of the vessel, &, finding the ship's head had run on to the rocks, they clambered on to the bowsprit & reached the land in safety. The others, who were aft, were unaware of the good fortune that had befallen their comrades, & remained on the poop until all chance of escape was gone, & perished with the ill-fated ship. Those who had reached the shore called frequently to their comrades on board, but the howling storm drowned their voices, & the ship, drifting off the rock on which she had previously been resting, broke up in deep water, 18 persons perishing with her. The privations endured by those on land were very painful. They were 40 hours without food, & exposed for two nights, with very few garments. Apart from these discomforts, many of them had cut feet & bruised bodies, & their condition when rescued was deplorable in the extreme. The only food which came ashore was four lbs of pickled pork & two packages of oatmeal and cornflour. The weather was fine on 3 September & the men laid their clothes out to dry while the survivors obtained much needed rest. Each night they huddled together under the rocks to keep themselves warm. On the morning of 4 September they saw a small vessel passing, & a piece of blanket which had been washed ashore was fixed to a pole. The signal was observed, & the survivors were soon on board the ketch Agnes, on a voyage from Pelorus Sound to Kaiapoi. Captain Jensen, master of the ketch, attended to the wants of the shipwrecked people and conveyed them to Wellington. At the time of their rescue the survivors had almost given up hope of being rescued, as on September 2nd & 3rd no less than five steamers were seen passing close to the land, &, although signals were made, they passed unnoticed.’

The cargo of the ship was valued at £16,500. All the railway iron was salvaged from the ship & some was used in the construction of Hutt Park along the foreshore of Petone Beach, New Zealand.

Lives lost September 1884: Crumden, W, seaman; Groves, Henry, 3rd mate, Braintree, Essex; Lambert, G, seaman; Lee, J Lawless, seaman; Mather, J, seaman; McQuire, Peter, cook, Edinburgh; Morrison, Alexander C, master, 50, Aberdeen; Morrison, Mrs, (nee Ganson) master’s wife, Aberdeen; Murray, John, sailmaker, Peterhead; Pearce, J, apprentice; Sharp, W, apprentice (boy); Watson, J, seaman; Davies, Lloyd, passenger; Lee, Russell, Guernsey, passenger; Meakin, Alfred J, passenger; McGinn, Harry, passenger; Naish, Francis H, passenger.

Survivors September 1884: Alvares, C, St Michaels Islands; Barton, John, 2nd mate; Chalmers, Francis W, able seaman, West Indies; Corbiere, HB, able seaman; Donaldson, John, ordinary seaman; Fryer, J, apprentice (boy); Grovers, Thomas, able seaman; Grovers, WH, 3rd mate; Munro, RM, able seaman; Neal, John, 1st mate; Riddle, J, steward; Robertson, Robert T, carpenter, Aberdeen; Thomas, J, apprentice; Ward, John, Henry, USA (African).

Related items :