Did Tangaroa take

The Gazehound as she was sketched marooned on the beach at Oamaru 1865
Image Credit: Hocken Collections

 While it's been raining most of the week down here in Oamaru I took some time out to look into the wrecks mentioned in the heritage assessment done on the harbour area by Heritage New Zealand. There was a mention of wrecks but not what they were or when. Being highly interested in maritime history I did a bit of investigation and came up with a list dating between 1860 to 1875. There were quite a few vessels wrecked on the beach. The Otago coast isn't a kind place for vessels and I wonder how my Kai Tahu ancestors managed to brave the waters when fishing for kai moana. While the Kaipara Harbour has a far longer history of wrecks dating back to 1839, this town's history is intriguing in itself. Very, very British in its sense of establishment and the colonial attitudes of the day were interesting in themselves. Rivalry with Timaru further north over who should have better port facilities makes for some eye-raising reading too.

Fishing boats in the Oamaru Harbour at Friendly Bay

Here's what I found so far:

  • 1860 Oamaru Lass (stranded/refloated)
  • 1861 Robert & Betsy (total loss); Star of Tasmania (stranded/refloated)
  • 1862 Brisk (stranded/refloated)
  • 1865 Gazehound (total loss)
  • 1866 Banshee (stranded/refloated); Cora (stranded/refloated)
  • 1867 Vistual (total loss); Highlander (total loss); Caroline (total loss); Stately (total loss); Vixen (stranded/refloated); Midlothian (stranded/refloated)
  • 1868 Star of Tasmania (total loss); Water Nymph (total loss); Fly (total loss); Otago (total loss); Hope (stranded/refloated)
  • 1871 Premier (total loss)
  • 1872 Our Hope (total loss); Onehunga (total loss)
  • 1873 Margaret Campbell (total loss); Emile (total loss); Scotsman (total loss); Mary Ogilvie (stranded/refloated); Oreti (stranded/refloated); Jane (stranded/refloated); Fanny (stranded/refloated)
  • 1874 Ocean Wave (total loss); Richard & Mary (stranded/refloated); Emulous (total loss); Brothers (total loss)
  • 1875 Elderslie (total loss)
Construction of the breakwater had been instigated in 1871 and the work would continue for many years as bit by bit of the moles were added using cranes and other machinery to make it all come together. The waters beyond the artificially created harbour of Oamaru are indeed treacherous. Huge swells come in straight off the Pacific Ocean and even now people are advised to be careful when on the beaches beyond the protection of Friendly Bay. There's so much to explore and look into. Oamaru began as a planned out township in 1858 and within a decade its grand designs were being felt. Otago was the domain of large landowners who became very wealthy from the wool trade. That's in stark comparison to those up in Northland that became wealthy from the milling of vast tracts of kauri forests as I've been discovering. Different stories but the end result was the same: a few men became wealthy from the resources gained from holding vast tracts of land once owned by Maori. Something to think about.


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