SS ''Tararua'' was a passenger steamer that struck the reef off Waipapa Point in

the Catlins The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southl ...

on 29 April 1881, and sank the next day, in the worst civilian shipping disaster in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

's history.
New Zealand Disasters – SS Tararua Shipwreck
', Christchurch City Libraries. Accessed 20 January 2008. Of the 151 passengers and crew on board, only 20 survived the shipwreck.

Ship

The ''Tararua'' was a

screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to fa ...

-driven steamer with two engines, measuring long, wide and deep. Built in Dundee by

Gourlay Brothers Gourlay Brothers was a marine engineering and shipbuilding company based in Dundee, Scotland. It existed between 1846 and 1908. Company history The company had its origins in the Dundee Foundry, founded in 1791. By 1820 the foundry was manufac ...

in 1864, her original capacity was 523 tons (net) but alterations later increased her net

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically ...

to 563 tons.Tararua (1881)
, excerpt from Ingram, C.W.N. (1990) ''New Zealand Shipwrecks: 195 years of disasters at sea'', Beckett Books: Auckland, on the Dive New Zealand website. Accessed 22 January 2008.

History

Grounding

On 20 December 1865. ''Tararua'' ran aground at

Cape Farewell, New Zealand Cape Farewell is a headland in New Zealand, the most northerly point on the South Island. It is located just west of Farewell Spit (Onetahua). First mapped by Abel Tasman, it was named by British explorer Captain James Cook in 1770 —it was th ...

whilst on a voyage from Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Nelson, New Zealand (Let him, who has earned it, bear the palm) , image_map = Nelson CC.PNG , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = ...

. She was refloated the next day and completed her voyage.

Wreck

Sailing from

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The orig ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

at 5 pm on 29th April 1881, the ''Tararua'' was en route to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

via

Bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New ...

and Hobart. Steering by land on a dark night, with clear skies overhead but a haze over the land, the captain turned the ship west at 4 am believing they had cleared the southernmost point. After breakers were heard at 4:25 am, they steered away to the W by S-half-S for 20 minutes before heading west again. At around 5 am, the ship struck the Otara Reef, which runs 13 km (8 mi) out from Waipapa Point. Waves caused the S.S Tararua to list to port a little bit. George Lawnace got in a boat then jumped into the waves to swim ashore to warn a man who was named Charles Gilbee who rode his horse to Wyndham to send a message. At 11am a wave caused the bridge to fall. At 1 pm, it was not marked urgent. At 2pm the Tararua started to break as the stern slowy smashed into the rock's, and it took until 5 pm for the ''Hawea'' to leave port with supplies. Meanwhile, the wind and waves had risen. Around noon, six passengers who were strong swimmers were taken close to shore; three managed to get through the surf, with the help of the earlier volunteer, but the others drowned. On a return trip, one man attempted to get ashore on the reef, but had to give up; another three drowned trying to swim to the beach. Eight of its nine crew survived, and the locals who had gathered on the shore could not repair it. The remaining boat could no longer reach the ship, due to the waves, and stood out to sea in hope of flagging down a passing ship to help. The ''Tararua'' took over 20 hours to sink, with the stern going under around 10 pm a voice yelled out “a boat for God’s sake a boat”. The last cries of the victims were heard at 2:30 am when a loud crash was heard before a loud cry then stillness. About 74 bodies were recovered, of which 55 were buried in a nearby plot that came to be known as the "Tararua Acre". Three gravestones and a memorial plinth remain there today.

Inquiry

A Court of Inquiry found that the disaster was primarily caused by the ship's captain failing to establish his correct position at 4am, before changing course to head west. An

able-bodied seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

was also blamed for not keeping a proper lookout, from which breakers would have been heard in time to avoid the reef. The court recommended that steamers should carry enough lifebelts for all their passengers (there were only twelve on the ''Tararua'') and that a lighthouse should be built at Waipapa Point. The lighthouse began operating in 1884.

Previous incident

The ''Tararua'' had a narrow escape on a previous voyage in 1865, suffering no damage after grounding on a beach at

Cape Farewell Cape Farewell ( kl, Nunap Isua; da, Kap Farvel) is a headland on the southern shore of Egger Island, Nunap Isua Archipelago, Greenland. As the southernmost point of the country, it is one of the important landmarks of Greenland. Geography Loc ...

.A Narrow Escape from Shipwreck
''Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle'', Volume XXV, Issue 5, 11 January 1866, Page 3. Accessed 21 January 2008.

References

Sources

External links

A. Asbjorn Jon, 'Shipwrecks, Tourism and The Catlins Coast', Australian Folklore 2008Photos of the "Tararua Acre"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tararua 1864 ships Ships built in Dundee 1881 in New Zealand Maritime incidents in December 1865 Maritime incidents in April 1881 History of Southland, New Zealand Ships of the Union Steam Ship Company Steamships Shipwrecks of New Zealand The Catlins Foveaux Strait Southland District