HMS Orpheus (1861)
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HMS Orpheus was a corvette of the Royal Navy, that sank off the west coast of Auckland, New Zealand on February 7, 1863: 189 people died in the disaster, making it New Zealand's greatest maritime tragedy.
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[edit] The ship
HMS Orpheus (named after the Greek hero Orpheus) was a Jason class corvette, a screw-driven vessel built in the Chatham Dockyard in Kent, the United Kingdom, in 1861. The ship was 69 metres long, 12 metres wide, and 7.3 metres deep; it had a crew of 259. She was owned by the Royal Navy, and at the time of the wreck was delivering naval supplies and troop reinforcements for the New Zealand land wars to Auckland. Orpheus was commanded by Captain Robert Heron Burton, and she displayed a broad pennant to indicate that Commodore William Farquharson Burnett, Senior Officer of H. M. Ships and Vessels on the Australian and New Zealand Stations, was also on board.
[edit] The wreck
Orpheus left Sydney, Australia, on January 31, 1863. Her approach to Manukau Harbour on February 7 ran near Whatipu beach, through a series of dangerous sand bars. The weather was clear and sunny. Although the bars had been charted twice, in 1836 and 1856, a revised pilotage guide from 1861 was available that indicated that the middle sand bar had moved northwards and grown considerably in the intervening time. While Orpheus carried both the out-of-date chart and the updated guide, and the Sailing Master William Strong originally used the updated instructions for entering the harbour, he was overruled by the Commodore and the ship proceeded according to the 1856 chart.
As the ship approached the submerged bar, a navigational signal from nearby Paratutai Island was received instructing her to turn north to avoid a collision. Soon after, Quartermaster Frederick Butler (a convicted deserter, and one of only two men on board to have previously entered Manukau Harbour) alerted the senior officers to the improper course they were taking. Despite finally attempting to correct their course, a few minutes later, at approximately 1:30 in the afternoon, Orpheus hit the bar.
The force of the surf soon caused Orpheus to swing around, exposing its port side to the waves. Considerable damage was sustained: the hatches burst open, cabin windows were shattered, and Orpheus began to take on water. The crew attempted to abandon ship, however the power of the sea's surge made escape extremely difficult, and many sailors were swept away.
[edit] The Wonga Wonga
Meanwhile, the harbour pilot / harbourmaster of Manukau Harbour (Thomas Wing, who also created the original 1836 chart) was guiding the steamship Wonga Wonga out of the harbour. When it became apparent that the Orpheus was in trouble, the Wonga Wonga approached the beached ship and attempted to pick up survivors, many of whom had climbed into the rigging as the deck became submerged. At approximately 8:00pm, the masts began to break, killing most of the crew who remained on board. The Wonga Wonga remained in the area overnight looking for survivors, and then buried what dead could be recovered in the sand-dunes on shore.
[edit] Aftermath
Three inquiries were held after the shipwreck, but due to the unwillingness of the Royal Navy to admit an officer's culpability much of the blame was laid on Thomas Wing for not guiding the ship into harbour and for failing to properly maintain the signalling station on Paratutai Island. In all, 189 people died in the wreck of HMS Orpheus, including Commodore Burnett and Captain Burton, giving it the highest casualty rate ever for a New Zealand shipwreck.
Orpheus Island off the coast of Queensland was named after the corvette by Lieutenant G. E. Richards in 1887 in memory of the loss of life.
[edit] See also
For other ships of the same name, see HMS Orpheus.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Otago Witness (March 7, 1863). p. 7.
- The Daily Southern Cross (February 9, 1863).
- Callan, Louise. (2000). Shipwreck: Tales of Survival, Courage & Calamity at Sea. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett. ISBN 1-86958-784-7
