Thank
you to Anton Whittle from Taiwan for his
informative findings as below
Hydrabad
[1878]
HYDRABAD, ship : When bound from Lyttelton to Adelaide, the ship
was driven ashore on June 24, 1878, a mile and a half north of
the Horowhenua River, between Foxton and Otaki.
After
leaving Lyttelton the vessel had light variable winds for a couple
of days, and on the evening of Sunday, June 23, she was off the
Brothers, standing a NNW. course, off and on. About midnight the
wind freshened considerably, and by morning it had risen to a
gale. A very heavy squall then came on, and, one after the other
the sails were blown away, one of them, a perfectly new sail,
exploding with a loud report. It was then blowing a furious hurricane,
and it was quite impossible to carry anything.
The
master had been doing all in his power to reach the island of
Kapiti, but in vain, and all the canvas having been blown away-for
even the sails which had been stowed were blown out of the gaskets-the
doomed ship slowly but surely drifted on to a lee shore. She drifted
about 35 miles in 10 hours. The lead was kept going and when the
ship got into about 18 fathoms of water, both anchors were let
go in the hope that they would bring the vessel's head to wind,
and hold her until such time as the gale moderated. One hundred
fathoms of very heavy cable were run out with each anchor, but
they did not stop the ship's way for an instant, and both cables
snapped as if they were so much packthread.
A
tremendous sea was running, and as the vessel was getting closer
to the breakers, the captain gave orders to head her straight
for the shore, his idea being, that by doing so those on board
would have a greater chance for safety. Although under bare poles,
the vessel had a good deal of way on, and when she first struck
the sand, she rose clear of it, and after driving in another length
or so she struck again, but all the time answering her helm. The
third time, however, the wheel kicked, and the steersman was tossed
up in the air, striking a boom and being very badly bruised.
At
the same instant, a heavy wave broke over the stern and nearly
washed the crippled seaman overboard. He was only saved by his
leg being caught between two iron stanchions. The same sea washed
the captain against the mainmast and inflicted some nasty bruises;
however, these were the only accidents. The ship's complement
totalled 33 persons, including 19 foremast hands.
There
were two women on board, the master's wife, Mrs. Holmwood, and
the wife of the ship's carpenter, who acted as stewardess, and
both behaved splendidly. Mrs. Holmwood, who had made her home
on board the Hydrabad for seven years, was heard to remark "poor
old ship", and refused to leave the wreck until the injured
seaman was taken ashore.
Later,
the ship drifted closer inshore, lunging herself deep in the sand
and standing on an even keel as if in dock. On July 4 it was reported
from Otaki that the wreck had driven further ashore and almost
dry at low water and in not more than 10 feet at high water.
On
at least two occasions, November 28 1878, and January 28, 1879,
efforts to refloat the Hydrabad were almost successful, and each
time a change in the weather rendered that attempt abortive.
Finally,
the ship was abandoned, but so well was she constructed, that
even today she still holds together in much the same condition
as shown in the accompanying photograph.
The
Hydrabad, No. 30,642, was a full-rigged ship of 1,350 tons register,
built at Port Glasgow in 1865, and commanded by Captain Holmwood.
She was owned by Messrs. Stephens and Son, London, and was insured
for ?000, and her cargo for ?500. Her dimensions were: length
229.5 ft., beam 37.2 ft., depth 23.2 ft. (See plate 20.)
Thank
you Anton for fabulous effort!! I look forward to meeting you
when you in NZ next.
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