Much has been written about the General Grant. With the lure of lost gold bullion waiting to be found, the intrigue has not lessened.
The General Grant set sail from Melbourne in 1866 heading for the United Kingdom. The quickest route was to round Cape Horn but in doing so they had to bypass the Southern Antarctic Islands.
The Auckland Islands were sighted straight ahead but in light winds the General Grant was powerless to change course. In the late evening it eventually collided against the unforgiving cliffs on the western shore before drifting into a large cave. During the night as the swell increased and the tide rose, the mast of the boat was repeatedly driven against the roof of the cave. Eventually the mast was driven down, right through the hull, causing the ship to sink.
Of the 83 passengers and crew, 68 died and five of the fifteen survivors subsequently perished. The remaining ten were not rescued until 18 months later.
These islands are desolate, forbidding, and remote. Totally at the mercy of the wind and huge swells, the weather can be bitter, and bleak. The furious fifties produce moist westerly low-pressure systems. These airstreams build a persistent westerly swell with waves sometimes reaching as high as 25 meters.
Recently a Martinborough resident and a team travelled to the Auckland Islands to participate in a search for the elusive sailing ship. Equipped with a marine magnetometer to detect any distortions in the earth’s magnetic field they were hoping to locate the site of the wreck. The marine magnetometer is shaped like an arrow and offers flexibility for surveys in shallow or deep water. Using a small computer you can log, display, and print out GPS and magnetic field data.
While diving they discovered that the sea floor was covered in huge boulders which made it difficult to use their tracing devices effectively. The sea floor, in the area they were exploring, was only 10 metres deep, but the 2 metre swells made it difficult to keep the magnetometre at a constant depth.
Magnificent bounties of kelp fringe the water’s edge. Above, on the cliffs, the red flowering rata forest merges into shrublands and grassland. Waterfalls cascade down the cliffs and in high winds the water is forced upward creating an impression of geysers.
Sealions wander through the impenetrable rata forest. There is a diverse community of sea birds; Mollymawks, Wandering, Gibsons, Southern Royal and Sooty Albatross as well as tern, prions petrels, and yellow eyed penguins. However, species living or nesting on the island are constantly threatened by predators.
The survivors of the General Grant had a bleak existence, all dependent on six failed attempts to light a match, with the final one igniting and providing them with fire. Throughout those 18 months they could not let the fire go out.
While this team did not locate the General Grant, they mercifully, were not dependent on their last match.
