Westland Institute. : 447 
the vicinity of the Tauperikaka in 1841, and that he neither heard nor saw 
anything of such a wreck. The party to which he belonged was made up 
of old whalers and Jacob River Maoris. Several of those men had been 
on the coast for many years, and were all ignorant of such a wreck. He 
thinks that had any member of their party been aware of the existence of 
such an object of interest, he must have heard of it, and, as cireumstances 
brought the party to this particular part of the coast during the season of 
1841, he thinks that it would not have escaped his observation ; but it may 
not be uninteresting to quote here in full his narrative, as it was taken 
down by me and forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent of Westland 
(then in Wellington). He says his name is Thomas Shannon, and that he 
is fifty years of age, and that he sailed from London in the barque ‘“ Specu- 
lation,’’ Captain Robinson, on a sealing voyage to Desolation or Kerguelan 
Land; but, owing to the loss of their tender at Saldanha Bay (West Coast 
of Africa), the voyage was abandoned and they proceeded to Sydney, and 
thence to the Bay of Islands, where refitting, they proceeded to Auckland 
Islands and then south above the Antarctic Circle, where, meeting with 
severe weather, they had to return north to Bluff Habour to refit, having 
been in company far south with Commander D’Urville, and also with the 
American Survey expedition, under the command, as far as he can recollect, 
of Captain Keller. Leaving the ‘‘ Speculation’ at the Bluff, he joined a 
whaling party at Jacob River, under Captain Howell, and the following 
season, 1841-42, proceeded to the West Coast of this Island on a sealing 
expedition in open boats. That season, he says, their operations extended 
as far as the Blue River, three miles north of Arnott Point, sealing, and 
at the same time looking for a tribe of Maoris to chastise them for killing 
and eating a boat’s crew the previous season, whilst on a sealing voyage 
from Jacob River. At that time there were several Maori villages on the 
coast from Jackson Head to the Bruce Bay of the present day; but, as 
the inhabitants were then cannibals, the Jacob River Maoris would hold 
no intercourse with them. On the approach of the sealers they took to the 
bush, and the only satisfaction they had was burning the villages. Nothing 
was known of any wreck on this part of the coast, nor was there any sign 
at the Blue River or at Arnott Point of any wreek, but on their return 
south, after passing Milford Sound, they came across several pieces of 
cedar logs showing evidences of fire, or that a vessel had been burnt at sea 
with a cargo of cedar wood on board. The timber was strewn on parts of 
the coast from a little south of Milford Sound, up south as far as Windsor 
Point, south-east corner of Preservation Inlet. No portion of any wrecked 
vessel was seen or heard of except one in Facile Harbour (Dusky Sound), 
the date of the loss of which vessel seems uncertain, and in fact, is unknown, 
‘ 
