Turnbull. — On a Wreck found at the llaust River. 117 



He says Lis name is Thomas Shannon and that he is fifty years of age, 

 and that he sailed from London via Lisbon in the barque " Speculation/ ' 

 Captain Robinson, on a sealing voyage to Desolation or Kerguelen's Land, but 

 that, owing to the loss of their tender in Saldanha Bay (West Coast of Africa) 

 during the above year, the voyage was abandoned and they proceeded to 

 Sydney and thence to the Bay of Islands. Having refitted they proc< eded to 

 the Auckland Islands, and onward above the An tart ic circle, where they met 

 with severe weather, and had to return north to the Bluff Harbour to refit. 

 They had been in company far south with Commander D'Urville, as also the 

 American Survey Expedition, under, he thinks, Captain Keller. Leaving the 

 u Speculation M at the Bluff he joined a whaling party at Jacobs River under 

 Captain Howell, and the following season, 1811-12, proceeded to the East 

 Coast of this (the South) island on a sealing expedition in op n boats. That 

 season their operations extended as far as the Blue I liver (three miles 

 north of Arnott Point) sealing, and at the same time looking for a band 

 of natives to chastise (shoot) them for killing and eating the previous season 

 a boat's crew whilst on a sealing voyage from Jacobs River. At that time 

 there were several native pas on the coast between Jackson Bay and the 

 Bruce Bay of the present day, but being at that time cannibals, the Jacobs 

 River Maoris would not hold any intercourse with them. 



Nothing was known at that time of any wreck on that part of the coast, 

 nor was there any sign at the Blue River of any wreck, but on their return 

 south, after passing Milford Sound, they came across several portions of cedar 

 lo^s showing evidence of fire, or that a vessel had been burnt at sea with a 

 car^o of cedar timber on board. The cargo was strewed on porta of the coast 

 from a little south of Milford Sound up south as far as Windsor Point, S.E. of 

 Preservation Inlet. No portion of any wrecked vessel was seen or heard tell 

 of except one in Facile Harbour (Dusky Sound), the date of the loss of which 

 vessel seems uncertain, as no particulars of her loss were current amongst 

 the oldest hands on the coast, except that she was a teak-built ship, and that 

 portions of the skeletons of her crew were found and buried on Green Island, 

 and supposed to be Lascar sailors from the small stature of the remains found. 

 No name of the vessel, or further information relative to the loss of the vessel 



was known on the coast. 



My infoimant Shannon is of the opinion that the piece of wreck in 

 question recently brought up to this port is a portion of a Netherlands built 

 vessel, and as to her construction he assures me that during the early time 

 that he was on the coast of New Zealand, since 1839-40, he never heard of 

 or saw any vessel of the same construction as the one about which inquiries 

 have been made. I may state that in 1866-G7 there was a portion of a 

 figure-head lying in the bush about seven miles south of where the portion 





