Castaway on the Auckland Isles

by Thomas Musgrave

CAPTAIN MUSGRAVE.

From a Photograph by James Brown, Invercargill.

CASTAWAY

ON THE

AUCKLAND ISLES:

A NARRATIVE OF THE WRECK OF THE 'GRAFTON' AND
OF THE ESCAPE OF THE CREW AFTER TWENTY MONTHS' SUFFERING

FROM THE PRIVATE JOURNALS OF

CAPTAIN THOMAS MUSGRAVE.

TOGETHER WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE AUCKLANDS.

EDITED BY

JOHN J. SHILLINGLAW, F.R.G.S.

AUTHOR OF 'ARCTIC DISCOVERY' ETC.

'How shall I admire your heroicke courage, ye marine worthies,
beyond all names of worthinesse!'⁠Hakluyt.

LONDON:
LOCKWOOD AND CO., 7 STATIONERS'-HALL COURT.
1866.

[The Right of Translation is reserved.]

INTRODUCTION.

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Few more interesting narratives of disasters at sea have ever been given to the world than the journals in which Captain Musgrave records the wreck of the 'Grafton.' A great trial, bravely met, and gallantly surmounted, is therein told with a care and exactness which is at the same time singularly modest. Remembering the difficulties with which the devoted little party were surrounded, what reader can fail to exclaim, in the words which I have quoted on the title-page, 'How shall I admire your heroicke courage, ye Marine Worthies beyond all names of worthinesse!' Indeed, the story of the wreck of the 'Grafton,' and of the sufferings of her crew, would have found a very appropriate resting place in the pages of that famous history of 'Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoueries,' side by side with many another pitiful tale of shipwreck, collected by the worthy 'Richard Hakluyt, Preacher,' to be the delight in all ages of the school-boy as well as the scholar. The same feeling we experience in reading of poor Wills, the hero of the expedition across Australia, 'waiting, like Mr. Micawber, for something to turn up,' animates us as we read how the Castaways on the Aucklands used to strain their eyes looking for that relief which never came. We hear the clink of Raynal's anvil far into the night whilst he is engaged forming out of old iron the bolts and nails necessary to repair the crazy 'dingy' for a perilous voyage of 240 miles across a stormy ocean.^[1] Our admiration is compelled no less by the tinkering, tailoring, and cobbling ingenuity of the gallant French mate, than by the 'moral suasion' of the master, who employs himself in the evening in teaching his men how to read and write, and in compiling 'sailing directions' for a little-known part of the globe, to be 'sealed up in a bottle' for the benefit of future navigators of these seas. In his direst strait this modern 'Complete Seaman' finds comfort in some lines of Thomas Moore, and finally makes his last cast for 'Death or Freedom' with a truly Nelsonic touch.

Regarded as simply a marvellous tale of the sea—as a practical lesson of self-reliance—the story is sufficiently interesting; but it is no less an important contribution to Hydrographical Science. The limits of this small volume will not allow of the publication of a mass of barometrical and other observations collected by Captain Musgrave. These will be forwarded to the proper quarter, and will doubtless receive the credit which they deserve.

It only remains to add a brief résumé of the steps which have been taken by the Government of Victoria, in conjunction with New South Wales and Queensland, to examine and set at rest the question whether there are at present any other unfortunates dragging out a miserable existence on the Auckland Islands. It will be seen from the journal of Captain Musgrave that when he returned to the islands to rescue the two seamen he had left behind, he and others on board the 'Flying Scud,' on the 23rd August, 1865, thought they saw smoke on the eastern coast at a point shown on the map, which, however, they were not able to explore.

Subsequently they found the body of a seaman at Port Ross, who had evidently died from starvation. A slate which was found near him, seemed to have been written on, but the utmost ingenuity had failed to decipher the characters with any accuracy. On arriving in Melbourne, Captain Musgrave waited on the Hon. J. G. Francis, Commissioner of Trade and Customs, and explained his reasons for thinking that there might be still other persons on the island. As several vessels which had sailed from Melbourne were known to be 'missing,' Mr. Francis, with a promptitude which does him great honour, immediately called for tenders for a vessel to proceed to the Aucklands, and finding that delay might ensue in sending a sailing vessel, at once ordered the equipment of H.M.C.S.S. 'Victoria,' Captain Norman. The 'Victoria' sailed on the 4th October, having Captain Musgrave on board as a passenger, who thus, for the second time, put aside all personal considerations to carry out what he deemed to be his duty,—a self-denial which, considering he has not seen his family since November, 1863, is worthy of our heartiest sympathy.

The English Mail arrived after the 'Victoria' had left for Melbourne, and by it we received the intelligence that the ship 'Invercauld' had been lost on the Aucklands, on the 10th May, 1864, and that three of the survivors had been taken off by a Peruvian vessel on the 22nd May, 1865. In the Appendix will be found all that has yet reached us of the particulars of the wreck of the 'Invercauld.'

J. J. S.

⁠Melbourne, 25th October, 1865.

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NOTE BY THE PUBLISHERS.

Some additional particulars respecting the despatch of the 'Victoria,' taken from the Melbourne Argus, will probably interest the reader:—

"The Victorian Government determined to despatch the colonial steam-sloop 'Victoria' to the islands, to discover and rescue the survivors, if there be any. The Governments of New South Wales and Queensland have undertaken to defray a portion of the cost of the expedition. The 'Victoria,' under the command of Captain Norman, left Hobson's Bay on her mission of mercy on the 4th inst. The instructions of the Government to Captain Norman were to proceed with all possible despatch to the isles, and search for and relieve any person or persons who may be there in distress; and, on the completion of his mission, to return direct to Melbourne, or, in the event of fuel running short, or the weather being adverse, to make for the most convenient port in New Zealand for a supply of coal, which, it is to be presumed, will be afforded free of charge. Captain Musgrave, of the 'Grafton,' whose local knowledge will be of great value, accompanied the expedition. Should circumstances allow, Captain Norman will call at Campbell's Island, and also at Bounty Island, which are situate—the one to the south and the other to the north-east of the Auckland group. The crew of the 'Victoria' numbers fifty, and the ship is provisioned for three months. She also carries a supply of stores, bedding, clothing, &c., for any unfortunates who may be picked up. In order that people who may be shipwrecked on the Auckland Isles in the future may have within reach a supply of animal food, a number of pigs, rabbits, and goats have been placed on board by the Acclimatisation Society, to be turned loose on the islands."

Additional Note.

The Times' New Zealand correspondent, in a letter dated Nov. 15, 1865, writes as follows:—

"The Victorian war steamer 'Victoria' put into Otago on the 8th inst. for coals and provisions, having been searching the Auckland Islands for shipwrecked mariners. . . . . The whole group has, however, been thoroughly searched without success, no trace of human beings, dead or alive, being found. Provisions have been left in various parts of the islands for the use of future castaways."—Times, Jan. 13, 1866.

1. The following extracts from Lloyd's List, which have come under the publishers’ notice, will not perhaps be thought out of place here:—

   "The 'Grafton,' Musgrave, sailed from Sydney for South Sea Islands Nov. 12, 1863."—Lloyd’s List, Jan. 9, 1864.

   "Wellington, New Zealand, Aug. 12, 1865.⁠

   "The 'Grafton,' Musgrave, from Sydney to the South Sea Islands, was wrecked Jan. 3, 1864, in one of the inlets of the Auckland Islands; the master and two of the crew arrived at Port Adventure last month in a small boat of their own building."—Lloyd's List, Oct. 17, 1865.

CONTENTS.

 

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CHAPTER I.
	PAGE
ARRIVAL AT AUCKLAND ISLAND.—THE SHIPWRECK.—RESOURCES OF THE ISLAND	1
CHAPTER II.
REFLECTIONS SUGGESTED BY OUR SITUATION.—BREAKING UP OF THE WRECK.—A BATTLE WITH THE SEALS.—UNSUCCESSFUL FISHING	14
CHAPTER III.
VISIT TO FIGURE-OF-EIGHT ISLAND.—DOGS DISCOVERED.—ROYAL TOM.—BIBLE READINGS	24
CHAPTER IV.
WINTER IN AUCKLAND ISLAND.—THE MOUNTAINS.—AN EQUINOCTIAL GALE.—A WEARY JOURNEY	33
CHAPTER V.
THE AURORA AUSTRALIS.—OUR DAILY FARE.—HEAVY SNOWFALL.—FAILURE TO REPAIR THE SCHOONER	49
CHAPTER VI.
SCARCITY OF FOOD.—TENACITY OF LIFE IN SEALS.—FURTHER EXPLORATIONS IN THE ISLAND.—RESOLVE TO BUILD A VESSEL	57
CHAPTER VII.
SHIP-BUILDING COMMENCED.—FAILURE OF THE SAME.—THE BOAT PLACED UNDER REPAIR.—SAND-FLIES.—DISCOVERY OP A CAVERN.—WINTER AGAIN	77
CHAPTER VIII.
LAUNCH OF THE BOAT	90
CHAPTER IX.
WE LEAVE THE ISLAND AND LAND AT PORT ADVENTURE.—ARRIVAL AT INVERCARGILL.—DESPATCH OF THE 'FLYING SCUD' TO AUCKLAND ISLAND	96
CHAPTER X.
THE VOYAGE TO AUCKLAND ISLAND IN THE 'FLYING SCUD'	100
CHAPTER XI.
ARRIVAL AT AUCKLAND ISLAND.—JOYOUS MEETING WITH OUR FELLOW-CASTAWAYS.—DOG versus SEAL	116
CHAPTER XII.
DEPARTURE HOMEWARD.—EXPLORATIONS AT THE NORTH OF THE ISLAND.—PORT ROSS.—LAURIE COVE.—A BARREN SETTLEMENT.—DISCOVERY OF A DEAD BODY	122
CHAPTER XIII.
LAST VIEW OF THE ISLAND.—AN UNCOMFORTABLE VOYAGE.—ARRIVAL AT STEWART ISLAND.—CONCLUSION OF JOURNAL	133
APPENDICES.
I. AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEA-LION AND ITS HABITS	141
II. A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE AUCKLAND ISLANDS	151
III. THE LOSS OF THE 'INVERCAULD'	171