Invercauld 1864
Marker: recorded wreck position (Steam era).
Key facts
| Name | Invercauld | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1864 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Steam era | derived from year |
| Ship type | ship, shipwreck | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Grounding or wreck on rocks | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | New Zealand | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Sea / ocean | Tasman Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | New Zealand SubAntarctic islands | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 5 km from land |
| Position | -50.5389, 166.0685 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Invercauld was a three-masted barque built in 1863 that was wrecked on the Auckland Islands in May 1864. The ship left Melbourne, Victoria for Callao, Peru on 2 May 1864. During a severe gale south off New Zealand, the ship hit the northwestern tip of Auckland Island at 2 a.m. on 11 May 1864 and swiftly broke up. Of the 25 crew, six were lost in the wreck. The survivors were washed ashore and subsisted on plant roots and shellfish for a little over a year. By the time of their rescue only three of the crew were still alive: Captain George Dalgarno, Ship's Mate Andrew Smith, and one seaman, Robert Holding. The three surviving crew members of the ship were finally rescued by the Julian, a Portuguese ship that had sent a boat to shore to obtain repairs for a leak on the ship.
Diving & visiting
The Invercauld left Melbourne in ballast on 2 May 1864, for Callao, Peru, to take on cargo there for England. She was under the command of Captain George Dalgarno, with a total of 25 crew. During a severe gale south of New Zealand, she struck Auckland Island at 2 a.m. on 11 May 1864, broke up and was totally destroyed in a short amount of time. The crew all struggled towards a small cove nearby, and 19 of the 25 crew managed to get ashore. Crew members Middleton and Wilson and four others drowned. All of the rest were hurt in some way and had no shoes.
The wreck of the Invercauld occurred four months after the wreck of the Grafton at the south of Auckland Island. Both vessels had survivors on Auckland Island at the same time but at different ends of the island. The two groups of survivors were unaware of each others' existence until the Flying Scud visited to pick up the last two of the Grafton castaways.
Both groups had some good luck: the Grafton wrecked at the end of the island with more seals, but the Invercauld crew found the remains of a deserted settlement with partial houses, tools, metal and timber. It has been suggested that the Grafton group was better resourced and much better organised.
Location
- Recorded position: -50.5389, 166.0685 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Tasman Sea
- Nearest coast: New Zealand SubAntarctic islands
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Invercauld (ship) (revision 1356445780), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Wreck”, “Comparison with the wreck of the Grafton”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- Dundonald 11 km
- Derry Castle 1887 · 18 km
- Grafton 1864 · 28 km
Browse more: Oceania wrecks · wrecks off New Zealand SubAntarctic islands · Tasman Sea · Steam era