Invercauld (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Invercauld was an 1100 ton sailing vessel that was wrecked on the Auckland Islands
in 1864.
at 2 am 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 nineteen of the twenty-five 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 survivors spent the night onshore and then at daybreak investigated the scene of the wreck and came away with only some few pounds of ships biscuits and salted pork. They found the bodies of the drowned crew and stripped them of their clothing but were unable to bury them.
The crew had enough timber to build a rough hut and, as one of the crew had matches, a fire was able to be lit. After four days of inactivity there were no remaining provisions and three men climbed the cliffs in search of food. The climb was very difficult as the cliffs were at least 200 ft high and rocky under foot. Eventually the entire group of survivors, save one ill man and a caretaker, climbed the cliffs. The original group of three had caught a pig, which they brought back to the group. The smell of the roasting pig, called to the caretaker, who left the gravely ill man to die alone on the beach. At the top of the cliffs they found fresh water and some roots. The weather was very cold with frost and snow on the ground. They spent the night and then pushed on towards Port Ross
, a journey that took several days due to the thickness of the scrub. They managed to hunt a single pig for food and continued to travel, losing another man to cold and hunger. They arrived on the other side of the island and set up a shelter but for 21 days had nothing to eat or drink except roots and water. Seven men decided to return to the wreck and the group saw nothing more of them.
Andrew Smith and four others left the remaining five crew to search for the beach through thick bush. They were able to get to the beach and harvest shellfish and sent a man back to fetch the others only to find that another two had died. The group reunited and the eight men stayed on the beach for about a week. A group of five continued to explore and reached Port Ross, where they found the traces of the Enderby Settlement and huts. One man again went back for the others. By this time the group was getting very weak and lost a further two men leaving The Captain, the Mate Andrew Smith, the Carpenter Alex. Henderson and three seamen including Robert Holding, George Liddle and James Lancefield at Port Ross.
After three or four months the supply of shellfish was exhausted and seals were rarely seen or captured. The group, now down to three surviving members, constructed a canoe from seal skins and tree branches and waited for fine weather to cross to Rose Island. Here they found rabbits and they also built a sod cabin with a thatched roof. Henderson, Liddle and Lancefield died before this time and were buried in the sand.
On 20 May 1865, the Portuguese ship Julian entered the harbour. The ship had sprung a leak and sent a boat to shore in the hopes of obtaining repairs. The three survivors were taken aboard the Julian and safely transported to Callao. The Julian didn't search for other castaways – possibly because the ship was taking on water and needed to get to harbor for repairs.
. Both vessels had survivors on the Auckland Islands at the same time but at different ends of the main 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. Smoke from a fire was spotted but not investigated. When the Flying Scud visited Erebus Cove the crew found the body of a man lying beside the ruins of a house. The man had been dead for some time. The house was one of the Enderby Settlement buildings but the identity of the body was a mystery. A roofing slate beside the man had some illegible writing on it. One foot was bound with woollen rags and the implication was that he starved after no longer being able to fend for himself.
The differences in the two castaway group's survival rates can be put down to the Grafton group, led by Captain Thomas Musgrave
, being better resourced and organised. They retrieved larger stocks of food, a dinghy with which to travel around the coast, a gun to shoot birds and seals and also had a wreck from which to salvage useful material. The Invercauld group had none of these advantages.
Auckland Islands
The Auckland Islands are an archipelago of the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands and include Auckland Island, Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island and Green Island, with a combined area of...
in 1864.
Wreck
The Invercauld was under the command of Captain George Dalgarno and was bound from Malbourne to Callao in ballast with a total of 25 crew. She struck the Auckland IslandsAuckland Islands
The Auckland Islands are an archipelago of the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands and include Auckland Island, Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island and Green Island, with a combined area of...
at 2 am 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 nineteen of the twenty-five 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 survivors spent the night onshore and then at daybreak investigated the scene of the wreck and came away with only some few pounds of ships biscuits and salted pork. They found the bodies of the drowned crew and stripped them of their clothing but were unable to bury them.
The crew had enough timber to build a rough hut and, as one of the crew had matches, a fire was able to be lit. After four days of inactivity there were no remaining provisions and three men climbed the cliffs in search of food. The climb was very difficult as the cliffs were at least 200 ft high and rocky under foot. Eventually the entire group of survivors, save one ill man and a caretaker, climbed the cliffs. The original group of three had caught a pig, which they brought back to the group. The smell of the roasting pig, called to the caretaker, who left the gravely ill man to die alone on the beach. At the top of the cliffs they found fresh water and some roots. The weather was very cold with frost and snow on the ground. They spent the night and then pushed on towards Port Ross
Port Ross
Port Ross is a natural harbour on Auckland Island in the Auckland Islands Group, a subantarctic chain that forms part of the New Zealand Outlying Islands....
, a journey that took several days due to the thickness of the scrub. They managed to hunt a single pig for food and continued to travel, losing another man to cold and hunger. They arrived on the other side of the island and set up a shelter but for 21 days had nothing to eat or drink except roots and water. Seven men decided to return to the wreck and the group saw nothing more of them.
Andrew Smith and four others left the remaining five crew to search for the beach through thick bush. They were able to get to the beach and harvest shellfish and sent a man back to fetch the others only to find that another two had died. The group reunited and the eight men stayed on the beach for about a week. A group of five continued to explore and reached Port Ross, where they found the traces of the Enderby Settlement and huts. One man again went back for the others. By this time the group was getting very weak and lost a further two men leaving The Captain, the Mate Andrew Smith, the Carpenter Alex. Henderson and three seamen including Robert Holding, George Liddle and James Lancefield at Port Ross.
After three or four months the supply of shellfish was exhausted and seals were rarely seen or captured. The group, now down to three surviving members, constructed a canoe from seal skins and tree branches and waited for fine weather to cross to Rose Island. Here they found rabbits and they also built a sod cabin with a thatched roof. Henderson, Liddle and Lancefield died before this time and were buried in the sand.
On 20 May 1865, the Portuguese ship Julian entered the harbour. The ship had sprung a leak and sent a boat to shore in the hopes of obtaining repairs. The three survivors were taken aboard the Julian and safely transported to Callao. The Julian didn't search for other castaways – possibly because the ship was taking on water and needed to get to harbor for repairs.
Coinciding with the Wreck of the Grafton
The wreck of the Invercauld occurred four months after the wreck of the GraftonGrafton (ship)
The Grafton was a 56 ton schooner sailing out of Sydney during the 1860s. It was wrecked in the north arm of Carnley Harbour, Auckland Island on 3 January 1864.-Last yoyage:...
. Both vessels had survivors on the Auckland Islands at the same time but at different ends of the main 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. Smoke from a fire was spotted but not investigated. When the Flying Scud visited Erebus Cove the crew found the body of a man lying beside the ruins of a house. The man had been dead for some time. The house was one of the Enderby Settlement buildings but the identity of the body was a mystery. A roofing slate beside the man had some illegible writing on it. One foot was bound with woollen rags and the implication was that he starved after no longer being able to fend for himself.
The differences in the two castaway group's survival rates can be put down to the Grafton group, led by Captain Thomas Musgrave
Thomas Musgrave (castaway)
Captain Thomas Musgrave FRGS was a British and Australian ship’s captain and lighthouse keeper who was wrecked with the brigantine Grafton in the subantarctic Auckland Islands, and castaway there for over 18 months....
, being better resourced and organised. They retrieved larger stocks of food, a dinghy with which to travel around the coast, a gun to shoot birds and seals and also had a wreck from which to salvage useful material. The Invercauld group had none of these advantages.
Cannibalism
It is possible that at least one man from the Invercauld resorted to cannibalism.Crew list
The list of the crew at the time of the wreck was:- George Dalgarno (Captain) (survived)
- Andrew Smith (Chief Mate) (survived)
- Alex. Henderson of Aberdeen (carpenter)
- Richard Peenbo
- W. Bonner
- Juan Lagos
- William Goble
- W. Cowan
- Jacob T. Turner
- John Peterson
- James Lancefield of Aberdeen
- John Wilson of Aberdeen (drowned)
- William Middleton of Aberdeen (drowned)
- George Liddle of Aberdeen
- John Maloney
- Robert Holding (Seaman) (survived)
- W. Hipwell
- John W. Tait
- Thomas Page
- William Hervey
- James Southerland
- John Teasen
- Aug. Bruns
- Fritz Hawser
- A. Burns