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 * Derry Castle (barque)

On 20 March 1887, the Derry Castle, ran aground off Enderby Island, nine days into its journey en route from Geelong, Victoria to Falmouth, Cornwall. Manned by a crew of twenty-three, it carried one passenger and a cargo of wheat. At the time, the Derry Castle was registered out of Boston, Massachusetts and owned by P. Richardson & Co. It was under the command of Captain J. Goffe.

After foundering, fifteen men drowned including the Captain and officers. The remaining eight crew members and the passenger made it ashore.

While the New Zealand government maintained a number of castaway depots on their subantarctic islands equipped with emergency supplies. Unfortunately, the depot at Sandy Bay on Enderby Island had been looted of all but a bottle of salt. The castaways constructed crude shelters and subsisted on shellfish and a small quantity of wheat recovered from the wreck.

On a cliff overlooking the water, they buried the bodies of their fellow crew members that had washed ashore. The grave was marked with the ship's figurehead.

After 92 days they discovered an axe head in the sand and were able to build a boat from the wreckage. Two men navigated the boat to nearby Erebus Cove, Port Ross on Auckland Island, where they obtained supplies from the government depot there. The group lived at Port Ross until rescued by the 45 ton steamer Awarua on 19 July. The Awarua arrived in Hobson's Bay, Victoria on the September 21, 1887.

There were questions raised as to why the schooner Awarua was in the area of the Auckland Islands at all as the intention of the trip was to hunt seals on the islands of the Bass Strait. Sealing was restricted in the Southern Ocean at the time of the voyage. The possibility that the vessel was on an illegal sealing expedition to the Auckland Islands was raised in news reports at the time. The owner of the schooner Awarua, Joseph Hatch, was up for re-election as the representative for Invercargill in the New Zealand House of Representatives and the controversy contributed to him losing the election.

192 days after leaving Geelong, the Derry Castle had been officially posted as missing by Lloyd's of London.

A relief fund was raised in Melbourne for the support of the castaways and to recompense their rescuers.

The Derry Castle grave site was maintained for many years by the New Zealand government until it sank into the ground. However, during World War II, the figurehead was resurrected by those stationed on the islands. The figurehead can now be viewed (along with other items from the wreck) at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand. In its place, a tombstone now marks the site of the sailors' graves. The make-shift punt was used as a grave headstone for a while before being removed to the Southland Museum, where it is on display.


 * Tourism in New Zealand

History
New Zealand was the first country in the world to set up a national department to promote tourism. Prior to this New Zealand had already been known as the thermal wonderland with Zane Grey visiting for fishing and Mark Twain lecturing. In 1901 the Department of X was set up by the then Prime Minister X. Thomas Edward Donne was selected to run the new department. Donne had previous experience running encouraging tourism when he worked at the National railways. Donne was an enthusiastic and vibrant leader. He first brought his attention to developing the hospitality capacity of the tourim route encouraging private businesses as well as constructing and opening tourism accommodation run by the department. He developed an advertising campaign selling new Zealand as a destination for fine hunting and fishing, the delights of the native people and scenery.

http://www.tourismnewzealand.com/about-us/100percent-pure-history/