The Orpheus shipwreck was caused by human error. Sadly, the loss of life was avoidable. The captain of the Orpheus was signalled to keep offshore but refused to listen to the signal that the Edward Wing gave, leading the Orpheus to get stuck on the sandbar. Additionally, the captain of the Orpheus was given outdated charts of the Manukau Harbour, which did not show the position of the sandbar. When Orpheus entered, what the captain thought was a channel was, in fact, a sandbar. It couldn't be the course. Once grounded, the heavy surf washed over the ship and swept the crew members into the sea.
How did some of the crew survive?
Men were ordered to board the rigging mast to survive. After the Orpheus crashed, the whole crew got swept away by the sea. Luckily, 70 crew members survived. When the Orpheus struck hard onto the sandbar, an order was given by the officers to climb the rigging mast. 150 men climbed the rigging, clinging there for hours. People from the Manukau Harbour pilot boat crew on Paratutai Island saw the disaster and launched a rescue boat to help the Orpheus. A steamship named the Wongawonga tried to help and rescue the drowning crew members, but no matter how hard the Wongawonga tried, it couldn't get close to the Orpheus. Finally, after the wreck, only 70 out of 259 men survived the shipwreck. The bodies of the drowned sailors washed up on Whatipu Beach along the west coast of Auckland.
When did the shipwreck happen?
The time when the Orpheus shipwreck happened historically was on January 31st, 1863, when the ship left Sydney, Australia. On February 7th, 1863, the marvelous Orpheus approached Manukau Harbour, preparing to cross the Manukau Bar. In the evening, at about 1:30 pm, the spectacular Orpheus collided with the Manukau Bar and became stuck. By 8 pm, the waves were becoming massive and were sweeping all the crew members into the sea. The four masts of the Orpheus started to break apart and collapse. One after another, many crew members who were on the masts fell into the sea.
Where was the wreck?
Horrifically, the Orpheus sank at the West Coast harbour of Auckland, which was blocked by the Manukau Bar that was up ahead. After the crash, news headlines reported that this shipwreck was one of New Zealand's worst maritime disasters and one of the most dangerous stretches of water. When the Orpheus grounded, it was stuck in the middle of the sandbank, north of the correct channel. Also, when the Orpheus was stuck, it was only 2.5 km west of its destination, Paratutai Island, which was where the signals were given and the signal station was located. The Orpheus was only miles away from its destination.
What were the consequences of the wreck?
The consequences of the Orpheus shipwreck were tragic; 189 out of 259 drowned. Families lost sons and brothers, but the biggest loss was to the New Zealand Navy's reputation. It showed a failure in the New Zealand Navy's ships. After the shipwreck, the Admiralty Navy parties called a trial in London, in Portsmouth, where it was the NZ party who blamed the fault on Edward Wing, the son of Captain Wing, the harbourmaster. The disaster traumatised the local communities who lived near the area where the wreck happened on the West Coast. Bodies washed up on the shore demonstrated how dangerous the Manukau Bar was.
