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{{Short description|Tongan cutter wrecked in 1962}} |
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The Tuaikaepau was a twenty ton cutter, 51 feet length, clipper bow, keeler, built by Bailey Yards of [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]] and launched in 1902.<br /> |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}} |
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The Tuaikaepau was initally called the Ilex and sailed around Stewart Island before returning to Auckland where she was raced on the Waitemata harbour, later returning to coastal sailing around New Zealand. By this time she had been under several owners.<br /> |
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{|{{Infobox ship begin |display title=ital}} <!-- age of sail --> |
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<br /> |
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|+''Tuaikaepau'' |
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In 1946 she circimnavigated New Zealand, at the yacht was owned by Mr. N.W.Thomas, who also raced Tuaikaepau in the [[Sydney]] Hobart yacht race.<br /> |
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Shortly after the Sydney Hobart race the vessel was sold to the Free Church of [[Tonga]], where she was relocated and renamed the Tu'uakitau for a period. During this time she was used by Missionaries to service outlying stations on the Tongan Islands. It was also during this time that the yacht was neglected and began to detoriate.<br /> |
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In 1957 she was sold to Tofa Ramsay and renamed again to Tuaikaepau, in english: "Slow but sure". Tofa sailed the Tuaikaepau to Auckland where he had repairs carried out to restore the ship to her former glory.<br /> |
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{{Infobox ship career |
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In March of 1962 Tofa Ramsay decided to take Tuaikaepau to Auckland, New Zealand again for repairs. He called Tevita (David) Fifita, who held a foreign going masters certificate to Captain the ship on the 1050 Nautical Mile voyage. This was the second time Tevita had Captained the Tuaikaepau to New Zealand, and with Tevita's reputation for have excellent seamanship, Tofa had no qualms about putting Tevita in charge.<br /> |
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|Ship country= |
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|Ship flag= |
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The crew were:<br /> |
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|Ship name=*''Ilex'' (1902–c.1942) |
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*''Tu{{'}}uakitau'' (c.1942–1957) |
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Tevita Fifita (Captain)<br /> |
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*''Tuaikaepau'' (1957–1962) |
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Tevita Uaisele (Carpenter)<br /> |
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|Ship owner= |
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Fine Feuiaki (Engineer)<br /> |
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|Ship ordered= |
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Ve'etutu Pahulu (Mate)<br /> |
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|Ship builder=Logan Brothers |
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Sateki Fifita (Deckhand) (Captains son)<br /> |
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|Ship original cost= |
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Talo Fifita (Deckhand) (Captains Illegitmate son)<br /> |
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|Ship laid down= |
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Sione Lousi (Deckhand)<br /> |
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|Ship launched=1903 |
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|Ship acquired= |
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Tongan boxers were keen to visit Auckland where they could find new opponents to fight and accordingly the ships passengers were:<br /> |
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|Ship commissioned= |
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|Ship decommissioned= |
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Passengers:<br /> |
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|Ship in service= |
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|Ship out of service= |
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Fatai Efiafi (Widower)<br /> |
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|Ship renamed= |
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Vaiangina Unga (Copra Planter)<br /> |
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|Ship struck= |
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Viliame Fa'onuku (Carpenter)<br /> |
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|Ship reinstated= |
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Teiapa'a Bloomfield (Taxi Driver)<br /> |
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|Ship honours= |
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Soakai Pulu (Boxer/Coach)<br /> |
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|Ship honors= |
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Fetaiaki Pulu (Boxer)<br /> |
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|Ship captured= |
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Sione Sikimeti (Boxer)<br /> |
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|Ship fate=Wrecked 1962 |
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Sipa Fine (Boxer)<br /> |
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|Ship notes= |
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Finau Laione (Boxer)<br /> |
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}} |
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Saia Peni (Boxer)<br /> |
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{{Infobox ship characteristics |
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On [[4 July]] [[1962]] they set off for New Zealand. Shortly after leaving harbour they discovered they had no torch and returned to shore until someone threw them a torch. Then they discovered they did not have the correct chart.<br /> |
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|Header caption= |
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|Ship type=[[cutter (ship)|Cutter]] |
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Tevita checked the charts they had and decided they could make it anyway, and they continued.<br /> |
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|Ship tonnage=20 tons |
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|Ship length={{convert|51|ft|abbr=on}} |
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They stopped briefly at the Island of Ata, south of [[Tongatapu]] before continuing on to New Zealand. At about 10pm on the 6th of July 1962 Tuaikaepau hit the outer edge of the Southern [[Minerva Reef]].<br /> |
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They all survived and spent the night clinging to the hull and at day break saw what would be there saviour : the hull of a japanese fishing boat which had been wrecked in 1960, two years earlier.<br /> |
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|Ship draft= |
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|Ship hold depth= |
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The survived in the hull of the Japanese fishing boat through July and August before it was decided that the only hope of rescue was to build a small boat and sail to [[Fiji]], which they promptly did with tools found in the hull of the japanese boat and from the wreck of the Tuaikaepau.<br /> |
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|Ship propulsion= |
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|Ship sail plan= |
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Four died before they were rescued : Sione Lousi, Sione Sikimeti, Fatai Efiafi, Fetaiaki Pulu. Fetaiaki Pulu died one day before a RNZAF Sunderland flying boat from Lauthala Bay, Fiji dropped supplies to them.<br /> |
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|Ship complement= |
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|Ship armament= |
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Tevita, Uaisele and Sateki were the three that sailed the "raft", which they named Maloelelei, to Fiji. As the three sailed the raft through the reef to the island of [[Kadavu]] the Maloelelei capsised and while swimming to shore within sight of land Sateki drowned.<br /> |
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|Ship notes= |
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}} |
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==Further reading== |
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*Olaf Ruhen - ''Minerva Reef: Fourtheen desperate weeks with the castaway Tongans'' (Sydney, Australia, 1963) |
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'''''Tuaikaepau''''' was a twenty-ton [[cutter (ship)|cutter]], {{convert|51|ft|m}} length, [[clipper]] bow, keeler, designed by [[Archibald Logan]] and built by [[Logan Brothers]] of [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]] and launched in 1903.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} |
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In July 1962 the ''Tuaikaepau'' was under sail between Tonga and Auckland, carrying a crew and passengers totalling 17.<ref name="Theoria">{{cite book|title=Theoria to Theory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sBcWAAAAMAAJ|year=1968|publisher=Gordon and Breach Science Publishers}}</ref><ref name="Titchener1978">{{cite book|author=Paul Titchener|title=Little Ships of New Zealand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dBfwAAAAMAAJ|year=1978|publisher=A. H. & A. W. Reed|isbn=978-0-589-01068-3}}</ref> |
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On 7 July 1962<ref name="Theoria"/> the ''Tuaikaepau'', under the command of captain David Fifita,<ref>{{cite book|title=The American Neptune|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mmnVAAAAMAAJ|year=1964|publisher=Peabody Museum of Salem}}</ref> hit the outer edge of the Southern [[Minerva Reef]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Pacific Islands Monthly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=71HjAAAAMAAJ|year=1969|publisher=Pacific Publications.}}</ref><ref name="Titchener1978"/> |
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They all survived having spent the night clinging to the hull and at day break saw what would be their saviour: the hull of a Japanese fishing boat, Number 10, ''Noshemi Maru'', K30, which had been wrecked in 1960, two years earlier. In the hull of the Japanese fishing boat they built a [[still]] from which they were able to make fresh water. They found a match and lit a fire to run the still. The fire was kept burning almost constantly with wood from the hull of the wreck in which they were living.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lolohea |first=Alice |date=2020-06-08 |title=Tuaikaepau: Tonga's forgotten shipwreck |url=https://tpplus.co.nz/community/tuaikaepau-tongas-forgotten-shipwreck/ |access-date=2022-12-09 |website=TP+ |language=en-NZ}}</ref> |
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By the end of August it was decided that the only hope of rescue was to build a small boat and sail to [[Fiji]], which they promptly did with tools found in the hull of the Japanese boat and from the wreck of ''Tuaikaepau''. The makeshift outrigger canoe, with the captain and two others on board,<ref>{{cite book|title=From the U.S. Government Printing Office, Best Sellers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0a7Qz9EylXcC|year=1963|publisher=The Office}}</ref> reached [[Kadavu Island]] with the news that there were 13 survivors shipwrecked on the reef,<ref name="Office1963">{{cite book|author=Great Britain. Colonial Office|title=Fiji Annual Report|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INIVAAAAIAAJ|year=1963|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office}}</ref> although the captain's son, one of the two crewmembers, died just before arriving at Kadavu, drowning while swimming ashore.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Australian Associated Press|title=Captain's Son Gave Life to Save Wrecked Tongans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CzpVAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA8|date=18 October 1962|newspaper=The Age|page=15}}</ref> |
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On Monday 16 October, an [[RNZAF]] [[Sunderland flying boat]] from Laucala Bay, Fiji, flown by Group Captain J.D. Robbins, dropped supplies to them.<ref name="Bentley1969">{{cite book|author=Geoffrey Bentley|title=RNZAF: a short history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sZ-4AAAAIAAJ|year=1969|publisher=Reed}}</ref> The next day, Tuesday 16 October, the same Sunderland landed in the lagoon and rescued the ten survivors (of whom five were by now bedridden) and one body, departing Minerva at 3:30 p.m. and reaching Suva by dark. The Tongans were taken to Suva's Colonial War Memorial Hospital, but the only real health issues were dehydration and, for one, the onset of [[tuberculosis]]. They were then taken to Nuku'alofa, where they were welcomed and acclaimed by the population and Queen [[Sālote Tupou III]].<ref name=":2">{{cite book|access-date=2022-12-09|date=1998|first1=James C.|isbn=978-1-57409-066-6|language=en|last1=Simmons|pages=183–199|publisher=Sheridan House, Inc.|title=Castaway in Paradise: The Incredible Adventures of True-Life Robinson Crusoes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XjQ2rNrgHUC&pg=PA183}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> |
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==Bibliography== |
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*{{cite book |first=Olaf |last=Ruhen |title=Minerva Reef: Fourteen desperate weeks with the castaway Tongans |location=Sydney, Australia |publisher=Minerva Bookshop Ltd |date=1963}} |
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*{{cite book |first=Fine |last=Feuiaki |title=Minerva reef = Hakau Minerva: the Tuaikaepau's tragic voyage |location=Nuku'alofa, Tonga |publisher=Friendly Islands Bookshop |date=1992}} |
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*{{cite book | author = Titchener, Paul |title = Little Ships of New Zealand | location = Wellington | publisher = A.H & A.W. Reed | year = 1978 | type = Hardback | isbn = 0-589-01068-9}} |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{1962 shipwrecks}} |
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[[Category:Ships of New Zealand]] |
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[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]] |
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[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1962]] |
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[[Category:1903 ships]] |
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Latest revision as of 13:32, 3 April 2024
23°55′19″S 179°05′34″W / 23.92194°S 179.09278°W
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
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| Builder | Logan Brothers |
| Launched | 1903 |
| Fate | Wrecked 1962 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cutter |
| Tonnage | 20 tons |
| Length | 51 ft (16 m) |
Tuaikaepau was a twenty-ton cutter, 51 feet (16 m) length, clipper bow, keeler, designed by Archibald Logan and built by Logan Brothers of Auckland, New Zealand and launched in 1903.[citation needed]
In July 1962 the Tuaikaepau was under sail between Tonga and Auckland, carrying a crew and passengers totalling 17.[1][2]
On 7 July 1962[1] the Tuaikaepau, under the command of captain David Fifita,[3] hit the outer edge of the Southern Minerva Reef.[4][2]
They all survived having spent the night clinging to the hull and at day break saw what would be their saviour: the hull of a Japanese fishing boat, Number 10, Noshemi Maru, K30, which had been wrecked in 1960, two years earlier. In the hull of the Japanese fishing boat they built a still from which they were able to make fresh water. They found a match and lit a fire to run the still. The fire was kept burning almost constantly with wood from the hull of the wreck in which they were living.[5]
By the end of August it was decided that the only hope of rescue was to build a small boat and sail to Fiji, which they promptly did with tools found in the hull of the Japanese boat and from the wreck of Tuaikaepau. The makeshift outrigger canoe, with the captain and two others on board,[6] reached Kadavu Island with the news that there were 13 survivors shipwrecked on the reef,[7] although the captain's son, one of the two crewmembers, died just before arriving at Kadavu, drowning while swimming ashore.[8]
On Monday 16 October, an RNZAF Sunderland flying boat from Laucala Bay, Fiji, flown by Group Captain J.D. Robbins, dropped supplies to them.[9] The next day, Tuesday 16 October, the same Sunderland landed in the lagoon and rescued the ten survivors (of whom five were by now bedridden) and one body, departing Minerva at 3:30 p.m. and reaching Suva by dark. The Tongans were taken to Suva's Colonial War Memorial Hospital, but the only real health issues were dehydration and, for one, the onset of tuberculosis. They were then taken to Nuku'alofa, where they were welcomed and acclaimed by the population and Queen Sālote Tupou III.[10]
Bibliography
[edit]- Ruhen, Olaf (1963). Minerva Reef: Fourteen desperate weeks with the castaway Tongans. Sydney, Australia: Minerva Bookshop Ltd.
- Feuiaki, Fine (1992). Minerva reef = Hakau Minerva: the Tuaikaepau's tragic voyage. Nuku'alofa, Tonga: Friendly Islands Bookshop.
- Titchener, Paul (1978). Little Ships of New Zealand (Hardback). Wellington: A.H & A.W. Reed. ISBN 0-589-01068-9.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Theoria to Theory. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers. 1968.
- ^ a b Paul Titchener (1978). Little Ships of New Zealand. A. H. & A. W. Reed. ISBN 978-0-589-01068-3.
- ^ The American Neptune. Peabody Museum of Salem. 1964.
- ^ Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 1969.
- ^ Lolohea, Alice (8 June 2020). "Tuaikaepau: Tonga's forgotten shipwreck". TP+. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ From the U.S. Government Printing Office, Best Sellers. The Office. 1963.
- ^ Great Britain. Colonial Office (1963). Fiji Annual Report. H.M. Stationery Office.
- ^ "Captain's Son Gave Life to Save Wrecked Tongans". The Age. Australian Associated Press. 18 October 1962. p. 15.
- ^ Geoffrey Bentley (1969). RNZAF: a short history. Reed.
- ^ Simmons, James C. (1998). Castaway in Paradise: The Incredible Adventures of True-Life Robinson Crusoes. Sheridan House, Inc. pp. 183–199. ISBN 978-1-57409-066-6. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1962 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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