 | 'ELINGAMITE' |
| 'ELINGAMITE' |
On the Sunday morning of November 9 the ship was proceeding slowly at 5 knots owing to a dense fog that hid any coast or island from view. At about 11 AM, suddenly and without warning broken water was seen ahead of the ship, and before there was time to turn or go astern the ship had struck.
She was abandoned immediately, the survivors taking to 5 boats and 2 rafts, with the loss of only two persons, one of whom was the Captain. He was fortunate enough to be picked up out of the water after the ship had completely sunk some 20 mins later.
The Three Kings islands are little more than stark rocks projecting from the sea in a location famous for uncertain weather and seas, as the tidal effects and swells around the tip of the larger mainland cause extreme conditions. The islands are only accessible at certain times, and in certain places, and the survivors were fortunate in that the very fog that had caused the wreck ensured reasonably calm conditions. Three of the lifeboats and one raft were able to land on Big and Middle King Islands, and one of the lifeboats was fortunate to land on the coast some distance south of the capes, quite near to Houhora. Unbelievably, this craft had been crammed with 52 persons.
When the news of the disaster reached Auckland on the evening of Monday, November 10, immediate steps were taken to dispatch ships to search for the other lifeboats and rafts. It was known that another Huddart-Parker vessel, the 'Zealandia', was due to pass North Cape during daylight on Tuesday, November 11 on her way from Auckland to Sydney. A whaling boat appropriately named the 'Tainui' under the command of a local, one John McIntosh, set out from Houhora, which is on the eastern coast, in an attempt to intercept the 'Zealandia', knowing that the steamer would cut in relatively close to North Cape. This craft was originally an American built whaler, most resembling a modern surf boat as used in beach regattas, but was built of heavy timbers and could step a mast and thus sail. This is exactly what John McIntosh did, taking advantage of the persistent sou-westerlies to drive his small craft north and east. In only three hours he managed to reach North Cape, the easternmost of the three capes that project from the tip of the main island, and then successfully intercepted the 'Zealandia' which immediately turned back to look for survivors from her sister ship.
Other vessels were also dispatched up the coast. These included the Northern Steamship Company's 'Clansman', Subritzky's schooner the 'Greyhound', from Awanui (the next harbour south of Houhora), the tug 'Sterling' from the Kaipara Harbour on the west coast, and 'H.M.S. Penguin' from Auckland.
The 'Zealandia' picked up 89 survivors from the Three Kings Islands, and resumed her voyage to Auckland on November 12, leaving the other ships to continue searching for the missing lifeboat and raft. On the following day the search was about to be abandoned when 'H.M.S. Penguin' found the missing raft some 60 miles north-east of the Three Kings, but only 8 of the original 16 survivors were still alive, the rest having died of thirst and exposure. This 8 were immediately taken to Auckland, and 'H.M.S. Penguin' returned to search for the remaining lifeboat, but it was never found.
The story of the 'Elingamite' does not end there, however. Her cargo included 52 boxes of gold and silver to the official value of 17,320 pounds sterling, which had ben shipped by the Bank of New South Wales in Sydney. Many expeditions have been sent to recover this bullion, but has proved impractical due to the heavy seas and strong tides. One diver lost his life making the attempt.