SS Tyrone Wrecks Off Taiaroa Heads

The water looks calm enough now, but back in 1913, this spot was the end of the line for a big cargo steamer called the *Tyrone*. It was a steel-hulled, four-masted ship, 137 meters long, and it had two 662-horsepower steam engines.

The *Tyrone* had a bit of a history before it got here. It was built in Belfast in 1901 and was originally named the *Drayton Grange*. Early on, it served as a troopship during the Boer War. On one trip in 1902, seventeen servicemen died from tuberculosis and mumps due to overcrowding. The Union Steam Ship Co. of New Zealand bought it in 1912 and renamed it *Tyrone*.

On September 26, 1913, the *Tyrone* left Lyttelton Harbour, heading for Port Chalmers. Captain A.F.G. McLaughlan was in command. The ship was full of cocoa, cornflour, clover, crockery, pig iron, and thousands of bottles of whisky. It had just arrived from Liverpool via Wellington and was on its way to unload the rest of its cargo in Dunedin and Bluff before heading to Sydney.

The ship left Whakaraupō heads around noon on the 26th and passed Akaroa lighthouse by 3:25 PM, setting a course for Otago Peninsula. Around 2:40 AM on September 27th, a thick fog rolled in, and the lighthouse keeper at Taiaroa Heads started sounding the explosive fog warning.

Captain McLaughlin heard the fog warning around 3:45 AM. The ship was making good time, helped by a strong current. Instead of dropping anchor, he decided to continue at dead slow speed into the fog at 3:55 AM, relying on his log book. Ten minutes later, the lookout, Archibald McLean, saw breakers ahead. At 4:05 AM, the ship came to a stop, and two minutes later, a heavy bump was heard. At 4:30 AM, the watchman at Taiaroa Heads heard the distress signal and alerted authorities.

When the fog lifted, it was clear the *Tyrone* had missed the port entrance by a mile to the south. It was stranded hard on the rocks off Rerewahine Point. Divers found two large holes in the hull, and the ship was declared a total loss, valued at £140,000. Captain McLaughlin was cleared by an inquiry, which found that an "unusual and strong current" was the main cause. Much of the cargo was salvaged, but many cases of whisky went missing, which locals called the "Tyrone flu."