Grafton (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Grafton was a 56 ton schooner sailing out of Sydney during the 1860s. It was wrecked in the north arm of Carnley Harbour, Auckland Island on 3 January 1864.
, Charles Sarpy and Musgrave's uncle for a voyage to Campbell Island
and the Auckland Islands
to investigate mining and sealing opportunities.
Raynal had spent 6 years at sea and then 11 years in the Australian goldfields before a mining collapse had caused him to move to Sydney to recover. He had decided to return to France when he was approached by a friend who had good grounds for believing that a mine of argentiferous tin existed in Campbell Island. The friend, a draper known as Charles Sarpy, and his business partner suggested that Raynal could survey this island and discover the mine. Even if no mine were discovered it was suggested that Raynal could take advantage of the large number of seals and hunt them for skins and oil. Raynal agreed to the proposition but on the understanding that he would not undertake the command of the vessel. Mr Sarpy's partner suggested his nephew for the command and Mr Thomas Musgrave was offered the command of the ship.
The ship left Sydney for the Campbell Islands on 12 November 1869 with a crew of five. The crew were Captain Thomas Musgrave, an American; Mr Francois Edouard Raynal from France acting as mate; Alexander McLaren (known as Alick), a Norwegian seaman who was around 28 years old; George Harris, an Englishman seaman of around 20 years old; and Henry Forgés from Portugal who was 23 and had signed on as cook.
After reaching Campbell Island Raynal fell very ill and was unable to complete his survey for the tin. Musgrave carried on with the search but was unable to find any trace of tin. With limited numbers of seals and an unsuccessful search for tin at Campbell Island the crew headed to Auckland Islands to hunt seals.
The crew were able to get ashore and managed to salvage food, tools, navigation equipment, Raynal's gun, powder and shot and canvas as well as other material from the wreck. Despite only being provisioned for two months they survived for a year and a half on seal meat, birds, fish and water. They originally made a tent from portions of the spars and sails of the wreck before building a permanent cabin from wreck timber and stone. Raynal had experience in building huts from his time in the goldfields and guided the crew in building a solid cabin with a stone chimney. However it took some time to build as the only available tools were an axe, an adze
, a hammer and a gimlet. The men named the cabin "Epigwaitt" which was suggested by Musgrave as an American Indian word meaning "a dwelling by the water".
The men manufactured clothes from sealskin and hunted and fished for food. For entertainment Captain Musgrave started reading classes and Mr Raynal manufactured a chess set, dominoes and a pack of cards. However he found Musgrave to be such a bad loser that he judged it best to destroy the cards.
Captain Musgrave and Raynal had both been hopeful that a ship would be sent by their business partners to investigate what had happened to the Grafton but after 12 months without sighting a single ship the decision was made to use the timbers from the wreck to "make something that will carry us to New Zealand". The crew used the tools they had salvaged from the wreck and Mr Raynal created a pair of blacksmith's bellows from metal from the wreck, wood and sealskin. He used the bellows to forge more tools from metal from the wreck. The castaways had made progress on sections of the proposed vessel but were unable to complete it as Mr Raynal found it impossible to manufacture an auger
despite a number of attempts. The seals were less numerous than the previous year and the castaways were facing another winter with a greater threat of starvation. The decision was made to work on the ship's clinker
dingy (dinghy
). They enlarged the dingy by raising the gunwale
s, adding a false keel
and decking it over. Captain Musgrave made sails from the Graftons sails which had previously been on the roof of the cabin.
Three men, (Musgrave, Raynal, and McLaren) set sail on 19 July 1865 arriving at Port Adventure, Stewart Island on 24 July after 5 days of bad weather. Captain Cross of the Flying Scud took them into his house for a meal, a warm bath and a good nights sleep and then sailed them to Invercargill the next day. Public fundraising in Invercargill raised enough funds for Captain Musgrove to pay Captain Cross of the Flying Scud to return him to the Auckland Islands to rescue his two remaining crew members. After successfully retrieving Harris and Forgés, Musgrave returned to Invercargill and reunited all the crew. Musgrave also fetched Raynal's bellows back for him. McLaren, Raynal and Forgés returned to Melbourne on the schooner Swordfish. While Musgrave returned on a steamer captained by a friend of his. Harris remained in New Zealand and headed for the gold fields.
Both Captain Musgrove and Mr Raynal wrote books about their experience.
There are also items in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Last yoyage
The Grafton was hired by a business consortium of Mr Francois Edouard Raynal, Captain Thomas MusgraveThomas Musgrave (castaway)
Captain Thomas Musgrave FRGS was a British and Australian ship’s captain and lighthouse keeper who was wrecked with the brigantine Grafton in the subantarctic Auckland Islands, and castaway there for over 18 months....
, Charles Sarpy and Musgrave's uncle for a voyage to Campbell Island
Campbell Island, New Zealand
Campbell Island is a remote, subantarctic island of New Zealand and the main island of the Campbell Island group. It covers of the group's , and is surrounded by numerous stacks, rocks and islets like Dent Island, Folly Island , Isle de Jeanette Marie, and Jacquemart Island, the latter being the...
and the Auckland Islands
Auckland Islands
The Auckland Islands are an archipelago of the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands and include Auckland Island, Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island and Green Island, with a combined area of...
to investigate mining and sealing opportunities.
Raynal had spent 6 years at sea and then 11 years in the Australian goldfields before a mining collapse had caused him to move to Sydney to recover. He had decided to return to France when he was approached by a friend who had good grounds for believing that a mine of argentiferous tin existed in Campbell Island. The friend, a draper known as Charles Sarpy, and his business partner suggested that Raynal could survey this island and discover the mine. Even if no mine were discovered it was suggested that Raynal could take advantage of the large number of seals and hunt them for skins and oil. Raynal agreed to the proposition but on the understanding that he would not undertake the command of the vessel. Mr Sarpy's partner suggested his nephew for the command and Mr Thomas Musgrave was offered the command of the ship.
The ship left Sydney for the Campbell Islands on 12 November 1869 with a crew of five. The crew were Captain Thomas Musgrave, an American; Mr Francois Edouard Raynal from France acting as mate; Alexander McLaren (known as Alick), a Norwegian seaman who was around 28 years old; George Harris, an Englishman seaman of around 20 years old; and Henry Forgés from Portugal who was 23 and had signed on as cook.
After reaching Campbell Island Raynal fell very ill and was unable to complete his survey for the tin. Musgrave carried on with the search but was unable to find any trace of tin. With limited numbers of seals and an unsuccessful search for tin at Campbell Island the crew headed to Auckland Islands to hunt seals.
The Wreck
The Grafton entered one of the sounds of the Auckland Islands on 31 December 1863. A heavy gale came on 1 January 1864 which continued into midnight of 2 January when the anchor chains parted, and the vessel struck a rocky beach and foundered.The crew were able to get ashore and managed to salvage food, tools, navigation equipment, Raynal's gun, powder and shot and canvas as well as other material from the wreck. Despite only being provisioned for two months they survived for a year and a half on seal meat, birds, fish and water. They originally made a tent from portions of the spars and sails of the wreck before building a permanent cabin from wreck timber and stone. Raynal had experience in building huts from his time in the goldfields and guided the crew in building a solid cabin with a stone chimney. However it took some time to build as the only available tools were an axe, an adze
Adze
An adze is a tool used for smoothing or carving rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. Generally, the user stands astride a board or log and swings the adze downwards towards his feet, chipping off pieces of wood, moving backwards as they go and leaving a relatively smooth surface behind...
, a hammer and a gimlet. The men named the cabin "Epigwaitt" which was suggested by Musgrave as an American Indian word meaning "a dwelling by the water".
The men manufactured clothes from sealskin and hunted and fished for food. For entertainment Captain Musgrave started reading classes and Mr Raynal manufactured a chess set, dominoes and a pack of cards. However he found Musgrave to be such a bad loser that he judged it best to destroy the cards.
Captain Musgrave and Raynal had both been hopeful that a ship would be sent by their business partners to investigate what had happened to the Grafton but after 12 months without sighting a single ship the decision was made to use the timbers from the wreck to "make something that will carry us to New Zealand". The crew used the tools they had salvaged from the wreck and Mr Raynal created a pair of blacksmith's bellows from metal from the wreck, wood and sealskin. He used the bellows to forge more tools from metal from the wreck. The castaways had made progress on sections of the proposed vessel but were unable to complete it as Mr Raynal found it impossible to manufacture an auger
Auger
An auger is a drilling device, or drill bit, that usually includes a rotating helical screw blade called a "flighting" to act as a screw conveyor to remove the drilled out material...
despite a number of attempts. The seals were less numerous than the previous year and the castaways were facing another winter with a greater threat of starvation. The decision was made to work on the ship's clinker
Clinker (boat building)
Clinker building is a method of constructing hulls of boats and ships by fixing wooden planks and, in the early nineteenth century, iron plates to each other so that the planks overlap along their edges. The overlapping joint is called a land. In any but a very small boat, the individual planks...
dingy (dinghy
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
). They enlarged the dingy by raising the gunwale
Gunwale
The gunwale is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a boat.Wale is the same word as the skin injury, a wheal, which, too, forms a ridge. Originally the gunwale was the "Gun ridge" on a sailing warship. This represented the strengthening wale or structural band added to the design...
s, adding a false keel
False keel
The false keel was a timber, forming part of the hull of a wooden sailing ship. Typically 6 inches thick for a 74-gun ship in the 19th century, the false keel was constructed in several pieces, which were scarphed together, and attached to the underside of the keel by iron staples...
and decking it over. Captain Musgrave made sails from the Graftons sails which had previously been on the roof of the cabin.
Three men, (Musgrave, Raynal, and McLaren) set sail on 19 July 1865 arriving at Port Adventure, Stewart Island on 24 July after 5 days of bad weather. Captain Cross of the Flying Scud took them into his house for a meal, a warm bath and a good nights sleep and then sailed them to Invercargill the next day. Public fundraising in Invercargill raised enough funds for Captain Musgrove to pay Captain Cross of the Flying Scud to return him to the Auckland Islands to rescue his two remaining crew members. After successfully retrieving Harris and Forgés, Musgrave returned to Invercargill and reunited all the crew. Musgrave also fetched Raynal's bellows back for him. McLaren, Raynal and Forgés returned to Melbourne on the schooner Swordfish. While Musgrave returned on a steamer captained by a friend of his. Harris remained in New Zealand and headed for the gold fields.
Both Captain Musgrove and Mr Raynal wrote books about their experience.
Remnants from the Wreck
Mr Raynal's pair of blacksmith's bellows, a pair of boots made of tanned sealskin, and a needle made of bone from the wing of an albatross are said to be in the collection of Melbourne Museum.There are also items in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...