All hands on deck for 175th commemoration in May

Preparations and practices for the 175th commemoration of the death of a sailor at Te Karo Bay have begun in earnest by the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Tairua Heritage Group, which has put together a whole weekend of events to mark the occasion in May.

In May 1842 a ‘jolly boat’ from the HMS Tortoise overturned in the surf at the bay, north of Tairua, and a sailor William Samson was drowned.

Story panels are being developed that will be unveiled on the site during a series of events on May 5 to 7. These include talks by noted historians, a performance by Tairua amateur dramatists and an official ceremony by the Royal New Zealand Navy and its jazz trio and quartet.

The Royal New Zealand Navy visited the site to prepare for their military ceremony and volunteers from Coastal Walkways have built steps leading up to the grave, which overlooks the sea at the north end of Te Karo Bay (Sailors Grave) beach.

The events are centred around Samson, who was aged 22 years when he drowned in the surf on 6 May, 1842.

However, a Navy spokesman says the voyage and operations of the sailing warship HMS Tortoise is just one more part of the intimate relationship between the Royal Navy and New Zealand in the 18th and 19th centuries.

It was a Royal Naval officer - then Lieutenant James Cook - who first fully charted New Zealand, an historical event that will be celebrated in 2019 through the Mercury Bay 250 commemorations.

The HMS Tortoise was sent to New Zealand to collect the wooden spars that HMS Buffalo was supposed to return with but which had been lost in a storm in 1840, according to writings by John McLean in A Mission of Honour: The Royal Navy in the Pacific 1769-1997. Tortoise was also charged with recovering the anchors from Buffalo.

The ship had gone to Hobart from Britain to offload convicts and was in New Zealand to collect a cargo of kauri spars for the Admiralty.

She was landing supplies for a timber camp set up at Te Karo Bay when the tragedy occurred.

From the evening of Friday 5 May 2017, commemorative events begin with a performance by local actors and singers in what is billed as an ‘historical extravaganza’ at the Tairua Community Hall.

Saturday 6 May will feature enlightening talks at the St Francis Hall in Tairua, the Tairua Hall Annexe and the Tairua Library Meeting room by historians and archaeologists. A heritage display accompanies the Tairua Library talk.

A repeat performance of the previous night's entertainment takes place at the Tairua Hall and the weekend culminates in a commemorative event on Sunday morning at Te Karo Bay where a marquee will be set up and the navy will conduct a ceremony. A guided walk from Te Karo to Otara Bay just north of Te Karo will also take place.

HMS Tortoise & Burying the dead at sea

It was a long naval tradition of burying the dead at sea. Those who died at sea would be sewn up into a canvas bag by the sailmaker. There was a tradition that he placed his large needle through the nose of the deceased to ensure that he was really dead. Some items would be placed in with the body to weigh it down. A service would be held on ship and the sailor resting on a mess table under the Union Flag would be tipped into the ocean at the conclusion of the service.

Getting timber to the ship on New Zealand shore: image courtesy Royal New Zealand Navy.

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