Sinking of the SS Taniwha

Accidents to steamships which once used the Waihou River were fortunately very rare but there was one serious mishap to the Northern Steamship Company SS Taniwha on the morning of Sunday, August 11th 1912. This resulted in the vessel sinking in the river just below what was then Puke Wharf, now known as the Maritime Park, Paeroa.

The steamer had left Auckland with cargo, crew and passengers as usual at 9pm on the Saturday night with all going well. However, about fifty yards above Puke ferry, the passengers and crew on board received a nasty shock with the vessel giving a bump after striking a solid obstruction shortly after 5am.

“It felt as if the bottom had been torn out”, passengers later commented.
Some of the passengers included Captain Morton, W. Crosbie, H. Smith and Mr Portier who were on deck at the time and managed to step onto the wharf without too much trouble, taking their luggage ashore as if nothing had happened.

The skipper of the Taniwha, Captain W. Sullivan had been employed by the company for a number of years and was one who had full knowledge of the river. He was on the bridge and managed to bring the ship four hundred yards to Puke Wharf.

The Taniwha berthed just above the wharf where the remaining passengers managed to get ashore. Some of the duty crew including Mr Collins, Chief Mate who had been on watch down
below, came up to render assistance. They soon pulled the hatches off and Collins went down to make an inspection. There he saw a large hole four feet long by four feet high mid-ship in the hull on the starboard side below the water line and the ship rapidly taking on water.

An immediate start was made to land the small amount of onboard cargo – 24 tons of maize, potatoes and oats, with a value of $150 With the water rushing in, only five slings were off loaded (20 sacks) before the steamer started to settle in the water, destroying the remainder of the cargo. A punt was brought alongside and managed to off load tins of kerosene from the deck. The men and winches worked with a will but could not compete with the water flow. When the engine room flooded the off - loading stopped.

The steamer swung away from the wharf and settled down broadside to the current just below Paeroa-Waihi Gold Extraction Company’s wharf and sank blocking access to other shipping. At high tide only her bridge was visible above the water. The ship’s log and time book were saved but water damaged the belongings of the officers and crew. The stewardess and ship’s officers were given accommodation at Puke in the home of T. Whetwell, then agent for the Waihi Gold Mining Company, while the shipwrecked crew were found other places to stay in Paeroa.

When Northern Steamnship Company manager C. Ranson in Auckland was told of the news, he immediately dispatched the ‘Chelmsford’ to Paeroa, which arrived later on Sunday. On board was Mr Gough, company engineer plus a diver. Mr Gough was not long in making his examination to ascertain the best way of having the damaged ship moved for repairs estimated as high as $2000.

The stump the Taniwha struck, was not visible above water at high tide, the time of the accident. It was in a section of willow trees which had been cut down, in conjunction with the clearing of the river. Where there had been whole trees that would act as a buffer for steamers that bumped into them, there were now substantial stumps visible only at low tide.

The following Tuesday, attempts were made to re-float Taniwha. A diver, supervised by engineer Mr Gow, had been hard at work but without success. On Wednesday14th, extra men equipped with stronger pumps arrived from Auckland. The divers hastily patched the hole in the ship’s side. With this work completed and the evening high tide, an attempt to float the ship was successful. Taniwha was brought alongside the wharf where remains of her destroyed cargo were unloaded.

Before her return to Auckland, further repairs were carried out. She finally arrived in Auckland under tow, on Friday night 16th August. Her plush cabin fittings had to be replaced and all machinery and other gear were thoroughly overhauled before she was once again commissioned to do her Auckland – Paeroa run.

Thanks to Colin Townsend for this story featured in his book ………