Daily Photo – Akaroa Lighhouse

When the small cutter The Brothers entered Akaroa Harbour on 10 November 1842, it was the end of a long and important trip. Captained by a man named James Bruce, the ship had been at sea for eight weeks, navigating uncharted, rocky coastlines and battling subantarctic conditions beyond Stewart Island and Foveaux Strait – mapping harbours, landmarks and whaling stations around the South Island. As the trip came to an end, the final leg of the journey was scheduled to sail to Wellington, after calling in at Akaroa Harbour. As had happened on so many occasions, the cutter was due to drop anchor so some of the eleven passengers could disembark and supplies could be collected before the final run to Wellington began. With charts, maps, field books, instruments and survey records on board, the trip had been a success and had gathered a wide range of information that was going to be used to map future settlements for the New Zealand Company, who were promoting colonisation at the time.

Entering Akaroa Harbour, the vessel was suddenly hit by a squall blowing off the hills, capsizing the ship, turning her keel up and, in the process, destroying all the records, maps and plans that had been meticulously collected on the two month voyage. Upon sinking, most of the people on board were able to scramble into the small lifeboat, but a woman and two children, caught below deck when the cutter rolled, were not so fortunate.