| La Plata
Wooden barque
Displacement: 393 tons
Length: 41 metres
1863 Built at Grimstad, on the South-west coast of Norway and first registered to the Donaldson Line at the port of Glasgow. She served on the service between the Clyde, Brazil and the River Plate trade route for a number of years before appearing in New Zealand.
1872 Sold to A. Cross and W. Kennedy of Chile.
1903 Purchased by the Union Steam Ship Company.
Undated Burnt out in the Cook Islands while loaded with Copra, she was towed to Auckland and thence to Lyttelton and converted to a hulk.
1927 July Dismantled at Lyttelton.
1927 October 13 Beached at Quail Island in Lyttelton Harbour, she must have been confronted with a rapidly receeding tide when meeting her final destiny in the graveyard, as she's much further out from the shore than any of the other vessels. At high tide the ribs of her hull pose a real threat to speed boats.
James Turner says she had a reputation for being very unlucky!
1936
 
Circa 1980
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1990
Acknowledgements
Thanks to James Turner, Steven McLachlan (specialist in Maritime Covers) and Marcus Castell
This page is part of the The Wrecks and Hulks of Lyttelton Harbour section of the
New Zealand Maritime Record
web site.
20050118 |
