KAPANUI TRAGEDY

By Bryan Jackson

On Saturday, 23 December 1905, the wooden hulled Kapanui, which weighed 129 tons and was 95 feet long, left Warkworth at 4.40pm headed for Auckland. The boat carried nine crew and a number of passengers, and called in to Waiwera at 6pm to collect more passengers, with the total passengers now being 10. The boat rounded North Head around 9pm and passed the Gael, which was heading north. The Kapanui then turned toward the shore without realising that it was heading into the path of the 210 ton, included information about Luke’s farm. After the inquests, a Marine Inquiry was held on 9 January, 1906 before Mr Kettle S.M. and two nautical assessors, Captains Smith and McArthur. The prosecutor, Mr Tole, stated that, “The Kapanui when she passed the Gael, was carrying no red light, an omission of the greatest seriousness in the light of the subsequent events.” The Captain Mewitt of the Claymore stated that he saw that the Kapanui did not have a red light showing and that when he saw the Kapanui crossing his course, he stopped the engine and ordered full steam astern. Captain Southgate stated that he had sent a boy to relight the light and that he