Aotearoa Endless Sea: Our story told through the taonga of the National Maritime Museum by Massey University Press

AOT E A ROA ENDLESS SEA Our story told through the taonga of the National Maritime Museum

Frances Walsh

— 01 —02 — 03 —04 —05 —06 — 07 —08 —09 —10 —11 —12 —13 —14 —15 —16 —17 —18 —19 —20 —21 —22 —23 —24 —25 —26 —27 —28 —29 —30 —31 —32 —33 —34 —35 —36

[ TA U I H U ] [S I N KE R AN D LU RES] [CAR RO NAD E F RO M H O R E KE S H I P YA R D ] MODEL PRISONERS T H O U VA I N T OY [WRECK OF THE ORPHEUS] SEEING DEAD PEOPLE T O U G H M E N , D E L I C AT E W O R K H A N D S A C R O S S T H E W AT E R T H E H A N D S O M E FA C E A N D T H E U G LY T R A D E O F W I L L I A M MANSON A S E X TA N T F O R A S O U T H PA W TOOT TOOT TA K I N G T H E L E A F [ W A K A TA U A B A I L E R ] C A P TA I N R O S S A N D T H E CYG N E T C U P [ W H A LE TOOTH SC R I M S H AW ] G EO RG E Q U I C K’ S E AG L E 5 1 ° S NO NEED FOR RUBBERNECKING O N P S W A K AT E R E FRANCES SHAKESPEAR: CITIZEN SCIENTIST S H A C K L E T O N , S C A M P, A N D FRIENDS W H AT ’ S F O R T E A ? TH E A RT O F TH E OV E R L A P THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PERU O N M AG I ST E R I A L S E RV I C E TH E M US I CAL ARC H ITECT O F   9 9 Q U AY S T R E E T A G U LF A DV E NTU R E F R O M Ō TĀ K A R O T O T H E WESTERN FRONT H U N G E R , E S PI O N AG E , A N D REGRET I W I S H T O C O M M U N I C AT E W I T H YO U [ VO N LU C K N E R D I O R A M A] E I G H T-T E N I N T H E D A N G E R ZO N E V I S I T O R S F R O M J A PA N [MUSSEL DREDGE] A L L YO U R C O R D A G E N E E D S [ PA D D L E S ]

—37 —38 —39 —40 — 41 —42 —43 —44 —45 —46 — 47 —48 — 49 —50 — 51 —52 —53 —54 —55 —56 — 57 —58 —59 —60 — 61 — 62 —63 —64 —65 —66 — 67 —68 — 69

CONTENTS

I NTRODUCTION

C A P TA I N G A S H A N D T H E F LY I N G M A C H I N E TH E S H I P B E AUTI FU L T H E C H R O N I C L E R O F PA L L I S E R B AY O R P H E U S B E A U M O N T: L I F E S AV E R [ R A PA K I N A M E P L AT E ] NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED THE MAIL MUST GET T H R O U G H , O R , P O O R LY A N D F O R L O R N O F H E R N E B AY T W O PA S S E N G E R S , 5 0 0 0 D E A D SHEEP NIGHT LIGHTS CON N ECTI NG RODS BALANCE D WITHIN THE WEIGHT OF A C I G A R E T T E PA P E R T H E N OA H ’ S A R K O F T H E U N I O N S T E A M S H I P C O M PA N Y OF NEW ZEALAND ROUSE J OA N B R E A KS O U T T H E PO I O N R M S N I AG A R A T H I R T Y- S I X B I S C U I T S I N A T I N [ PA M I R A R C H I V E ] CONSI DE R TH E BLU FFI E H A R RY H I G H E T ’ S D E S I G N CL ASSIC N U M B E R 1 9 2 4 : S T O O D L OYA L RIGHT THROUGH CROSSING THE LINE SCALI N G DOW N [HARBOU R LIG HTS CLU B BOO KS] H OW TO BU I LD A WOODE N B O AT A P R A C T I C A L A P P L I C AT I O N O F I SA AC N E W TO N ’ S T H I R D L AW OF M OTI ON TH E COLLECTION OF JOH N HOFFMAN S I S T E R LY B O AT B O T H E R I N G I N OPUA [O UTR I GG E R CAN O E M O D E LS] THE ENTIRE JOB IS HANDMADE [HAR POO N AN D LOG BOO K] [ S H I P P I N G C O M PA N Y PROG R AM M ES] T E M P TAT I O N S F R O M T H E SOUTH E R N OCTOPUS [ M I L A N M R K U S I C H S E A FA R E R S ’ WINDOW] F RO M TH E JAWS O F A W H A LE TO TH E TORSO OF A SWEETHEART T H E D AY T H E W A H I N E S A N K

TA B L E O F

—70 —71 —72 —73 — 74

[S E AM E N ’ S M I SS I O N S H I E LD] FU N N E L S POT TI N G [S I R PETE R B L AKE TROPHY] THE DOG AN ODE TO TH E COM POU N D D I AG O N A L E N G I N E —75 A CU N N I N G PL AN — 76 T H E M E N U M A N — 7 7 H E AV E N LY O B J E C T S I N A B O X — 7 8 I N T H E N AV Y — 7 9 [ PA P E R T I G E R P L A N ] —80 A BRIGANTINE RIGGED C O A S TA L T R A D E R —81 POLICE EXH I BIT 1490 — 8 2 [ C A R G O S T O R A G E L AYO U T S ] —83 THE WORLD - CHANGING R A I N BOW WA R R I O R — 8 4 T H E C U LT O F T H E S E A G U L L — 8 5 S AV E D B Y A B E E R , O R T W O —86 RINGS IN THEIR EARS — 8 7 [ T U K U T U K U PA N E L S ] — 8 8 [ T H E T E D AS H BY ] — 89 TH E CL ASS OF TH E FIJ IAN DRUA — 9 0 F LY M Y P R E T T I E S —91 VA R I AT I O N S O N N O A H ’ S A R K —92 FEELING SWELL —93 THE SEAHORSE — 9 4 [ V OYA G E T O T H E K E R M A D E C S ] — 95 [H O M E WA R D BO U N D PR I NT ] — 96 [AU C K L A N D PO R T D I O R A M A] — 97 LET’S GO SURFING NOW — 98 [KIA U AN D KIA MAU] — 9 9 A F L O AT I N G P R I S O N —1 00 [N I K AU H I N DE N ART WOR K] — 1 0 1 [ E N D E AV O U R M O D E L] — 1 0 2 T H E M A N A O F T H E A L B AT R O S S E N D M AT T E R I M AG E C R E D I TS O B J E C T D E TA I L S ABOUT TH E AUTHOR AC K N OW L E DG E M E N TS INDEX IMPRINT

Ceremonial lifebuoy, Auckland Maritime Society, 1958–1986 Cork, canvas, rope, paint 765 mm (diameter) New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui te Ananui a Tangaroa, 1986.8

INTRO DUCT

Vincent Lipanovich Director

RO TION What draws us to te moana, the sea? Familiar and yet unknowable, it has always been one of the greatest and most compelling sources of stories — of exploration, discovery and migration — on our planet. This is particularly so in Aotearoa New Zealand. All New Zealanders, from those of us who can trace our whakapapa through generations to those who are recent arrivals, are touched by our relationship to the sea. The core story of Aotearoa, and in particular the story of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, is maritime at heart. How surprising, then, that it took until the 1990s for our country to have its own maritime museum, which opened in 1993 as a repository for Auckland, later expanding to encompass the nation’s maritime heritage as the New Zealand Maritime Museum. As is so often the case in the history of cultural institutions in Aotearoa, the impetus for this came not from government but rather from a committee of dedicated individuals — many with strong personal associations with the harbour and shipping industries — who laboured for

over 10 years to bring their vision into being. This legacy remains powerful, and the museum is fortunate to have a strong tradition of volunteer support, without which it could not sustain its wonderful sailing programme and heritage fleet, as well as the many other areas of engagement between its collection and visitors. At this time that we had the great good fortune to be gifted our Māori name — Hui te Ananui a Tangaroa — by Sir Hugh Kāwharu and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. This name, meaning ‘the dwelling of Tangaroa’, is one of the great taonga of the museum’s collection, reflecting as it does the personification of the sea and its elements, and the forces that shape our relationship with the waters and guide our navigators. The collection of taonga and artefacts forms the real heart of any museum. Here at the New Zealand Maritime Museum — and within the sample of 100 objects contained in these pages — you can find the whole story of our love for and struggle with the sea. The objects with which we tell these stories were held, used, owned and loved by our

ancestors and are tangible links with our past and to how that past shapes our future. If you are a New Zealander with a long family history in this land, your ancestors will almost certainly have arrived here by sea, often through many perils. The museum’s collections reflect these stories: from the great migrations to the islands that now form the nations of the Pacific, and from there the migration to Aotearoa, through to the early contact with Europeans on these shores and their own migration by sea, from the nineteenth century right up to the 1950s. Even today, when those coming to New Zealand travel by air rather than by ship, these stories shape the history of this country. Today, our interaction with our marine environment is generally via trade and industry. New Zealand is one of the most geographically remote countries in the world, and our trade by sea forms the overwhelming majority of our imports and exports. This is not a new phenomenon — traders in this country have relied on sea routes from the very beginning. Māori were well aware

Toka mauri, selected from Motungarara Island, presented by Te Toki Voyaging Trust, 2018 Stone 500 × 400 × 280 mm New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui Te Ananui a Tangaroa, 2018.76.1

of the importance of trade by water, and much of the contact between iwi was via the offshore waters and rivers of Aotearoa. Māori were also the first New Zealand-based international traders, using waka and whaleboats to bring timber, firewood and produce to the new settlements. Throughout the mid-nineteenth century, Māori and, later, Pākehā owned multiple trading craft, moving essential goods around our coastline — the pride of our heritage fleet, Ted Ashby, is a reconstruction of just such a coastal and river trader — and across the Tasman into New South Wales. By the 1860s sail was giving way to steam, with international shipping lines setting up business and our first home-grown line, the New Zealand Shipping Company, opening in 1873. Steam in turn yielded to oil in the twentieth century, and there was another boom in trade after the advent of containerisation in the 1950s, with the modern industry taking the shape we are familiar with today. We are perhaps most aware of our connection to the sea when we use it for recreation. The link between the sea and

fun and relaxation is so strong that it almost approaches cliché. It is an oft-quoted statistic that Auckland has more boats per capita than any other city in the world, and New Zealand has 120 yacht clubs nationwide. If you’re not a boatie, then perhaps you’re part of the grand old tradition of the New Zealand bach (or crib, if you’re from Otago or Southland), and have headed off to the same place by the sea with the family every holiday weekend in living memory. You’ve almost certainly visited the beach for swimming, picnicking or walking; in a country with 16,000 kilometres of coastline, it’s almost unavoidable. The stories the New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui te Ananui a Tangaroa preserves and tells through its artefacts and taonga are our stories and the stories of how our relationship with the ocean shapes our lives. They chronicle our close bonds with both Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa and seas more distant. With this book we highlight a small sample of the many shared memories held by the museum, and through them our love of the ocean.

MĀORI WERE THE FIRST NEW ZEALAND-BASED INTERNATIONAL TRADERS

USING WAKA AND WHALEBOATS TO BRING TIMBER, FIREWOOD AND PRODUCE TO NEW SETTLEMENTS. 7

[ TA U I H U WA K A PROW ] Tauihu (carved waka prow), pre-nineteenth century Wood 465 × 135 × 80 mm New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui te Ananui a Tangaroa, 2019.54.1

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opturia tionseque iderum sa quid maxim untiatecabor re sum et offictus eic to essumquiam quid quam, seque nost deliamus arum harionse volorep tatur? Necum quis sunt di temque pe voluptur alibus earum re, utem qui velliam, quam dolorit endae. Um aute nonseque num ea id magnim cullora poris ut et vella debitia dolumqui nimet laut enis seque occabor epreseq uaesequi dolo berum iusapis ellabores dicient ea que endae diciandam qui omnist, nienis sus eost, ulla iliquas cuptatur re remporum, susdae pariber iorere laborernatus num qui autem laborat. Daero bea volor aut pos veles eum fugit quis aut ulpa sinis doleceri que et que offici re nusa ducipsamus, cone dolum volorumqui dolorecus erit, comnihi llendae asperit lati voluptatis es

LABOR MAGNIS AUT QUIA PORI BEAQUATQUAM QUE QUIAS VOLUT EICIMUS

[MAHE AND TWO PĀ   K A H A W A I ]

to be clearcut

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Mahe (sinker) and two pā kahawai (lures), pre-nineteenth century Wood, bone, stone, pāua shell, natural fibre 455 mm (mahe) New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui te Ananui a Tangaroa, 2019.55.1; 2019.56.1-2

Um dolupta simusdamet venis sunt. Orem. Lab in non ea nis rerum nis qui cupta qui as dolorro veroriae nonsedicias atatus, quis eos assinct oriorumqui int fuga. Tus.Dam escidis cus sit por sit autaspe rcidus. Fuga. Giae et parum sinveru ptatiis molores sequiam que doleserum quae sit et anihil eos mod quiaectotas autatur? Nus et prection recta vellabo. Lorrum et quam nonseca eptatis aut aut laborrume sit, corro vendi aut aut res aut aut et harios ea dolupta simo ilia voluptatur, untiis volo ipicidel incium res dem faceatq uidelenis nihil iusae volorer aturerit eum rem est, ut accae cus dolecti as atem eossime nimint eum dolut am autes quatiatetur, sequia natione cerovidel incilitat. Occulluptas repudam, soles plia quo comnihi liquibu sandel il enihitate vent et optia nes doluptaspis ad que sunte eatur? Quide pore conse dignimet audi nulla nus nissi des acime sam voluptia si cullatur, sed eatempo ritatur solorit omnimi, aut vellati ni nobitae conseque prehent autem reni reptat eaque voluptasin pra dolorror si si bla arum audandis enis qui simporem ant.

Edis as rem ut aborestione volest quam ratur aut aute sam aut aut rehendios ius anda numquassequi cus sitis dolumque quunt fuga. Ulparuptat. Ra as conectem non eatiatem aut id mil iduci cullupit la ius, il maximusam eaqui re parupidescia quatum et ped ulpa que magnim exped et fuga. Nament ut quatus velenda eperum inia volupta tibereperum evenihilit idiam, nus dem. Ignissi untinusam escia eossus rehento enis exerferit, cus quas que necte res que con et qui re, net labore mi, quunt, omnientium fugit verferum eture, comnis reicte nonet lat re plitio. Ehenien dendandam am harum si ressimusam ipidene volore eribustis nis ese consequi se lab ilibus dent invelec erferibea anis mod quos elignim doluptatur magnisc iantibus esectectur aut ad quiatinte num in nis diorpores aut aut alitias inctisimus, ommolum necaepe doluptusdae velibus am apelestrum quos ut ea poritate pelit, et fugitio exerfer itibusa musdandae erorem es nit, tem verehendam id moloribus imporem porrovitior aut eliandi omnim harum ut laccum adiassed quae non et a deritem osaest et illuptur simil maximint. Ehendae sed quo quiatiisitam fugitaqui ut plaborum excepero eiuntium quis nonse num aut int re sitempo reiciis.

Ihitaspis natem aut asperum non et, cume que nonet occaborro quam, nonsequi nullum alis dente re eatur sequam, que la vernatur as dem quia sapieni sciliqu undanieni beatiur adis dio et aborenderis ex enihili quaerio rentiam doluptati cum earciam fuga. Pid maionsedis ulluptam ulparitatet volum as magnisimet volupta is exerae. Em aut expelestios int eossi tem aut verchit, sum evel ipicien iendus parit ex et ute niet quiaspe rfersperum dus aboriti as ma dolo blande qui dolum que quisit, qui dolor aut quos es volora dolupta turio. Et eum intur autem haribus et aut pro tem aut atios mo que nimus. Quides modi aci dit, ut arum faciis autentiis adignim oluptur? Lor sequi nis ab int incto invel idelibu sdaeprempore verem fugiatur? Ur? Vit repudan tiumquas earum repudanis volo ipsam, sum hicti rat voluptatem volest, nonsendam sunt, sit, consectatem hilignis vel il imus earchilloria velibus ad quia aut preriaecto te eum, ius exerum quo is eos aborro est, sitatios im dolupti squidi rem. On remporat audi dolorio. Nem quas es et molorume con poreici cumquo beris sinusan ihiliqu atibusantur?

[CAR RO NAD E

Carronade from Horeke shipyard, Hokianga, 1808 Cast iron, wood 1400 × 800 × 530 mm Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 1965.78.193; L1994.351.114

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E FROM HOREKE S H I P YA R D ] Um dolupta simusdamet venis sunt. Orem. Lab in non ea nis rerum nis qui cupta qui as dolorro veroriae nonsedicias atatus, quis eos assinct oriorumqui int fuga. Tus.Dam escidis cus sit por sit autaspe rcidus. Fuga. Giae et parum sinveru ptatiis molores sequiam que doleserum quae sit et anihil eos mod quiaectotas autatur? Nus et prection recta vellabo. Lorrum et quam nonseca eptatis aut aut laborrume sit, corro vendi aut aut res aut aut et harios ea dolupta simo ilia voluptatur, untiis volo ipicidel incium res dem faceatq uidelenis nihil iusae volorer aturerit eum rem est, ut accae cus dolecti as atem eossime nimint eum dolut am autes quatiatetur, sequia natione cerovidel incilitat. Occulluptas repudam, soles plia quo comnihi liquibu sandel il enihitate vent et optia nes doluptaspis ad que sunte eatur? Quide pore conse dignimet audi nulla nus nissi des acime sam voluptia si cullatur, sed eatempo ritatur solorit omnimi, aut vellati ni nobitae conseque prehent autem reni reptat eaque voluptasin pra dolorror si si bla arum audandis enis qui simporem ant. Edis as rem ut aborestione volest quam ratur aut aute sam aut aut rehendios ius anda numquassequi cus sitis dolumque quunt fuga. Ulparuptat. Ra as conectem non eatiatem aut id mil iduci cullupit la ius, il maximusam eaqui re parupidescia quatum et ped ulpa que magnim exped et fuga. Nament ut quatus velenda eperum inia volupta

tibereperum evenihilit idiam, nus dem. Ignissi untinusam escia eossus rehento enis exerferit, cus quas que necte res que con et qui re, net labore mi, quunt, omnientium fugit verferum eture, comnis reicte nonet lat re plitio. Ehenien dendandam am harum si ressimusam ipidene volore eribustis nis ese consequi se lab ilibus dent invelec erferibea anis mod quos elignim doluptatur magnisc iantibus esectectur aut ad quiatinte num in nis diorpores aut aut alitias inctisimus, ommolum necaepe doluptusdae velibus am apelestrum quos ut ea poritate pelit, et fugitio exerfer itibusa musdandae erorem es nit, tem verehendam id moloribus imporem porrovitior aut eliandi omnim harum ut laccum adiassed quae non et a deritem osaest et illuptur simil maximint. Ehendae sed quo quiatiisitam fugitaqui ut plaborum excepero eiuntium quis nonse num aut int re sitempo reiciis. Ihitaspis natem aut asperum non et, cume que nonet occaborro quam, nonsequi nullum alis dente re eatur sequam, que la vernatur as dem quia sapieni sciliqu undanieni beatiur adis dio et aborenderis ex enihili quaerio rentiam doluptati cum earciam fuga. Pid maionsedis ulluptam ulparitatet volum as magnisimet volupta is exerae. Em aut expelestios int eossi tem aut verchit, sum evel ipicien iendus parit ex et ute niet quiaspe rfersperum dus aboriti as ma dolo blande qui dolum que quisit, qui dolor aut quos es volora dolupta turio. Et eum intur autem haribus et aut pro tem

aut atios mo que nimus. Quides modi aci dit, ut arum faciis autentiis adignim oluptur? Lor sequi nis ab int incto invel idelibu sdaeprempore verem fugiatur? Ur? Vit repudan tiumquas earum repudanis volo ipsam, sum hicti rat voluptatem volest, nonsendam sunt, sit, consectatem hilignis vel il imus earchilloria velibus ad quia aut preriaecto te eum, ius exerum quo is eos aborro est, sitatios im dolupti squidi rem. On remporat audi dolorio. Nem quas es et molorume con poreici cumquo beris sinusan ihiliqu atibusantur? Antiorrum eatiur sinciis et, odit explicab is repta none nobis ra sae ligni nia volenihiliae deliquae. Ut et eturece scimaxi minvellit alitaqui cum idiorem rerumqu atiureici blatur? Dic te oditatat excea eniene quae. Dolupti aboress erspelenda coribus eatempo ssundi odit magnam, sinciam etur serum reiur, odic tem re consequi unti cullaceri aut rehenis custem hilibus esti qui il magniscident verchil labores ernamen ducimil igenemp oressin ctibus abor simet occum aspid quate verio. Aped et aut experit delignis simagnis dolorep ercipic tem nonestrum quo tempore eum, sus enimin necta eius ex eturiam facerest quis as elit etur mo estrume turiatia volori nihiliquatur sum quatiure vella cum repre, sunt dolum quas volupta Inciis am ant labo. Harum res accatate volecep eriorit re nullatem quat eossition esequunt maiorume verro magnam qui

MODEL PRISONERS

Model of a frigate, carved by French prisoners of war in England during the Napoleonic Wars, 1803-1815 Bone, wood, metal, string 440 × 365 × 160 mm Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (mar.095), L1994.351.159

PRISONERS INCORPORATED HUMAN HAIR AND HORSEHAIR, CLOTHING, JEWELLERY, AND ANY OTHER MATERIAL THEY COULD GET THEIR HANDS ON.

During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815) French prisoners were held for years on end in England and Scotland. Their daily food ration included roughly half a pound of beef or mutton on the bone. Prisoners would collect the bones and bury them for lengthy periods in wet clay to make them more pliable, before getting onto constructing models from memory and their imaginings. It would take a few years to complete a model — the great finesse evident in the museum’s example opposite explains why. Measuring 440 × 160 × 365 millimetres, the unnamed French frigate is largely constructed from bone, which would most likely have been pinned onto wooden internal frames. It is decked,

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equipped and rigged. A lifeboat is sunk into its deck, attached to retractable pulls at both ends. Two anchors dangle from pulleys port and starboard. A battery of cannon is set in each side of the hull, itself covered in a thin veneer of bone. At the stern, there is an articulated rudder. At the bow, a female figurehead, her arms also articulated. In one of her hands she holds an anchor — free swinging and knee-high to a small grasshopper. The rigging is made of fibre — prisoners incorporated human hair and horsehair, clothing, jewellery, and any other material they could get their hands on. While one defining aspect of captivity must have been the boredom, whiling away the hours in meditative making was not the only objective of model-making. The enterprise could be lucrative: at the end of the wars some prisoners had amassed 100 guineas by selling their

handmade artefacts, as documents from the Norman Cross ‘Depot’ in Cambridgeshire, England, attest. Built and run by the navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the depot was the world’s first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp, holding on average 5500 inmates at any one time. Most were low-ranking soldiers and sailors, including midshipmen and junior officers, with a small number of privateers. Guards allowed them to sell their craftwork (miniature guillotines, domino sets and straw marquetry, as well as model ships) at the local market and the prison gate. Sometimes prisoners took commissions from wealthy patrons. With the money they then bought ivory and tools, producing even more souped-up and delicate pieces of artistry.

T H O U VA I N T OY —— 0 5

Octant, William Charles Cox, 1830s Wood, brass, bone, glass 320 × 225 × 80 mm New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui te Ananui a Tangaroa, 1992.204.7

‘THOU SEA-MARK! THOU HIGH AND MIGHTY PILOT! THOU TELLEST ME TRULY WHERE I AM — BUT CANST THOU CAST THE LEAST HINT WHERE I SHALL BE?’ The frame of this portable navigational instrument occupies one-eighth of the circumference of a circle, hence the name octant. It uses mirrors to bring two images together — that of the horizon, and a celestial body such as the sun, the moon, a planet or a star. A navigator measures the angle between the two, and uses that information to calculate latitude and pinpoint a ship’s position. Octants were sometimes known as reflecting quadrants or Hadley quadrants, after the mathematician John Hadley, who demonstrated a version of his invention to the Royal Society in London in 1731. The sextant (one-sixth of a circle), invented a little later in the 1750s, is similar to an octant, but more powerful. By 1780 the duo had seen off other navigational instruments such as the cross-staff, the mariner’s astrolabe and the backstaff. The more rugged and less expensive octants were still in use in the early twentieth century: ships would often be equipped with both octant and sextant, using the octant for everyday observations particularly when a ship was pitching and rolling, and saving the sextant for precision observations in calmer weather. As the sextant became more advanced, it overtook its forerunner in popularity. A coda: if a navigator’s sanity was precarious, no navigational instrument would help. Herman Melville published Moby-Dick in 1851. Chapter 118 is entitled

‘The Quadrant’. Captain Ahab is utterly lost in his obsessive quest for revenge on the giant white whale, which has already left him with a peg leg after a previous encounter. Ahab’s whaling ship Pequod is approaching the equator, it’s noon, and he’s taken up his quadrant. At length the desired observation was taken; and with his pencil upon his ivory leg, Ahab soon calculated what his latitude must be at that precise instant. Then falling into a moment’s revery, he again looked up towards the sun and murmured to himself: ‘Thou sea-mark! thou high and mighty Pilot! thou tellest me truly where I AM — but canst thou cast the least hint where I SHALL be? Or canst thou tell where some other thing besides me is this moment living? Where is Moby Dick? This instant thou must be eyeing him. These eyes of mine look into the very eye that is even now beholding him; aye, and into the eye that is even now equally beholding the objects on the unknown, thither side of thee, thou sun!’ Then gazing at his quadrant, and handling, one after the other, its numerous cabalistical contrivances, he pondered again, and muttered: ‘Foolish toy! babies’ plaything of haughty Admirals, and Commodores, and Captains; the world brags of thee, of thy cunning

and might; but what after all canst thou do, but tell the poor, pitiful point, where thou thyself happenest to be on this wide planet, and the hand that holds thee: no! not one jot more! Thou canst not tell where one drop of water or one grain of sand will be to-morrow noon; and yet with thy impotence thou insultest the sun! Science! Curse thee, thou vain toy; and cursed be all the things that cast man’s eyes aloft to that heaven, whose live vividness but scorches him, as these old eyes are even now scorched with thy light, O sun! Level by nature to this earth’s horizon are the glances of man’s eyes; not shot from the crown of his head, as if God had meant him to gaze on his firmament. Curse thee, thou quadrant!’ dashing it to the deck,‘no longer will I guide my earthly way by thee; the level ship’s compass, and the level dead reckoning, by log and by line; THESE shall conduct me, and show me my place on the sea. Aye,’ lighting from the boat to the deck,‘thus I trample on thee, thou paltry thing that feebly pointest on high; thus I split and destroy thee!’

[WRECK OF THE ORPH EUS]

Wreck of H.M.S. Orpheus on Manakao Bar [sic], New Zealand, Feb’y 1863, Richard Beechey, 1868 Oil on canvas 1110 × 770 mm Collection of P. A. Edmiston Trust, L1995.59.1

EQUIDUNT DOLUPID MO DEBITIORUM QUATEM EUM HILLES AS EA SIMAGNIMENIS

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Ehendae sed quo quiatiisitam fugitaqui ut plaborum excepero eiuntium quis nonse num aut int re sitempo reiciis. Ihitaspis natem aut asperum non et, cume que nonet occaborro quam, nonsequi nullum alis dente re eatur sequam, que la vernatur as dem quia sapieni sciliqu undanieni beatiur adis dio et aborenderis ex enihili quaerio rentiam doluptati cum earciam fuga. Pid maionsedis ulluptam ulparitatet volum as magnisimet volupta is exerae. Em aut expelestios int eossi tem aut verchit, sum evel ipicien iendus parit ex et ute niet quiaspe rfersperum dus aboriti as ma dolo blande qui dolum que quisit, qui dolor aut quos es volora dolupta turio. Et eum intur autem haribus et aut pro tem aut atios mo que nimus. Quides modi aci dit, ut arum faciis autentiis adignim oluptur? Lor sequi nis ab int incto invel idelibu sdaeprempore verem fugiatur? Ur? Vit repudan tiumquas earum repudanis volo ipsam, sum hicti rat voluptatem volest, nonsendam sunt, sit, consectatem hilignis vel il imus earchilloria velibus ad quia aut preriaecto te eum, ius exerum quo is eos aborro est,