''Hydrabad'' was an iron cargo and passenger sailing ship, built in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and launched in 1865. She was owned by several successive companies, and served until being wrecked off the coast of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1878. There were attempts to salvage her, but they all failed, and the wreck was left to deteriorate on the shoreline.

Construction and early years

She was built by Robert Duncan & Company, of Port Glasgow,

and launched on 14 May 1865. She was completed in August 1865, and initially owned by the Bombay Iron Ship Company, of

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

. She was later acquired by Stephens and Sons, of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. ''Hydrabad'' was a

full-rigged ship A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel's sail plan with three or more masts, all of them square-rigged. A full-rigged ship is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged. Such vessels also have each mast stepped in three s ...

with three masts, built of iron. She was long, had a beam of , and a draught of . She had two holds, and an ornately carved

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

of a

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warrior. Her accommodation was lavishly furnished.

Wreck

''Hydrabad'' was bound from Lyttelton to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, carrying broad gauge

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...

which had been sold by the

Canterbury Provincial Railways The Canterbury Provincial Railways was an early part of the railways of New Zealand. Built by the Canterbury Provincial government mainly to the broad gauge of , the railway reached most of the Canterbury region by the time the province was abol ...

to the

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. While making the voyage she became caught in a severe storm on 24 June 1878. Her captain, a man named Holmwood, ran the ship aground on Waitarere Beach five kilometres south of the mouth of the Manawatu River in the North Island, to increase the passengers' and crew's chances of survival. There were no deaths in the wreck. Two attempts were made to refloat the vessel, the first in November 1878, and another on 7 January 1879. During the latter attempt, the steamer SS ''Glenelg'' managed to tow ''Hydrabad'' off the beach, but she then began to rapidly take on water. The attempt was abandoned and ''Hydrabad'' was left to drift up the beach, preparatory to her cargo being unloaded and taken to Foxton. Eventually a fire broke out, buckling her hull planks, and the wreck was abandoned. She had been insured for £15,000 and her cargo for £24,500. The remains of ''Hydrabad'' were washed further and further up the beach by later storms, and today the wreck lies well above the high-water mark. It is periodically uncovered and recovered by shifting sands. The nearby community of Waitarere commissioned a survey of the ''Hydrabad'' from the Maritime Archaeological Association of New Zealand, to investigate the rate of decay of the wreck, and the possibility of creating a memorial using some or all of the remains. As of 2024 a blue marker indicates its whereabouts.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hydrabad 1865 ships Sailing ships Ships built on the River Clyde Maritime incidents in June 1878 Shipwrecks of New Zealand History of Manawatū-Whanganui Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic places in Manawatū-Whanganui 1865 in Scotland 1878 in New Zealand 1878 disasters in New Zealand