Enterprise
There are two known occasions of a ship called Enterprise sailing into New Zealand waters in the early days of European contact.
The first was in 1817 when the American whaling ship Enterprise on a sealing voyage called at Auckland Islands, and then sailed onto a group of rugged sub-antartic islands called The Snares located 200 kilometres south of New Zealand. Here they found three men who had been left on the islands by the captain of Adventure several years earlier. The men were all escaped convicts from Norfolk Island, and when the provisions on the ship had began to run dangerously low, they were given the option of being put ashore on the freezing remote islands, or slowly starving to death on board. To increase their slim chances of survival, the destitute men were given some potatoes which they planted. Not surprisingly during their distressing exile over a long period of time, one of the men went insane and rather than risk him harming them, the others pushed the unfortunate fellow off a cliff to his death. Enterprise returned to Philadelphia, America in May 1818.
Another Enterprise to sail in New Zealand waters in the early days was built by Thomas Raine at Hokianga’s shipbuilding yard Deptford. In November 1827, Captain Clarke sailed her into the Bay of Islands while on a trading voyage from Sydney for flax. However the schooner was wrecked in May the following year when she was just a few miles north of Hokianga. It was believed that her entire crew was then killed by Maori.
No less than five ships called Enterprise have been wrecked in New Zealand waters.
The first was in 1817 when the American whaling ship Enterprise on a sealing voyage called at Auckland Islands, and then sailed onto a group of rugged sub-antartic islands called The Snares located 200 kilometres south of New Zealand. Here they found three men who had been left on the islands by the captain of Adventure several years earlier. The men were all escaped convicts from Norfolk Island, and when the provisions on the ship had began to run dangerously low, they were given the option of being put ashore on the freezing remote islands, or slowly starving to death on board. To increase their slim chances of survival, the destitute men were given some potatoes which they planted. Not surprisingly during their distressing exile over a long period of time, one of the men went insane and rather than risk him harming them, the others pushed the unfortunate fellow off a cliff to his death. Enterprise returned to Philadelphia, America in May 1818.
Another Enterprise to sail in New Zealand waters in the early days was built by Thomas Raine at Hokianga’s shipbuilding yard Deptford. In November 1827, Captain Clarke sailed her into the Bay of Islands while on a trading voyage from Sydney for flax. However the schooner was wrecked in May the following year when she was just a few miles north of Hokianga. It was believed that her entire crew was then killed by Maori.
No less than five ships called Enterprise have been wrecked in New Zealand waters.