![]() New Zealand’s harbour bars have claimed countless vessels, from sailing ships to speedboats. He has little room to manoeuvre, and his ship is being buffeted by a heavy westerly swell. Beneath the keel lurks an ever-shifting sand bar. To the south of the river mouth is a long sand spit to the north, a rocky headland. Brenchley approaches the entrance on a tight angle. Rather than be blown ashore, he will seek the safety of the river. Trapped on a lee coast, Brenchley finds he is unable to work his vessel back out to sea. Suddenly, a gale springs up from the west-south-west. While the captain, Thomas Brenchley, waits for the tidal stream to ease, ominous clouds build up over the mountains and the barometer falls. On board are settlers from Dunedin, eager to start a new life in the month-old settlement of Jamestown. Now, on July 10, 1870, a break in the weather has allowed her to sail back up the coast. ![]() For days she has been cowering from gales in Milford Sound, some 30 km to the south. on a calm winter’s day the two-masted schooner Esther Ann lies off the entrance to the Hollyford River, in Fiordland. ![]() Written by Allan Uren Photographed by Graham CharlesĪt 9.00 A.M.
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