SS Gerda wrecked Greymouth breakwater 23 June 1888

About this image

Description"We are much afraid that if the remains of the vessel are not shortly removed scarcely a vestige of the north training works will be left to us. The stern of the steamer, weighted down and kept in position by the heavy machinery and boilers, acts, as a battering ram by which the wreck is driven steadily in on the beach, destroying the staging of the north wall as the wreck is forced home by the waves, steadily and surely. This opens up two questions — (1) Is the wreck to- be allowed to remain as it is until it destroys what is left of the piling that has been erected after so much trouble and expense? (2) And how far are the contractors to be held responsible for the damage they sustain through no fault of their own ?"(Excerpt from Papers Past)
see external link below..PhotographerJames RingDate of Photo23 June 1888Map^[1]External LinkPapers Past

Shown in this image

Location (city or town)GreymouthEventSS Gerda wrecked Greymouth breakwater 23 June 1888

Category Information

Category TagShipping

From Facebook

Date Created26th January 2021CommentsGarry Jackson
When entering the Grey River the steamer encountered a very heavy sea outside the bar and was carried on to the North Breakwater,coming inside the Two Breakwaters the Gerda was caught on the top of a heavy breaker and was thrown against the Staging and became wedged.She crashed through 8 logs about 100 feet in length.There was sufficient water on the bar and the signal hoisted indicated that the bar was safe.All hands walked ashore from the ship by the staging,she completely destroyed eleven bays of the North Breakwater,The Greymouth Harbourmaster who witnessed the casualty attributed it to the Gerda not answering her helm properly,the Gerda was an iron,screw steamer built in Germany 1883, length 169.6 ft, beam 25.6 ft, depth 13.2ft, owned by H Schuldt of Flensburg,was under charter to H Guthrie of Dunedin,the Gerda was under the Command of Captain Claus Erickson.
· Reply · 10h

OCR Text Transcription Edit Edit +-Close

Editing is temporarily disabled

Cancel Edit

Start typing here to find a location	Latitude	Longitude	Zoom	Actions

loading google map....

Save Cancel

Menu

SS Gerda wrecked Greymouth breakwater 23 June 1888

Editing is temporarily disabled