HMS Orpheus (1860) - Aftermath

Aftermath

Three inquiries were held after the shipwreck, but due to the unwillingness of the Royal Navy to admit an officer's culpability much of the blame was laid on Edward Wing for not guiding the ship into the harbour and for failing to maintain the signalling station on Paratutai Island. In all, 189 people died in the wreck of HMS Orpheus, including Commodore Burnett and Captain Burton, giving it the highest ever casualty rate for a shipwreck in New Zealand waters.

Later, the survivors (8 officers and 62 men) were taken to HMS Miranda and split into three groups. All the officers and 10 hands were sent to Portsmouth to appear before a court martial (in this case not a criminal trial, but a formal inquiry); 25 sailors were drafted to HMS Harrier; and the remaining 27 sailors stayed with Miranda.

Most of the sailors who drowned were very young, some being boys aged 12 to 18 who were still "learning the ropes" to become able seamen. The average age of the crew (including marines) was only 25.

The cause of this disaster is disputed, even after the Admiralty laid the blame on Edward Wing. The local Maori interpreted it differently. In Manukau Harbour some distance from the scene of the disaster lies Puketutu Island. On the extreme western point of the island there grew a puriri tree, the tree was considered sacred and "tapu" to the Maori people. In 1863 one day before Orpheus was wrecked a pakeha settler felled the tree and used the wood for fence posts. Hence, Maori linked the disaster with a violation of tapu. There is at least a symbolic link, as the ultimate reason for Orpheus's visit was to support a colonial war against the Maori people.

Orpheus Island off the coast of Queensland was named after the corvette by Lieutenant G. E. Richards in 1887 in memory of the loss of life.