Sea Shanties & Shipwrecks - By Hinemura Ellison
What becomes of shipwrecks? As a child did you used to explore the seaside? And intrigued by what you found. In the North Island on the edge of the Kāpiti Coast we used to pretend we were Rose and Jack from 'Titanic' and stand on the bow of a local shipwreck and dream of faraway lands.
Ships and shipwrecks have always been a point of fascination
I cannot find a valid explanation
Learning about the history of ships that sail no more
The majority of them swept up on rocks or ashore
Like the 'Wahine' on April 10, 1968
Can you remember that fateful date?
In Wellington harbour she finished her days
In the early hours near Seatoun, along the bays
Then there was the ‘Hydrabad’ on her way from Adelaide
Becoming a victim of a shipwreck raid
This sailing ship on a stormy voyage
With a couple of crew, wives and civies on this passage
On her way to a destination
But nature had her intervention
Heading up the Kāpiti Coast
With Captain Homewood playing host
The strong winds pushed her in
The poor ship out of control, on a spin
Landing on a sandy bank
The hull hitting the sandbar with a clank
They tried to refloat her, they gave it a crack
To get the sailing ship back on track
But alas the winds were far too strong
The weather conditions for sailing were completely wrong
She had now beached herself too close to shore
Her days at sea were no more
All the escapades of refloating her taken in by local folk
Anything of value, the vandals went for broke
Today over a century later there she lays
Buried beneath the sand where no one plays
But back in the days as a child
I played on her, running wild
Climbing over her broken mast
Happy memories of the past
Standing up the front with arms out wide
Down in the ships cabin we would play and hide
Walking along the old beams from starboard
Then 1, 2, 3 jump, now over board
She used to protrude high out of the sand
For miles down the beach, you could see her stand
That was the days before Health and Safety came into play
When you could run havoc, night and day
Childhood memories of being shipwrecked out at sea
Adventures and innocent fun and home by tea
Make sure you hold onto those memories and relive those days
Happy times playing at the beach and around the bays
