Yachts tied up to an inner harbour jetty in the 1920s.
Gail Pope is a social history curator at the MTG.
Te Whanganui-a-Orotū/Napier Inner Harbour, described by Captain Cook as a “pretty large lake of saltwater,” was a tidal lagoon, water entering at the narrow channel and lapping all the way to the Poraiti foothills.
Imbued with spiritual significance, it was much prized by Māori as a place of abundance - a source of fresh food including fish, shellfish, and birds.
Partially land-locked and inaccessible to vessels of large tonnage or heavy draught, the harbour was used extensively by boating enthusiasts, fishermen, and family groups for pleasure pursuits.
While considered a haven for sailing, care still needed to be taken, and this was especially evident on Saturday, October 20, 1883.
A group of six young men had organised to go sailing on that afternoon. They were Anthony Dixon (cabinet maker), William Meek (upholsterer), William De La Haye (coach trimmer), George Reardon (architect’s pupil) and brothers James and Alexander Stewart (carpenters).
They left Port Ahuriri on board the yacht, Resolute, hoping to sail as far as Poraiti and back. Sailing conditions were outstanding and the group made excellent progress towards Poraiti. Once there they turned and followed the shoreline intending to manoeuvre the Resolute towards Tapu te Ranga/Watchman Island and across the harbour to home.
However, half a mile from shore disaster struck, when an enormous gust of wind caught the gib and capsized the Resolute, “laying it on its side” and throwing the men into the water. James and Anthony tried to cut away some of the “hamper” (upper sails, spars and rigging) and right the vessel but, unsuccessful, they swam towards shore to get help.
Despairingly, those who could not swim scrambled on to the side of the capsized boat.
It took the two men an hour to battle the choppy waters and then “crawl out upon the beach”, so exhausted that initially “they could not walk for a long time”. When they “had recovered a little” they set off to get help, taking more than two hours to walk the difficult terrain to Taradale Police Station.
Once alerted, Constable Villers immediately set off on horseback to Port Ahuriri to organise rescue parties. The Resolute had been buffeted by wind and current, and was finally sighted a distance away from the original capsizing, now right-side up and full of water. Inside the hull, William Meek and William De La Haye were dead and Alexander Stewart barely alive.
George Reardon was missing. Alexander and the two deceased were conveyed to the Crown Hotel at Ahuriri. On regaining consciousness, Alexander described in graphic detail what happened after Anthony and his brother, James, swam for shore.
The four men had clung to the side of the boat until a heavy wave struck and turned the Resolute upside down. Alexander and the two Williams managed to hold on, but George disappeared into the murky depths and was not seen again.
William Meek dived under the boat, released the ballast, cut the remaining rigging and, with the help of the others, turned the boat upright. For over three hours they sat immersed in water inside the hull of the Resolute. The water so cold that soon after midnight William De La Haye died, and, half an hour before the rescue boat arrived, William Meek grew delirious and passed away.
Alexander, suffering from hypothermia, had almost slipped into unconsciousness when rescue arrived. Despite efforts to resuscitate the two Williamses “help had arrived too late”.
For the next nine days groups of men spent hours searching for George and when found, his body was taken to the family home and an inquest held. The body was “not recognisable when viewed by the jury, having altered much since being taken out of the water, but was identified by a peculiarity in the pattern of the socks worn by deceased”.
William Meek’s parents arrived in Ahuriri/Napier and arranged for their son’s body to be taken to Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington by steamer for interment.
The funeral of William De La Haye took place on Thursday, November 25. A large number of people followed the coffin to the Napier cemetery where “the impressive and beautiful burial service of the English Church was read over the body by the Rev De Berdt Hovell”. William was just 21 years of age.
George’s funeral was held on October 31 at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church.
Father Cassidy officiated the service, delivering an eloquent sermon during which he spoke of the heroism displayed by William Meek’s strenuous efforts to save his companions. Following this the beautiful Gregorian music of the requiem mass was sung “for the repose of the soul of the late George Reardon”.
The body was then taken from the church to the cemetery for burial followed by a large contingent of people, including 22 vehicles filled with mourners and several people on horseback. The coffin was lowered into the grave covered with floral wreaths and crosses.
George, “a young man full of promise” and an only son, was just 18 years old. At the inquests, the jury’s verdict was that “the three men had died from exposure and exhaustion upon the upsetting of a boat”.
The once busy and active inner harbour was changed forever by the 1931 Te Matau-a-Māui/Hawke’s Bay earthquake through the uplifting of land and the draining of water.
The raised land created 2240 hectares for building and development, including the Hawke’s Bay Airport. A much smaller inner harbour remains, including a wildlife reserve and a walking track.