Figurehead from ship wrecked off Oamaru fetches $42,000

The female figurehead from a ship wrecked off the coast of Oamaru in 1868 sold at a marine auction in London yesterday for £14,400 ($41,370).

The price was well above a pre-sale estimate of £12,000.

Auctioneers Sotheby's said the seller was a New Zealander who did not wish to talk to the media.

In 1868 the 632-tonne Star of Tasmania was driven ashore at Oamaru in a violent storm. Two crew and two passengers lost their lives.

The painted pine figurehead was salvaged and in the 1950s was bought by an antiques dealer after it was found on a farm blocking up a hole in a hedge, says Sotheby's.