There were many tragedies in the old sailing ship days, when a journey from the Old Land to the New was a matter of some adventure, but probably one of the swiftest was that which overtook the ship Saint Leonards with 62 souls aboard, soon after she had left London on the long voyage to New Zealand. She was a well-known visitor to the colony, and both she and her master (Captain Richard Todd) were particularly popular in the trade. An iron ship, built by Pile, Hay and Co., at Sunderland in 1864, for the Shaw, Savill Company, she was employed in the New Zealand trade between 1873 and 1882, making during that time many voyages from England. It was in 1883 that she met with disaster. From the outset the voyage was unlucky. She first left the docks on August 31, but was caught in a terrible storm a few days later, and had to put back with a sprung bowsprit and other injuries that took ten days to repair. It was not until the 13th of September that she set sail again. Captain Todd was in command of a crew of 29 all told, his officers being Mr. Broadway, first, and Mr. Allsop, second. Everything went well until the 17th, when the ship was about eighteen miles east of Start Point.