And she is gone, the ship! his last command!

Whereon remembrance, tantalising, falls

Like shadows from her sails. No use to search

The world's reef-ridges for her rusting ribs;

Her wreckage strewed NO coastline; homeward bound!

She mustered on the roll of missing ships, And bore her famous English soldier's name

To grace the gallery in Neptune's Halls.

And greybeards wagged their heads and talked of ice!

Of berg and floe! of fire! of broaching-to! But my heart whispered, "No, 'twas none of these!

'Twas love of gain that wrought the vessel's doom."

From "Shadows of Sails." by John Anderson, a relative of Capt. Hird.

The actual fate of this beautiful ship will never be known. After making fourteen rapid and successful passages to New Zealand she sailed from Lyttelton for London on January 11, 1890, with a cargo, comprised of frozen meat and wool. She had a crew of twenty-nine men, and one passenger. the Marlborough was a handsome ship of 1124 tons, and was built by Robert Duncan, of Glasgow, and launched in June, 1876, for her owner, Mr. J. Leslie, who subsequently sold her to the Shaw, Savill Co. Captain Anderson commanded the ship from 1876 until 1883, making some remarkable runs to Lyttelton and Dunedin. He also made several rapid passages Home, on one occasion, in 1880, being credited with covering the distance from Lyttelton to the Lizard in 71 days.

In 1884 Captain Anderson was succeeded by Captain W. Herd, and he was in the ship when she was missing on her homeward journey in 1890. As already stated, the ship sailed from Lyttelton on January 11. Two days later she was spoken by a passing vessel, and she was never heard of afterwards. One of the cadets on board was young Crombie, a stepson of Captain William Ashby, so well known in Auckland. When no tidings came after long waiting inquiry was made as to her condition when sailing, and it was proved that the cargo was properly stowed and the ship was well found and manned in thorough good trim for the voyage. After many months had passed the ship was posted at Lloyds as "missing," and the general opinion was that the ship had been sunk by icebergs, so frequently met with near Cape Horn.