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Variety In Brief
Puzzling Sea Mystery.

Of all the mysteries of the sea, none has been more peculiar or puzzling than that of the Scottish sailing ship Marlborough, which left Lyttelton for England on January 11, 1890, with a cargo of frozen meat and wool and went missing. The actual fate of the vessel will probably never be known, although two remarkable stories, both reputed to be true, have been recorded about her.

Interest in the Marlborough has been revived in America where the allegedly true story of the fate of the vessel is being told.

When the Marlborough set out on her last voyage she had a crew of 29 and one passenger. She was a handsome ship of 1124 tons, and when she went missing she was under the command of Captain W. Herd. Two days after leaving port the Marlborough was spoken by a passing vessel and she then disappeared. The ship was subsequently posted missing at Lloyds.

The story which is arousing keen interest in America (perhaps with a view to adapting it for motion picture purposes), is that in November, 1913, the British sailing ship Johnston, homeward bound from New Zealand, sighted what appeared to be a schooner, with its sails floating in the wind, off the coast of Chile, near Punta Arenas. The captain of the Johnston signalled the strange craft, and when he received no response he ordered his ship put about and approached the vessel.

As the two ships neared each other the men on the Johnston observed that the masts and the sails of the other craft were covered with some kind of green moss, and the vessel appeared to have been abandoned by her crew. Upon boarding it, the skeleton of a man was found beneath the helm. The deck was decayed to such an extent that it gave way under the weight of the searchers. Three more skeletons were discovered near the hatchway; there were ten skeletons in the crew's quarters and six more on the bridge. There was an uncanny stillness around and a dank smell of mould which made the flesh creep. Upon the battered prow of the vessel the words “Marlborough, Glasgow,” could still be made out.

If this story is authentic the Marlborough must have been cruising about the seas for 23 years guided by skeleton hands. There is, however, no record of such a vessel having ever been salvaged or washed ashore in the vicinity of Punta Arenas.

Another story, which came to light many years after the happening was told by an American pilot. He said that in his youth he was wrecked off Staten Island, and while searching for a whaling station he and the only other survivor came across in a cove, “a large ship with painted ports.” Nearby were the skeletons of 25 men, and large heaps of shellfish and animal bones (presumably part of the frozen meat in the holds) provided mute evidence of the crew's vain attempt to fight off the starvation which apparently overtook them. The pilot said he distinctly saw the name “Marlborough” on the wreck.

It will probably never be known which, if either, of these stories is correct.

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It will have been seen that the Government has set up the New Zealand Historical Committee to gather information for various publications to be issued for the centenary celebrations of 1940. These publications will entail a large amount of research among various publications, not the least useful of which will be the New Zealand Railways Magazine. For years past this publication has been supplying the most interesting historical and biographical matter, which, culled as it has been, from eye witnesses, many of whom have since died, will be of inestimable worth to historians of the future. Historical and current surveys of most of the main cities and towns and write-ups of prominent men and women of the past and the present, Maori and Pakeha, have been of high informative and literary standard. “The Wisdom of the Maori,” and “Pictures of New Zealand Life,” are two more features supplying information published nowhere else. Many other items of interest and of great historical value are constantly appearing in the “Railways Magazine.”—Katiti.