Remains Of Historic Ship

Exciting Vanikoro Discovery

Remains Of Historic Ship Found After 175 Years

Special to “Pacific Islands Monthly”

After it had lain on the seabed at Vanikoro in the Southern olomons for 175 years, Mr. Reece Discombe, a deep-sea diver and igineer of Vila, New Hebrides, has discovered the wreck of La erouse’s ship Boussole.

HHE Boussole, one of the most L famous ships in Pacific history, as lost in a storm at Vanikoro about pril, 1788, while La Perouse was on voyage of exploration in the Paci : for the French Government.

Remains of his other ship, the strolabe, which was also wrecked Vanikoro, were found about 135 ;ars ago.

The finding of the remains of the oussole corresponds almost exactly ith the 175th anniversary of La grouse’s arrival at Botany Bay— ily two days after Governor Arthur fillip had arrived with the First leet.

He sailed again about March 10, 7 88, and was never seen by white en again. No clue to his fate was scovered until 1826 when an Irish aman. Captain Peter Dillon, lanced upon articles of European igin at Tikopia, which the Tiko ans told him they had got from :arby Vanikoro.

"Sunk in Deep Water"

Captain Dillon visited Vanikoro e following year and recovered imerous articles washed ashore Dm La Perouse’s ships.

He was also told by the natives at the two ships had been wrecked a storm many years earlier; that le had gone down in fairly shallow iter inside the reef; that the other id sunk in deep water outside the ef; and that most of the men who ;re not drowned or eaten by sharks ;re massacred when they came hore.

Later that year, the French naviga r Dumont D’Urville recovered ichors, cannon and other items from e inner wreck (presumed to be the strolabe)-, but until Mr. Discombe’s scovery, no one had succeeded in iding the remains of the Boussole.

Mr. Discombe first became in rested in searching for the Boussole 1958 when he went to Vanikoro

with an expedition to search for fur ther remains of La Perouse. He took part in a second expedition in 1959.

Numerous relics from the Astrolabe were recovered on both occasions.

Mr. Discombe was at Vanikoro again in June last year to investigate the possibility of salvaging a cargo of jettisoned brass, and it was then that he tentatively established the where abouts of the Boussole.

Diving outside the reef, he found a gap in the reef about 20 to 30 ft wide in which were anchors, cannon, pieces of copper and iron and lead ingots in water up to 100 ft deep.

He could not make a thorough in vestigation until December when he was in Vanikoro again to salvage the jettisoned brass, and he now has no doubt that the wreckage is that of the Boussole.

In a letter to PIM, he said; “Every thing is buried in coral, which has to be blasted all the way. I have brought back (to Vila) quite interesting relics.

“I rigged up a barge to fish out some anchors and cannons, but could not get to the wreck because of the seas.

“I have found a gold coin, but it is still in the coral. I also found some silver, possibly a snuff outfit, etc.

“I am sure that the ship is broken in half as there are huge coral encrusted pieces in 100 ft of water, which all requires blasting.”

South Pacific Vip’S In Sydney

Sydney in December was visited by the largest number of South Seas VIP’s ever to have arrived at the one time. They came from American and Western Samoa and Fiji and stayed for periods up to a week, touring the city and near-city beauty spots, visiting the theatre and nightclubs and attending functions in their honour.

The VIP’s were guests of Pan American Airways to mark the inauguration of a weekly 707 service between the US and Sydney via Tafuna, American Samoa. This service does not call at Nadi. A big party of VIP’s also arrived from Honolulu and the mainland US.

The Islands’ group included the Governor of American Samoa, Mr. H. Rex Lee, and Mrs. Lee; the Lieutenant-Governor, Mr. Owen Aspinall, and Mrs. Aspinall; the Prime Minister of Western Samoa, Fiame Mataafa; and the Mayor of Suva, Mr. Charles Stinson, and Mrs. Stinson. In the photo, Mr. Lawrence Vass, US Consul-General in Sydney, is seen at a function at the Chevron Hilton Hotel talking to Chief Leiato, of American Samoa, Secretary of Samoan Affairs, Governor and Mrs. Lee and Chief Tamotu Mulitauaopele. See also Tropicalities, p. 17, and People, p. 134.