Strength Built
Over Time

Our History

Building capability, trust and expertise in marine salvage and recovery across decades.

History — Scroll Stack

1940s Niagara

Shortly after her departure from Auckland on a passage to Suva and Vancouver the steamer was sunk as the result of striking a mine early on the morning of 19 June 1940. There was no loss of life, her complement of 349 – 146 passengers and 203 members of the crew – embarking in 18 boats, and by nightfall all were safely back in Auckland.

In the Niagara's strongroom was a shipment of 295 boxes, each containing two ingots of gold, of an approximate value of £2,500,000, being shipped to the USA. The owners of gold, the Bank of England, entered into a contract with the United Salvage Proprietary Ltd., of Melbourne, for its recovery.

The salvage company, having acquired the old steamer Claymore, of 260 tons gross and 119 tons net register, built in 1902, established their headquarters at Whangarei, and commenced operations on 15 December 1940 under the directions of Captains J. Williams and J. Herd.

On 2 February 1941, the wreck of the Niagara was located in a reported 438 feet of water, which at the time was claimed to be the greatest depth at which salvage operations had ever been carried out.

1941s Claymore

Hampered by bad weather, and frequently menaced by mines which on two occasions nearly brought about the destruction of the Claymore and her complement of 18 persons, nearly nine months of arduous and dangerous work ensured, blasting and clearing away sufficient of the steamer's structure, before access could be obtained to the strongroom, and it was not until 13 October that the first two bars of gold, each worth £4300, were recovered.

Two days later the Claymore steamed into Whangarei with gold to the value of £84,600 on board. When operations finally ceased on 8 December 1941, the day after Japan's entry into the war, 277½ boxes (555 ingots) of gold had been recovered, the approximate value of which was £2,379,000, and represented 94 percent of the total. The operations were carried out using a diving bell in which divers J. Johnstone and his brother William made 316 descents during the salvage operations.