Lifeboat [ship's gig]

This wooden lifeboat or ship's gig was recovered in 1973 from the boatshed of a shipwreck depot on Adams Island in the Auckland Islands. The depot was established by the New Zealand government for use by shipwrecked sailors to enable them to reach the supply depot at Camp Cove on Auckland Island.

Relief depots
During the late nineteent century the New Zealand Government established a number of relief depots on the Great Circle shipping route, the path often used in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to sail from Australia to Europe. The course had steady westerly winds, but had its dangers. Crews were sometimes shipwrecked and stranded on cold, uninviting southern islands for months waiting rescue. The depots held guns for hunting, food, blankets, and clothing, and were places of hope in times of trouble.

Depot service abandoned
From about 1880 until 1927 New Zealand government steamers made regular trips to maintain the depots and search for shipwreck survivors. However, eventually radio communications improved and the Great Circle route and the relief depot service were abandoned.

The lifeboat is currently on display at the Maritime Museum in Auckland.