Sextant

A daring escape

This home-made sextant  is an example of prisoners' ingenuity and was made for a daring, yet ill-fated escape. The sextant was made by Karl Wilhelm Mertin, a civilian of German-decent who was interned on Somes Island in Wellington Harbour during the First World War as an 'enemy alien'.

On the night of 30 July 1918, Mertin, along with fellow internees William Knab, Alfred Kraut and August 'Hugo' Kosel escaped from the island on a raft made from tea boxes and oil drums, and paddles made from spades, guided by the sextant and a compass. Although all four made it to shore at Ngauranga, three of them soon found themselves in police custody after leaving the beach. Kosel, who was left on the beach because of his injured leg, allegedly the result of ill-treatment by camp guards, died from exposure before the police found him.

The sextant, which was discovered 'floating in the vicinity of the landing', was an object of concern in the ensuing court case. In a report to the Acting Prime Miinister, Sir James Allen, the Court stated that while the escape was not attributable to any neglect on the part of the New Zealand Defence Force, the sextant would have been easy to construct in the camp without 'being detected by vigilent supervision'. Mertin fashioned the sextant from a cigar box, stripped brass, copper tubing and glass - items easily found on the island.