Qualla: SS Elingamite: Gold, Fog, and a Captain Wrongly Blamed https://qualla.com/ss-elingamite en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:28 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/r/c/f/m/ss-elingamite-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: SS Elingamite: Gold, Fog, and a Captain Wrongly Blamed https://qualla.com/ss-elingamite SS Elingamite: Gold, Fog, and a Captain Wrongly Blamed: Introduction https://qualla.com/ss-elingamite/ Photo credit Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson, Public domain. Captain Ernest Atwood did everything right, and the ship sank anyway. On the morning of November 9, 1902, the SS Elingamite was four days into the regular Sydney-to-Auckland run when thick fog closed around the vessel. Atwood slowed, posted lookouts, and navigated by his charts. The charts told him he was clear of the Three Kings Islands, 35 nautical miles north of Cape Reinga. The charts were wrong. The Elingamite struck West Island, and within twenty minutes the 2,585-ton steamer had foundered and sunk, taking 45 of the 194 people aboard with her, along with 52 boxes of coins including 6,000 gold half-sovereigns.

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Image: Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/c/f/m/ss-elingamite-wp/rcfm-ss-elingamite-gold-fog-and-a-captain-wrongly-blame-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full SS Elingamite: Gold, Fog, and a Captain Wrongly Blamed: A Ship Built for Two Purposes https://qualla.com/ss-elingamite/ Photo credit Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson, Public domain. The Elingamite arrived in Sydney on November 22, 1887, having made the voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne where she had been built by C.S. Swan & Hunter. She was a steel-hulled screw steamer, 320 feet long and 40 feet in the beam, powered by triple-expansion compound engines from th...

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Image: Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/c/f/m/ss-elingamite-wp/rcfm-ss-elingamite-gold-fog-and-a-captain-wrongly-blame-a-ship-built-for-two-purposes.mp3 0:06 2 full SS Elingamite: Gold, Fog, and a Captain Wrongly Blamed: Twenty Minutes in the Fog https://qualla.com/ss-elingamite/ Photo credit Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson, Public domain. The Elingamite left Sydney early on Sunday, November 5, 1902, with 136 passengers and 58 crew. The voyage was uneventful until mid-morning on the 9th, when fog swallowed the ship. The impact with West Island came without warning. Twenty minutes was all the time anyone had. Lifebo...

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Image: Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/c/f/m/ss-elingamite-wp/rcfm-ss-elingamite-gold-fog-and-a-captain-wrongly-blame-twenty-minutes-in-the-fog.mp3 0:06 3 full SS Elingamite: Gold, Fog, and a Captain Wrongly Blamed: The Wrong Map https://qualla.com/ss-elingamite/ Photo credit Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson, Public domain. The court of inquiry convened in Auckland on November 28 and ground on for two months. Captain Atwood was found guilty of grossly negligent navigation. His master's certificate was suspended. For eight years he lived under that judgment. Then the Australian Naval Station reported...

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Image: Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/c/f/m/ss-elingamite-wp/rcfm-ss-elingamite-gold-fog-and-a-captain-wrongly-blame-the-wrong-map.mp3 0:06 4 full SS Elingamite: Gold, Fog, and a Captain Wrongly Blamed: The Gold Below https://qualla.com/ss-elingamite/ Photo credit Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson, Public domain. The cargo manifest listed 52 boxes of coins bound for New Zealand banks, worth 17,320 pounds, roughly equivalent to two million dollars in modern currency. Urban legend, predictably, inflated the figure. Stories of unregistered bullion and secret treasure circulated for decades, ...

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Image: Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/c/f/m/ss-elingamite-wp/rcfm-ss-elingamite-gold-fog-and-a-captain-wrongly-blame-the-gold-below.mp3 0:06 5 full SS Elingamite: Gold, Fog, and a Captain Wrongly Blamed: Beneath the Surface https://qualla.com/ss-elingamite/ Photo credit Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson, Public domain. The Three Kings Islands sit 55 kilometers northwest of Cape Reinga, where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean converge in turbulent currents. From the air, the islands appear as dark rocky outcrops in deep blue water, surrounded by white surf. West Island, where the Elingamite struc...

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Image: Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/c/f/m/ss-elingamite-wp/rcfm-ss-elingamite-gold-fog-and-a-captain-wrongly-blame-beneath-the-surface.mp3 0:06 6 full