The Riddle of the Rifleman

Report into the salvage and identification of the Rifleman, wrecked on the Auckland Islands 1833.

In January 1986 a group of divers from New Zealand looking for the wreck of the General Grant found the wreck of an unknown sailing ship on the West Coast of the Auckland Islands.

In a subsequent expedition they found and retrieved an intriguing number of artefacts. These included three anchors, two cannon with numerous cannonballs, 60 half crowns and two copper coins dated between 1810 and 1833. A number of gold coins were also retrieved. Names on the ship's fittings indicated that it was a wreck of a British built vessel. But what was she?

Known until recently as the ‘Half Crown Wreck’, extensive research has now revealed the identity of the ship.

 Soft cover, colour, 57 pages, A4.