Farm overlooks ocean graveyard
A historic dairy farm overlooking the ocean graveyard of New Zealand’s worst maritime disasters is for sale.
Lighthouse Farms, which is on the northern tip of the southern entrance to Auckland’s Manukau Harbour, looks over the harbour entrance where the HMS Orpheus ran aground in February 1863 – resulting in the deaths of 189 naval officers, seamen and royal marines aboard. The property is being marketed as a trophy sale, albeit one with a macabre history.
The British navy warship and her crew of 259 were bringing naval military stores from Sydney to the port at Onehunga. Outdated harbour charts resulted in ship captain Commodore William Burnett failing to see that the Manukau Heads sand bar had shifted, and the Orpheus struck land amid a large swell.
As the Orpheus sank into the sand bar, sailors began climbing the rigging to avoid drowning. When the masts eventually collapsed, the crew were thrown into the rough seas.
Some of the soldiers who could swim ended up on the beach underneath the cliffs of Lighthouse Farms and clambered up sandy bluffs in search of rescuers and salvation. Most, however, drowned. For the British, it was the costliest day of the New Zealand Wars. A memorial plaque commemorating the loss of lives on the Orpheus is located on the
The property is being marketed as a trophy sale, albeit one with a macabre history.
boundary-line fence of Lighthouse Farms.
The Manukau Heads lighthouse and coastguard signal station – built much later after the Orpheus tragedy – are located across the road of the farm’s northern site.
The freehold rural-zoned property is being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Pukekohe, with tenders closing on November 1. The farm is on a mixture of terrain, ranging from grazing plateaus and sheltered valleys, through to sand dunes overlooking the Tasman Sea.
Salesman Ben Jameson said the Manukau Harbour coastguard signal station and lighthouse were next to the property, adding character to Lighthouse Farms.
‘‘The sombre reminder of the Orpheus tragedy is regularly visited by tourists to the peninsula, and adds to the property’s majestic appeal as a ‘trophy’ farm – sustaining not only an economic return, but also a stunning location just a 10 minute helicopter flight from downtown Auckland.’’
He said there was the potential to use some of the existing farm dwellings for farm-stay accommodation because of its location overlooking Tasman Sea and its historic place in pioneering history.
The farm at the top of the Awhitu Peninsula milks about 400 dairy cows forecasted to produce 130,000 kilograms of milk solids this season and carries a herd of about 250 dairy replacement and beef grazing cattle.