Mystery anchor found

An audible gasp rang out as the tip of a barnacle-clad anchor broke the surface of Wellington Harbour on Saturday.

Hauled up by the historic floating crane, Hikitia, the 4.5 metre-long anchor rose from beside Queens Wharf on Saturday, rusted chain in tow.

Conservation work will be carried out on the anchor by the Maritime Archaeological Association (MAANZ) over the next few months, and it will be re-sunk in the harbour in September.

Malcolm McGregor, of the Maritime Heritage Trust of Wellington, hoped the anchor could be fully restored and made a feature of the waterfront, dedicated to seamen who died during war.

Mystery also surrounds the anchor. Despite studying it for 20 years, no one has been able to link it to a ship, McGregor said.

The patterns on the anchor indicate it is of British origin, and there is a chance it was used in Wellington Harbour as part of the mooring dock, which sat there from 1931 until 1988.

But where it was before that is anybody’s guess, McGregor said.

‘‘It’s safe to say it’s been underwater for a good 120 years.’’

The anchor was discovered further out in the harbour in 1995 when a visiting ship snagged its anchor on a chain below.

The Hikitia was used to raise the mystery chain and the crew were surprised to discover the large anchor attached to it.

At the time no resources were available to preserve it ashore, so the best means of slowing corrosion was to put it back in the water.

The old anchor wasn’t the only treasure to be hauled from the depths.

While assisting with the lift, commercial diver Murray Wilson had some spare time so he went for a bit of a swim.

During his time at the bottom of the harbour, he came across a purse containing an iPhone, a passport, about $55 in cash and some makeup.

Wilson then found the owner, 18-year-old Shinae McEvoy.

‘‘I never thought I’d get it back’’, McEvoy said, when she was reunited with her purse and its contents.