3-016-785 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The grave of the late Commodore Burnett, lost in H.M.S. Orpheus, at Manukau, New Zealand, 1864. Engraving from a photograph. 'The wreck of H.M.S. Orpheus, which foundered upon the bar of Manukau Harbour, in the northern island of New Zealand, about a twelvemonth ago, is commemorated by the tomb of Commodore Burnett, C.B., erected in the cemetery of Auckland, at the expense of the surviving officers of that ship, and others who have served under him...The cemetery is situated but a quarter of a mile out of the town, and has a southern aspect...The inscription...is as follows: "Sacred to the memory of William Farquharson Burnett, Esq., C.B., who perished, with 22 officers and 167 men, in the total loss of H.M.S. Orpheus, on the Manukau Bar, New Zealand, on Feb. 9, 1863." On the side of the tomb are inscribed these words, "Erected by the officers of her Majesty's ships under his command." In the same ground, and just on this side of Commodore Burnett's tomb in our Engraving, is the grave of Captain Swift, of the 65th Regiment - a gallant young officer who was killed in a fight with the Maoris at Pukekohe, on the Waikato River, on the 11th of September last'. The wreck of the Orpheus was the worst maritime tragedy to occur in New Zealand waters. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.