The Castaways of Disappointment Island
Read by Barry Eads
The Castaways of Disappointment Island is the true story of Charles Eyre, who in 1907 was working as apprentice sailor on the Dundonald, a British four-masted steel barque. Caught in a storm, the Dundonald sank after hitting the rocky coastline of a tiny subantarctic island known as Disappointment Island which lies 500 km below New Zealand. Many died in the wreck while the survivors had no choice but to wait, hoping for a passing steamship to rescue them. For seven months, they subsisted on mollymawk flesh, seal meat, seaweed and "root", as they spent the winter wearing barely any clothes in a climate where fog rarely lifts, sun seldom shines and where torrents of rain left them soaked to the skin.
Link to the museum where some of the castaways equipment is on display: https://www.canterburymuseum.com/explore/collections/castaways-and-coracles. - Summary by Barry Eads
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