Wahine sinking
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Wahine sinking
On the morning of 10 April 1968 the Lyttelton–Wellington ferry Wahine was blown off course by a severe storm as it approached Wellington Harbour. The boat struck Barrett Reef, where its starboard propeller was ripped off. With its port engine also disabled, the ship foundered at Steeple Rock. As water flooded the car deck, the ship began to capsize. In the early afternoon the captain gave the order to abandon ship. Not all made it safely ashore. Of the 734 passengers and crew on the ship, 51 died.
A memorial park on Wellington’s south coast and a permanent exhibition at the Wellington Museum of City and Sea recall the tragic events of ‘Wahine Day’.
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