Linda Brown took Delphi Study Club members on a harrowing voyage to the South Seas as she reviewed Island of the Lost at the club’s October meeting.Subtitled Shipwrecked at the End of the World, the book by maritime historian Joan Druett contrasts the fate of two ships wrecked south of New Zealand in 1864. That year, survivors of two separate shipwrecks four months apart were stranded 20 miles apart on opposite sides of the inhospitable Auckland Island.Captain Thomas Musgrave, Francois Reynal and three other crew members set sail in the Grafton from Sydney, Australia, bound for Campbell Island to prospect for silver.Storms and wind drove their ship onto rocks at Carnley Harbour at Auckland Island. Using materials salvaged from the ship, the men built a cabin, foraged for food, and survived for 20 months before managing to build a boat to sail to New Zealand.Unaware of the Grafton shipwreck, the 19 survivors from the Invercauld, captained by George Dalgarno and on its way from Melbourne, Australia, to Peru, were unable to salvage much from their wreck and camped in the remains of an abandoned settlement to await rescue.Except for the efforts of an ordinary seaman, Robert Holding, they made no effort to help themselves or to cooperate in order to survive. With the captain either unable or unwilling to lead his crew, after three days Holding took charge of the group, attempting unsuccessfully to get them to work together to search for food and to find a way out of their dilemma. By the time they were rescued by a passing ship a year later, only Holding, the captain and the first mate were still alive.Mary Allan hosted the meeting in the McAninch room of the Tonkawa Public Library. Attending were Allan, Brown, Vivian Pemberton, Carolyn Ott, Doris Osborn and Marjilea Smithheisler.For a NEWS subscription call 628-2532 and ask for JANEL ATTEND CHURCH SUNDAY ...
