58 50 | Mahurangimatters 1 December 2012
The story of some of the wrecks that lie off the Pouto Peninsula coast are the subject of a documentary made by Winston Cowie (left) and David Sims.
Shipwreck explorers Alvin Wilcox (left) and Noel Hilliam.
Documentary makers hot on Dutch shipwreck theory A documentary, written and coproduced by a former Matakana and Warkworth school student, Winston Cowie, premiered at Matakana Cinemas on November 15. Mystery at Midge Bay takes an independent look at shipwrecks along the Pouto Peninsula to the Hokianga Harbour, and their European connections. Winston, aged 30, says his interest in the wrecks was sparked years ago, after a conversation with his father while watching ginger-headed Paul Tito playing rugby for NZ Maori. “When I questioned Tito’s heritage, Dad said there’d always been a lot of rumours about Spanish and Portuguese ships being the first European settlers in New Zealand,” he says. “But there was no scientific proof, there was only smoke so film-maker David Sims and I teamed up and decided to investigate it.” While the film makes no claims, it does suggest that there is a ship lying off the Pouto coast which pre-dates Captain Cook’s arrival in 1769. If their suspicions are proved correct, it would also pre-date NZ’s oldest known shipwreck – the sealing supplies trader Endeavour which sank in Fiordland in 1795 – by nearly a century. “Up until now, the general belief is that there weren’t any voyages between
Maunganui Bluff and a remake of one of the potential early wrecks.
Abel Tasman’s sighting of NZ in 1642 and Cook’s arrival. This discovery could turn that on its head.” With the aid of local historians and university researchers, many of whom appear in the film, Winston and David began piecing together existing evidence. A key part of the research has been the recent carbon dating of pieces of a wreck, by dendrochronologist Jonathan Palmer, which were found stored at the home of a local resident and at the Dargaville Maritime Museum. Dr Palmer is the scientistin-residence at The Kauri Museum and has been involved in tree-ring studies for more than 25 years. In the film, he says the wood from the wreck is at least 300 years old and the teak and tropical lagerstroemia
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samples are almost certainly of Indonesian origin. Given the age of the wood, this links it to a time when the Dutch had a significant presence in Indonesia. The film-makers hope to see Mystery at Midge Bay air on national television and are also exploring potential overseas markets. The proceeds from sales would be used to fund two further parts in the story. “There’s a lot more to tell, but we need to raise some funds to carry out further investigations,” Winston says. “There are three wrecks which we are particularly interested in. Two are fairly inaccessible so it’s the one in Midge Bay which is the focus of our attention at this time.” Winston’s family lives at Baddeleys Beach and Campbells Bay, and
he attended both Matakana and Warkworth Primary Schools. After finishing high school in NZ, he did law at Otago, before taking up an academic/rugby scholarship at Oxford where he did a Masters degree in science and environmental policy. After a three-year posting with GHD to Qatar, in the Middle East, he returned to NZ a year ago nursing a serious rugby injury, which damaged his knee. He is also the author of A Flame Flickers in the Darkness, published earlier this year, which covers the NZ land wars of the 1860s. Mystery at Midge Bay will screen for one-night only at Matakana Cinemas on December 6, at 6.30pm, and the The Kumara Box, Dargaville, on December 7, at 6.30pm. Limited seats are available. Contact the cinema for more information.
If only Poutu Lighthouse could talk, many of the mysteries along this stretch of coastline would be solved.