1865 Fiery Star shipwreck
On 11 May the sailing ship Fiery Star caught fire and sank south of Cuvier Island, off the Coromandel Peninsula, with the loss of 79 lives.
On 19 April 1865 a cargo of wool on the Fiery Star caught fire. The clipper was 240 kilometres north-west of the Chatham Islands, en route to London from Brisbane. After four days, the captain and 77 passengers took to lifeboats. They were never seen again. The chief officer and 17 crew members battled the fire on board for almost three weeks, until they were rescued 24 kilometres from the Coromandel coast. Half an hour later, the ship sank.
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