THE WEDDING GIFT AND A FORTUNE IN COLONIAL GOLD
The clipper Glenmark lay at anchor in Lyttelton in 1872, awaiting a cargo of wool and £80,000 of West Coast gold. Since her maiden voyage in 1864, the Glenmark had made eight voyages to Lyttelton, bringing immigrants and returning with the fruits of colonial labour.
Built in an Aberdeen shipyard, she sailed exclusively for Lyttelton. As the vessel was about to set sail from London on her maiden voyage, a woman attempted to board with two children only to be turned away by the ship’s doctor when the children were found to have Scarlet Fever. The woman was without funds, and her husband was already in New Zealand. The woman soon returned without the children and explained she had left them with her sister. As they neared New Zealand, the woman climbed the bulwarks and jumped overboard. A lifebuoy was thrown to her, but she didn’t attempt to save herself. She could no longer live knowing that she had abandoned the children on the streets of London.
Off the coast of South Africa, the ship ran aground. As hundreds of locals took to canoes to claim the tempting prize, panic ensued, and weapons were handed to crew and male passengers. Fortunately, the Glenmark came away and continued her journey to Lyttelton. During Lyttelton layovers, First Officer William Gordon met Louisa Jones from Heathcote Lodge, Opawa. They married in January 1872 and departed for London onboard the Glenmark on February 1. A cyclone struck off the south coast of New Zealand five days later. On the second day, another ship passed enormous quantities of wreckage. One year after the Glenmark had set sail from Lyttelton laden with passengers and gold, all hope was gone for its safe arrival.
In a family churchyard plot in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, stands a white marble cross known as ‘The Wedding Gift’. The inscription reads: “To the Dear Memory of William and Louisa, A Mother and Sisters’ Wedding-Gift.”