Where Are the Nine Who Died: Remembering the Men Lost in the Benvenue Disaster

 

14/05/1932 Memorial service, 50th anniversary of the Benvenue wreck, 1932. Crowds assembled around the Benvenue Memorial, in Sophia Street Timaru, for a service marking the the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Benvenue, dated 14th May 1932. In the left background the lifeboat Alexandra is visible. South Canterbury Musuem 1456. https://timdc.pastperfectonline.com/photo/D49F9CEB-DDDB-41F5-938D-879831741057

 

Today — Sunday 19 October — St Mary’s Anglican Church, Timaru
At 9:15am the wreath-laying will take place at the Seafarers/“Wrecks” Monument on the corner of Sophia & Perth Streets, followed by a short march to St Mary’s for the commemorative service marking 70 years of the Seafarers’ Service and Trafalgar Day. Organisers are inviting former members and families of the ex-Royal Navalmen’s Association/RNZNA South Canterbury to march wearing their own or a relative’s medals. If you, or someone you know, wants to be included, contact Wayne 027 688 4226 or Bill 027 688 5873.¹

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Why we gather here

Timaru’s seafaring story is inseparable from Black Sunday, 14 May 1882. A heavy swell rose in the roadstead; the iron ships Benvenue (999 tons) and City of Perth (1189 tons) parted their cables. Benvenue drove ashore below today’s Benvenue Cliffs; City of Perth later drifted toward the beach. Surf- and whaleboats launched; the old lifeboat Alexandra was dragged from storage and sent out. Boats capsized; men went back again. Nine men died during the rescue attempts or soon after from their injuries; dozens were saved. In the years that followed, Timaru subscribed for a civic monument—the obelisk opposite St Mary’s—to keep that courage in public view.² ³ ⁴

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The nine who died (as recorded on the monument)

• Captain Alexander Mills — Harbour Master, Timaru. Died from the effects of submersion/exposure after rescue work. Interred Timaru Cemetery, Row 9, Plot 99 (15 May 1882). Left wife Margaret (née Sinclair) and seven children.² ³

• John Blacklock — First Mate, City of Perth. Severe compound fracture; died of injuries days later. Interred Timaru Cemetery, Row 20, Plot 227 (21 May 1882). Left widow & family in London.⁵

• Robert Gardiner — Second Mate, City of Perth. Drowned in the rescue; contemporary accounts describe him giving up his turn to another man. Grave not yet located in council index.⁵

• Donald (David) McLean — Carpenter, City of Perth. Drowned after the ship’s lifeboat upset. Interred Timaru Cemetery, Row 20, Plot 226 (17 May 1882). Newspapers note **wife & family “at Home.”**²

• William (John William) McLaren — Waterman, Timaru. Drowned during the rescue; body recovered at Dashing Rock (24 May). Cemetery index inconsistent; plot not confirmed online; inquest returned **“while courageously attempting to save others.”**⁶ 

  Body recovered 23 May near Dashing Rocks; identified by clothing and inquest held at the Melville Hotel. Left mother Mrs Menzies (London) and brother at the Cape of Good Hope.

• Emanuel (Emmanuel) Nielson — Boatman, Timaru (Swede). Drowned when the Harbourmaster’s whaleboat capsized. Burial not yet matched in online index; inquest recorded.²

• Martin Beach (Breach) — Boatman, Timaru. Drowned in the rescue. Early police notes suggested his body was among the first recovered; the adjourned inquest returned “body unknown” on one of the remains. Grave not located online.²

• Henry (Harry) McDonald — Boatman, Timaru. Drowned in the rescue. Grave not located online. Left wife & family in Timaru.⁴

• George Falgar — Boatman, Timaru. Drowned after multiple capsizes; seen saved once, then lost when the lifeboat overturned again. Grave not located online. Left wife & children reported to be in destitute condition.² ⁴

Why some graves are hard to find: spellings vary across 1882 reports vs later plaque (McLern/McLaren; Nielson/Nielsen; Beach/Breach; Sunnaway/Sunaway; Shaab/Schaab), several burials appear to have been unmarked, and some identifications were delayed as bodies washed ashore days after the tragedy.² ⁶

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The monument that holds their names

Raised by public subscription and completed 1885, the Wrecks/Benvenue Monument is an octagonal bluestone base, a polished dolerite pedestal, and a red Aberdeen granite obelisk nearly 10 m high. Designed by T. Roberts, erected by stonemason S. McBride; the obelisk arrived on the Allegiance (July 1885). Brass tablets (engraved by N. Wolfe) list the Nine, the survivors, and the ships’ details, opening with “Greater love hath no man…”. Its siting—opposite St Mary’s and the former Post Office—was deliberate and once controversial: remembrance belongs in the life of the town, not only the cemetery.³

The monument has anchored public memory at key moments: the 1911 Coronation procession (with the Alexandra lifeboat), the 1932 50th jubilee service, and each Seafarers’ Service since 1955—a local tradition unique in New Zealand that also honours Trafalgar Day.¹ ⁷

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How to take part today

• Be there for the wreath-laying at 9:15am (Sophia & Perth Streets), then march to St Mary’s for the service and cuppa.

• Wear medals—yours or a family member’s—if you have them.

• Bring a name. Read the Nine. If your whānau connects to Falgar, McDonald, Nielson, Beach/Breach, Gardiner, McLaren, add your piece of the story.

• Share leads: contact Wayne 027 688 4226 or Bill 027 688 5873 to reconnect ex-members’ families.¹

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Choosing to remember those without stones

Some of the men above lie beneath named stones; some lie in unmarked ground, and a few rest in places we have not yet matched to a plot. The monument therefore does what individual headstones sometimes cannot: it binds all nine together—by name, in public, facing the sea that shaped Timaru. When we step off from that corner this morning, we walk for them all: for the men who went back into the surf; for the widows and children they left behind; and for everyone since who has answered danger with duty.

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References & sources (from this project)

1. Event notice: Rachael Comer, The Timaru Herald, “Family members sought for Seafarers’ 70th,” 25 Sep 2025 (details: 9:15am wreath-laying; march to St Mary’s; contacts Wayne 027 688 4226, Bill 027 688 5873; Trafalgar commemoration; first service 1955).

2. Timaru Herald, 15–18 May 1882 (rescue accounts, corrections, body recoveries); 30 May 1882 (adjourned inquest: Nielson, McLean, “body unknown”); contemporary sympathy & fund-raising reports.

3. Timaru Herald, 2 Nov 1882, p.7 (monument tender accepted; site opposite Church Terrace; public subscription and costs).

4. Otago Witness, 20 May 1882, p.22 (“No coward died at Timaru” commentary); period summaries included in this project.

5. The Star (Christchurch), 24 May 1882 (recovery of McLaren; probable Gardiner; note on Blacklock’s widow & family in London).

6. Timaru Herald, 25 May 1882 (inquest on John William McLaren; verdict “while courageously attempting to save others”).

7. South Canterbury Museum images & records: 1452 (1932 crowd at monument), 1456 (1932 service; Alexandra visible), 1457 (1932 portrait of rescuers), 0847 (Rocket Brigade c.1883); plus on-site plaque transcriptions & photos (R. Fauth, 2024).

 

Mills, Alexander James, 1833-1882

Row 9, plot 9, Timaru Cemetery.

Here is the grave of Captain Alexander Mills, the Timaru Harbour-Master for 16 years, who witnessed most of Timarus shipwrecks. He died from exposure from the Ben Venue disaster. He rests in peace here, with his wife Margaret, three infant children and two teenage children.

 

 

 

 

 

John Blacklock – First Mate, City of Perth
Age at Death: 49.

Date of Interment: 21 May 1882
Row 20, Plot 227