The story of the Graftonsurvivors, who spent 19 months on the Auckland Islands, led to considerable public interest in castaways. In 1865 the state governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland initiated a voyage by HMCS Victoriato search for shipwreck victims. In Erebus Cove the trunk of a rātā tree was chiselled flat and an inscription was carved into the wood: ‘H.M.C.S. VICTORIA NORMAN IN SEARCH OF SHIPWRECKED PEOPLE OCT 13TH 1865’. Remnants of the message were still visible in 2010, when this photo was taken. The crew also released goats and rabbits on Enderby Island to provide food for castaways.
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