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Story: Shipwrecks

Roadside Stories: Cook Strait's dangerous waters

The wild waters and intense weather of Cook Strait led Māori to perform special rituals when crossing the strait. The inter-island ferry Penguinwas wrecked south of Wellington in 1909, causing 75 deaths, and 51 people died when the Wahinefoundered at the entrance to Wellington Harbour in 1968.

Listen to a Roadside Story about Cook Strait shipwrecks. Roadside Stories is a series of audio guides to places around New Zealand.

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How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Shipwrecks – 20th-century shipwrecks, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/35326/roadside-stories-cook-straits-dangerous-waters (accessed 3 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 12 January 2012.