Never has a description been more true. This is an absolutely incredible true story, and the author Joan Druett has some a marvellous job bringing it to life. This was a re-read for me, after first reading it several years ago. The story stayed with me, and I was glad I revisited it to refresh my memory.
We follow the Grafton as it sets off from Sydney in 1864; it’s five man crew, led by Captain Thomas Musgrave and his business partner Francois Raynal, is heading for Campbell Island to look for mining opportunities. Finding little of note, they sail towards the Auckland Islands, hoping to salvage the trip by finding some likely seal hunting grounds. Disaster strikes – despite struggling to break free, their schooner is drawn towards the rocks, and they’re shipwrecked on a barren, windswept and freezing island.
Amid the most challenging of circumstances, the men pull together to survive. Druett is able to track their story in amazing detail, thanks to the journal that Musgrave keeps (eventually writing in seal blood), and later published memoirs and newspaper accounts.
It’s truly amazing to read about the ingenuity of the group, led by the efforts of the ever-resourceful Raynal. In the first few weeks alone Raynal leads the design and construction of a weather proof hut to prepare them for the harsh winter ahead, including creating their own primitive cement to construct a chimney and hearth. After several months, they’ve made their own soap, furnished their home, formed a system of evening classes, elected a democratic leader and started curing their own leather to make clothes and shoes.
An almost unbelievable story becomes even more so as another ship is wrecked on the same island at the same time, completely unbeknownst to both parties, who are separated by several kilometres of mountainous terrain.
The story here is a marked difference from that of the Grafton crew. Those officers and sailors that survive the Invercauld’s initial wreck find themselves in very different circumstances – and don’t respond to their situation with the same collegiate approach.
I love reading survival stories, and this is as good as it gets. Druett’s story is well researched, and beautifully written. I couldn’t stop reading parts of it aloud to my husband, and successfully annoyed my dad into reading it too. There’s a good chance I’ll be coming back to read this again in future.