‘Retriever’, 1857

The brigantine ‘Retriever’ was lost at sea in April 1857 whilst sailing from Newcastle to Bluff, New Zealand, with a cargo of 13,000 sheep. She MAY have been lost off the NSW South Coast, with some newspaper reports suggesting ‘she was caught in a sudden squall off Cape Howe…all hands lost.’ However, she MAY have been lost off Stewart Island in New Zealand with other newspaper reports of debris having been recovered in that area that likely came from the ship and of ‘a number of sheep’ (presumably dead sheep) having been washed ashore