Coega dredger solves mystery of ancient shipwreck

Leonard Neill DREDGING OPERATIONS at the port of Ngqura have solved a century-old mystery of the origins of a shipwreck which has been causing problems at the Coega River mouth. Dredgers have had to sail around the wreck and authorities decided to have it removed. When a section of the bow was removed and taken to the Port Elizabeth Museum, maritime archeologist Jenny Bennie announced it was from the British cargo vessel County of Pembroke. Previously it had been thought that the wreck was that of a small American brigantine, John N Gamewell, which sunk in the area in 1880 after catching fire.