From Feb. 11, 2011, Suite 101.com.
The 13,000 ton trans-Pacific luxury liner Niagara served New Zealand starting in 1913 after its 1912 launch. At first, it was called the "Titanic of the Pacific" but after that ship sank, was renamed the "Queen of the Pacific."
On June 19, 1940, just out of Auckland, New Zealand, it struck a German mine off Northland Coast. All 349 passengers and crew got off safely, but a very valuable cargo went down with the ship.
The German raider Orion had laid 228 mines in the Outer Hauraki Gulf on the approaches to Auckland. The ship began sinking immediately.
Down with the ship went 205 boxes, each with two ingots of gold, worth $2,500,000.
A little too late, minesweepers moved into the channel and started clearing the mines.
The ship rests 400 feet deep. Efforts to get the gold started right away, and the superstructure was blasted away in October to get at it. A total of 555 ingots were removed and in 1953, another 30 ingots were recovered. That leaves five for all you treasure hunters.
Go for the Gold. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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