SS Ventnor

SS "Ventnor" was a steamer built in Glasgow in 1901. It sank off New Zealand in 1902, leading to the deaths of 13 crew and the loss of 499 bodies of gold miners which were being repatriated to southern China. This led to the end of the practice of exhuming and returning human remains, en masse, to China from New Zealand.
Final voyage.
The charitable association Cheong Sing Tong chartered the "Ventnor" to return the remains of 499 bodies exhumed from 40 cemeteries in New Zealand to their homes in southern China. These men, mostly gold miners, were from the Poon Yu and Jung Seng districts of Guangdong Province. Nine elderly Chinese were also onboard as "coffin attendants", caring for the bones during the transit back to China. The rest of the cargo was listed as "5347 tons of coal for the Admiralty at Hong Kong, 144 sacks and 22 bales of fungus, one bale of tow and one bale of flax".
The "Ventnor" left Wellington for Hong Kong on 26 October 1902. At about 12:30 am the next morning it struck a reef off the south coast of Cape Egmont leading to damage. It was decided to continue to Auckland instead of returning to Wellington or heading for New Plymouth or Manukau Harbour. The ship sank about off the coast, in water, near Hokianga Heads on 27 October at 8:45 pm. Most of the crew made it ashore, but 13 drowned (including the captain, first officer and five of the nine elderly Chinese) as a life boat capsized. None of the Chinese bodies were recovered initially.
Aftermath.
The conclusion of a magisterial inquiry given on 19 November 1902 found that the sinking occurred due to either negligence or incompetence. It was found that drunkenness could not be proven and that while the captain and master made good decisions after striking the reef, the blame for the striking lay with the captain alone.
Over the next few months after the sinking, the remains of the Chinese gold miners began to be washed ashore. The local Māori tribes (Te Roroa and Te Rarawa) buried their remains near their own burial grounds. Cheong Shing Tong hired the "Energy" to try to find the wreck and recover the bodies, but the wreck remained lost for over 100 years. Remains were repatriated to China for many years after the sinking on an individual basis, but the "Ventnor" was the last attempt at a mass shipment.
In 2007 a connection was formalised between the descendants of the Chinese gold miners and the iwi Te Roroa and Te Rarawa. A grove of 22 kauri trees were planted at the Waipoua Visitors Centre in the Waipoua Forest and a Chinese-inspired gate was constructed in the urupa at Mitimiti to memorialise the sinking. The wreck was discovered in 2012 and is now a National Heritage Site.
"The Bone Feeder" is an opera featuring the story of the "Ventnor". It was composed by Gareth Farr to a libretto written by Renee Liang (and developed from her 2009 play of the same name) which incorporates text in the English, Cantonese and Māori languages.
In June 2020 a documentary crew caused a controversy due to their filming of the wreckage. 
On 10 April 2021, a public memorial was officially unveiled outside the Manea Footprints of Kupe Experience in Opononi. This memorial lists the names of those onboard who drowned and also the 499 who were to be repatriated. It also gives thanks to Te Roroa, Te Rarawa and the people of Hokianga for the ongoing respect and care shown to the bones which washed up on the beaches 119 years earlier. In attendance were descendants of Choie Sew Hoy and Ng Jor Ching, currently the only two people with known living descendants out of all the Chinese that were onboard. The white lion used in the lion dance minutes earlier was burned as an offering to the heavens as part of Ching Ming festivities in what was claimed to be a New Zealand first.