Taylors Mistake?

Taylors Mistake

(Te One poto meaning short beach)

The exact timing and reason for the adoption of the name, Taylors Mistake, has been open to some debate and has become somewhat of a legend. There are varying accounts of ships that have mistaken the Bay for Lyttelton and/or Sumner. These vessels, which include the Volga (1858), Chrysolite (1861) and the Gwalior (1853), all had a Mr Taylor on board in some capacity. The Volga and Chrysolite, as well as a smaller vessel captained by John Vincent (1857) all seem to have lost their way near the Bay. The Gwalior at least, seemed to know where it was going although it had other issues. The first Captain, a Mr Davidson ("at the time in a state of delirium tremens"), threw himself overboard en route from New South Wales and the mate, a Mr Taylor took over to bring the vessel into Lyttelton in April 1853. However it is unlikely that the Volga, Chrysolite or the vessel captained by Vincent led to the naming of the Bay as some excellent detective work (refer "Guardians of the Mistake") has revealed that it was known as Taylors Mistake as early as 1853 (prior to the arrival of the vessels mentioned above). It was named that way in the Southern Provinces Almanac as "Taylors Mistake sometimes mistaken for Sumner Bay". The Gwalior however, having arrived in 1853, can not yet be fully eliminated!

The Chrysolite anchored in Sydney harbour 1869