Oscar (Aussie) Rixon – Tales of a Sailing Life

By guest writer, Steve McKelvey.

In 1987 at age 97 Oscar Rixon could accurately recount the mast names, sails and rigging details of a four-masted barque. He clearly remembered Lyttelton in 1914 on his first visit as an ordinary seaman on the steam ship Riverina – vivid memories included the British Hotel always full, the wharves busy and mud being pumped into the reclaimed area where the oil tanks now stand.

Oscar always said he first went to sea because he did not want to go to Sunday School. He had a fiery relationship with his father, Andrew, who had also run away to sea as a boy. Andrew was shipwrecked in 1882 off Green Cape Coast NSW on the Romeo, with a cargo of pianos, cement and lager beer. Coming from Finland he knew nothing of Australian wildlife – climbing ashore he met a large kangaroo in the bush. Oscar would tell the story of the Finn and the roo staring at each other for a few seconds before both turning and sprinting in opposite directions.

Born in 1890, Oscar spent his childhood in Newcastle, Australia – his house is still there, one of a row of townhouses built for the harbour pilots and watermen. As a cabin boy he joined the Melbourne Steamship Company vessel Sydney on the West Australian run. He joined the barque Glenbank in early 1909, beginning many thousands of miles under sail. Alongside five other ships, the Glenbank’s captain and crew raced to be the first to reach Taltal in Chile. With so much sail on, the Glenbank won the race, with Oscar saying he felt “more like a fish, under water all the time.”

With the Glenbank's cargo of coal discharged Oscar signed onto the barque Thistlebank around Cape Horn to South Africa then on to Sydney. Upon arrival he read in the Sunday Times that the Glenbank had been lost off Western Australia. She had taken a cargo of nitrate to Europe, returning with lumber and while unloading in Balla Balla, Captain Moberg was told to put to sea due to an approaching storm. Despite concerns that ballast was insufficient and the ship was not in trim, the Captain set sail, but her load shifted and the ship sank, with just one survivor picked up by a pearling vessel. In October 2022 the wreck was discovered by divers in the Dampier Marine Park – the story is the subject of Disney Channel "Shipwreck Hunters Australia" Episode One.

In late 1910 Oscar had arranged to join the Ellisland from his home port of Newcastle – minutes before signing papers he was intercepted by a runner offering him more money on the County of Anglesea, “a fine little barque, she did sail like a witch”. Had he kept his original plans he would have been amongst all hands lost with the Ellisland, which was reported missing in January 1911 and whose fate was never known.

Competition was intense in Newcastle for crew, hence the use of runners. A Danish cook was drugged while drinking at a local hotel and woke aboard the County of Anglesea as an Ordinary Seaman. The ship's intended route was to go through Cook Strait before turning towards South America, however a severe storm kept them between Wellington and Cape Campbell for three days. Oscar recalled the sails ripped to pieces, decks awash and sparks flying as the broken steel rigging chafed together. A series of huge waves broke over the ship and the last words the Danish cook yelled were “hang on young fellow.” Oscar was washed into the rigging, badly injuring his leg and unable to go aloft for three weeks, tragically the Dane was never seen again.

Oscar completed a number of other trips under sail on vessels such as the British Yeoman and the Antiope, carrying timber between North America and Australia. He joined the Union Steam Ship Company in 1919 as Fourth Officer on the Niagara and continued on the Flora, Talune, Wanaka, Rakanoa, Waipori and Sussex. In the 1920s while on the Tofua, he and the man who would later be his Lyttelton neighbour, Harbour Master Roy Champion, were second and third Officers.

In December 1919 while entering a sly grog shop in Sydney, he recalled how he felt God speak to him about the way his life was heading. He changed dramatically – gave up drinking, smoking and gambling from that day on and freely shared his faith, often speaking at church meetings.

It was not until WWII that Oscar made Lyttelton his home. He had married Norwegian-born Sarah (née Pedersen) in 1921 in Wellington. On arrival in Townsville, Australia in 1925 on the Sussex he was informed that she may not survive a hospital operation. He promptly telegraphed his resignation and returned immediately to New Zealand. Sarah recovered and after Oscar spent some time stevedoring, the couple took up farming in New Plymouth.

In 1941 after Germany invaded Norway, Sarah took over their Taranaki dairy farm and Oscar, at age 51, enlisted in the New Zealand Navy. He was posted to Lyttelton as Examination Officer with the rank of Temporary Lieutenant. He spent most of the war on the launches Wairangi and Friendship at the harbour heads, alternating 24 hours on and off. Eventually Oscar and Sarah sold their farm and bought a house overlooking Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour at 6 Randolph Terrace.

Lyttelton Press reporter John Leslie described Oscar Rixon as a man convinced he had been protected more times than he could remember by his unswerving faith. “Surely one of the most interesting characters one could ever meet, after meeting hundreds at Lyttelton in one’s time from all over the globe.”

Oscar retired in 1955 as Assistant Wharf Superintendent for the Union Steamship Company. Sarah was a sought-after interpreter for Norwegian and Danish visitors. In later years Sarah’s sister Anna lived with them. Sarah passed away in 1983 and Oscar in 1998. Their home on Randolph Terrace stands largely unaltered, the same wood panelling inside and a few of their many roses flourishing.

Source material – 1984 oral history recordings by Steve McKelvey, letter from John Leslie to Don McKelvey, Dec 1 1987