Forty years ago today, 16 people died off Whananaki in what we sometimes refer to as the Capitaine Bougainville disaster.
The Capitaine Bougainville was a freighter, registered in Noumea.
She was a 3614-tonne cargo vessel, and had left Auckland for Sydney carrying meat and dairy products, captained by Frenchman Jean-Raymond Thomas.
![Capitaine Bougainville artifacts.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/4FZ6A35RUQDAKN2UJOJUQCEVVM.jpg?auth=01744b1057040a6620aee2e55d10a404c2843f98b395fe0b01652289eed1a907&width=16&height=21&quality=70&smart=true)
On Saturday, Capt Thomas will return to Northland for a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. His wife Philippa, infant daughter Yasmine and stepchildren Mua and Tano Wilson died in the tragedy.