Rothschild's sunken treasure

It’s hard to know if Isadore Rothschild was extremely lucky or unlucky.
The jewel merchant from Wellington travelled a lot and he often carried jewels with him.
And on July 29, 1897, he was aboard the SS Tasmania heading between Gisborne to Napier.  A southerly gale was blowing hard and the Tasmania hit rocks off the Table Cape, Mahia Peninsula
The four lifeboats were launched and another two smaller boats loaded with passengers headed for Whangawehi. It was nearly the middle of the night and pitch black. Five of the boats launched safely, although a couple of people were lost overboard and the sixth capsized.
In all 11 people died.  Isadore Jonah Rothschild survived but in the rush he had had to leave behind a suitcase full of jewels - worth £3000 which went down with the ship.  Some have since been recovered by Kelly Tarlton - only to be later stolen.
Isadore Jonah Rothschild was born on March 10, 1849 in Bristol, England where he was educated before becoming an apprentice jeweller.  He was a travelling salesman before the news came about gold being discovered in New Zealand.
Rothschild (and yes he is distantly related to the famously wealthy family) thought he would try his luck and boarded a ship in 1867 heading to Australia and then to New Zealand.
He grabbed a pick and shovel and headed for the West Coast, prospecting a few miles out of Westport.  He said he and a partner were making about £5-6 a week that they were promptly spending on a Saturday night.
For about 15 months he kept going before being offered a job as a store manager in Rakaia.  But on a trip back to England he ended up back in the jewellery trade for nearly four years.  
With a nephew as a partner he returned to New Zealand to start a jewellery business. When it failed he tried again in Sydney but ill health stopped him.
The next return to New Zealand landed him in Wellington.  He bought jewellery wholesale from England and set up shop.
The loss of the jewellery on the Tasmania was the worst of his career - he had not insured it.
He became determined to recover it and bought the wreck of the Tasmania from the insurers and tried to raise it.  At one time, the scheme to retrieve it included raising it using 2000 balloons.
None of the schemes worked.  (Later the wreck was sold to Kelly Tarlton).
Rothschild died on August 11, 1941 and is buried in Karori Cemetery (under the name Isadore Jonas Rothchild).
A memorial to the dead of the Tasmania is at Makaraka Cemetery in Gisborne.