{{short description|Phantom island}} thumb|1924 map of Central Polynesia, with ''Haymet R<sup>cks</sup>'' and ''Orne B<sup>k</sup>'' (lower part, in the middle)

The '''Haymet Rocks''' were reported by J.E. Haymet, master and owner of the cutter ''Will Watch'', when on passage between Auckland and Rarotonga; in 1863 the cutter passed between two rocks and struck on the northern of the two, damaging her false keel. The rocks are said to extend over a space of about a quarter of a mile, to have been distinctly seen, and with apparently {{convert|7|or|8|ft|m}} of water over them. Haymet gave their position as {{coord|27|11|S|160|13|W|display=inline,title}}, which would place them about {{convert|135|mi|km}} west of the position assigned to Orne Bank.

These rocks were unsuccessfully searched for, in the position given, by HMS ''Satellite'' in 1886, and again by the French Government vessel ''Fabert'' in 1887; the latter vessel spent three days in the search under favourable circumstances of wind and weather, running over some {{convert|253|mi|km}} within a radius of from {{convert|20|to|25|mi|km}} of the position assigned, and with no result. A depth of {{convert|68|fathom|m}} to the rocky ocean floor was found by the ''Fabert'' at {{coord|24|7|S|158|33|W}}.

In December 1882, however, a Lloyd's agent at Rarotonga reported that the Haymet rocks were supposed to exist about {{convert|150|mi|km}} SSW of Rarotonga, and therefore right in the track of vessels bound from Auckland to that island, who always give this supposed position a wide berth. If this information is correct, these rocks are about {{convert|240|mi|km}} NNW of the position as given by Haymet and still shown on the charts.

It was suggested that the Haymet Rocks were a remnant of sunken island Tuanaki.<ref>{{Citation | title=THE MYSTERY OF TUANAKI ISLAND | journal=Pacific Islands Monthly | publication-date=1952-02-01 | volume=xxii | issue=7 | pages=104 | issn=0030-8722 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Coppell |first=W. G. |date=1973 |title=About the Cook Islands. Their Nomenclature and a Systematic Statement of Early European contacts |url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/jso_0300-953x_1973_num_29_38_2410 |journal=Journal de la Société des océanistes |volume=29 |issue=38 |page=46 |doi=10.3406/jso.1973.2410 |access-date=2018-01-18 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Stommel |first=Henry |authorlink=Henry Stommel |title=Lost Islands: The Story of Islands That Have Vanished from Nautical Charts |publisher=University of British Columbia Press |location=Vancouver |year=1984 |isbn=0-7748-0210-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/lostislands00henr/page/60 60] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/lostislands00henr/page/60 }}</ref>

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

{{PD-old-text|title=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_IwqwAAAAMAAJ/page/n60 <!-- pg=27 --> ''Pacific Islands'', v. 3]|year=1900}}

Category:Phantom islands Category:Reefs of the Pacific Ocean