A long-lost shipment of 19th century Chinese antique porcelain – owned by a man from the Buckfastleigh area – has found its way from the bottom of the South China Sea to Dartington.

In 1822, the three-masted merchant sailing junk, the Tek Sing (True Star), sank while en route from China to Indonesia, with more than 1,600 Chinese immigrants on board and a large cargo of silk, tea and porcelain.

The enormous loss of life has led in modern times to the disaster being known as the Titanic of the East.

In May 1999, the wreck was discovered by British marine salvor Mike Hatcher, and much of its cargo was rescued, in what is thought to be the largest sunken cache of Chinese porcelain yet recovered.

FULL STORY IN OUR ONLINE EDITION