SYDNEY HARBOUR DISASTER.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19150, 5 November 1927, Page 19

SYDNEY HARBOUR DISASTER.

SINKS WIIHIN MINUTE.

Scenes of Terrible Confusion.

The collision between the Union Company's steamer jiiiti and the ferry steamer Greycliffe on Thursday is described as the worst that has ever occurred in Sydney Harjour, the smaller vessel being almost cut in two, and sinking within a minute. Eye-witnesses state that the Greycliffe, which «as proceeding in the same direction as the Tahiti, swung over jad was run through amidships, a scene of terrible confusion following, as the boiler burst and the pasengers were thrown into the ware*- casualty list &.««& with each succesun report received.

{ u,m ASSOCIATION.) ; SYDNEY, November 4. 1 flea the Union Company's steamer, •rtjti which left tho wharf at four jfrik yesterday, afternoon for Welud San Francisco, was passing I tafler'i Head, in the harbour, she ,« down the Watson's Bay ferry [pper Greyeliffe. Greyeliffe foundered in a few S-jjgjfi, and the passengers were thrown

jyj#tbi> water. I ■' Cbsuaaty Us*. ffttij-wx are missing. Orw J&ty injured were taken to hosa&'Moet of them are only slightly bid, but others are in a critical ftjbown dead are:— | ifo Mabel-Carroll. ' Jdrjorr Giraud, a schoolgirl. Horj Thompson. ! I T. Treadgold. ■ Mn Mary Terry. filliim Benton. . Jin Elizabeth Combs. Jfa'Elsie Bamsay. Xn William. K» Bryant, of Wellington, N.S.W. .MnPnrnell, of Watson's Bay. CBJoom (Vaucluso). Betty Benson (Vaucluse). %a Mary Corby and daughter Koreen, aged six. ipes Bill, a school girl (Yau- , those). St Let-Brown (Prisons Medical '•"Ofieer. ,lJfiW«lJ(Bondi). k EDa&'anrgeon. lifiJenint-Commander Paradice. Beid, Chief Quarantine '*&*.> i.'jL' Stephens (Watson's Bay). (Vaucluse). ttsyfltffolly injured include:— *lp» Carruthcrs. ,"jf^towart. -■* 4&s& as yet unidentified. tit&hig include:— fWftrker. : mn Garrett. &4pajri 'Landers. Wright. *aval ratings. ' '• ICHMTS.

KafcosU %'Jmi, ' Jftl Curie Jones. 'ftlMkihire. *% Jaurence. ( JRrtse*.

!are now ninety lead, ribed as being tin occurred in Syd large number oJ 1, will be dead, ant down to the the cabins, i Aboard, ibout 125 passen ireular Quay foi it trip sho alwayi r of children re Many men from val Depot were len Island, i at a point near ; Head, and' Tahiti were direction, •ed so suddenly i the Tahiti did happened. The children on the nlightened them. «nes. Bliffo was broadsteamer at the The sharp bow le wooden superboat, pushing it over, then tearressel amidships, ffe going on the ti and the other s confusion, witnessed as the t to free themge, which quickg further to the i for the unforhiti dived overo children and i for some disough the Greyd pull up. She I lowered boats '■ the survivors, naged. Scratchthe only noticefucked up they o' War steps, icitation oic attempts at civilians diving ivours to save », and children, rs were seriousmber when the , the Greycliffe

EIGHTEEN BODIES IN CABIN,

perry Almost Cut In Two.

-- •t. line. Many of those brought to Man o' War steps by the rescuing launches were in such a condition that they could not bo put in ambulances, and efforts were made to resuscitate them on the spot. The news of the disaster soon spread through the city, and enormous crowds congregated, waiting for the rescue parties to return. Relatives Wait on Quay. A great number of children were on board the Greyeliffe, returning from school, and pathetic scenes were witnessed when parents, learning of the disaster, rushed to the quay, where the survivors and victims were being landed. Only a few passengers aboard the Tahiti knew anything about the collision till it was practically over. All had heard the shrill burst from the Tahiti's siren that immediately preceded the crash. They felt little more than a bump, as the giant mail steamer crashed through the frail timbers of the ferry, and it was not till they heard the screams that they realised that something serious had occurred. Then there was a" rush for the upper decks. One passenger said: "Looking over the side I could see the ferry slowly turning ove*, and then split'into halves. Ono piece swept by where I was standing. It was terrible to hear the women and children screaming." Passenger's Description. Another passenger was watching from the bow of the vessel, when suddenly he became aware that a' second, vessel was immediately ahead. He could see that nothing.but a miracle could avert a crash, ""but he was not prepared for the full horror of what was to follow. In a moment after the crash one side of the ferry had disappeared from view, aud the other immediately became alive with scrambling, terrified people,; some clinging, frantically to stanchions and rails, or anything, that, would afr ford support, and clambering hopelessly upwards on the slowly, submerging side of the wreck. But it was those who were in the lower cabins who truly (vere in desperate straits.'•'... . iBealising that unless they could fight free through, the windows or gangway jpenings before the vessel became submerged thoy must inevitably perish, ihey struggled madly to escape. Some icbiaved their object • even after the .'cssel sank, but if is feared that many vere trapped. Search of the debris was carried out >y means of a searchlight till a late iour,- when it was abandoned. Another Account.

[ William Benton,, one of those drowned, was chief petty officer on {he warship Penguin. Eye-witnesses describe the suddenness of the calamity. One states that it was all over in twenty seconds. According to the testimony of various people, the two vessels wer> travelling in tho same direction. The, ferryboat was somewhat ahead and appeared to swing over. Some of those caught inside the saloon broke windows and managed to get free while the.Greycliffe was sinking. . A passenger aboard the Tahiti say's: '' Prom the time wo - hit the if erry ■ till she sank was less than a minute. Those aboard thj ferry had no time to do anything. The screaming of the women and children was terrible, but it was wonderful' how everyone tried to help each other. The Tahiti's passengers threw over life-belts and rafts."

Ma-ny Tourists Missing. Harrowing seenes at the landing stage and hospitals continued throughout the night, people searching for relatives who had not returned home. Altogether there were eighty-six casualties. Twen-ty-nino persons are still missing, with the possibility of other names being added to the list. The missing include a number, of tourists who were holidaymaking in Sydney. Divers .are at work on the wreckage. So far no more bodies have been recovered. * Divers hitherto have found four bodies in the wreckage of the sunken Greycliffe. Captain Williams was at first wrongly included in the list of missing. He returned home safely.

[The Tahiti is a familiar vessel in Dominion waters and was a transport during the war period. Her gross tonnage is 7898 tons. She is commanded by Captain Aldwell, who was for a considerable time a master in the Lyt-.telton-Wcllington ferry, service, during which time he was master of the turbine Wahine.]

(Received November 4th, 8.40 p.m.) SYDNEY, November. 4. As the diver continues his work on the wreckage of the Greycliffe, the appalling nature of the disaster is becoming apparent. After finding four bodies, the diver found two more, and was then horrified to see 18 others huddled in another cabin. Efforts are being made to extricate them, but the task is a difficult one. An examination of the hull shows that it was not cut in half though the upper works were badly smashed. The diver had only been down a few minutes when he signalled for a slate, upon which he wrote that he had discovered four bodies. Immediately a rope was lowered and the body of a young woman hauled to the surface- The others were later brought up, the diver having repeatedly to come to the surface owing to the great depth in which ho was working. After working all morning, the diver secured an > as-!

sistant, and . both men, working strenuously, discovered' further bodies. The work of identification is still slowly proceeding, but it will be some time before the. divers are able "to ex r tricate all the bodies so far discovered from the mass of wreckage in which they are entangled. ' | Pilot Eefuses Statement. .

Captain Carsori, the pilot who was on the Tahiti, when interviewed, refused to make any statement in conriexion with the disaster, ■ and immediately after the collision sent a radio message to the Union-Company advising it of the disaster,. and stating that the Tahiti was ■ thoroughly seaworthy, but no official report • of events leading up to the disaster wer.e given. ...

QUESTION IN THE HOUSE. (jlVstxujui urn n.z. ixd stw cable.) (Received November 4tb, 8.40 p.m.) CANBERRA, November .4. .In the House of Representatives Mr Coleman asked the Minister , for Trade and Customs' whether it was a fact that the Tahiti had been allowed to sail for San Francisco without a statement being taken from.; the officer in charge.. The Hon. Mr Pratten replied that he had no information on the matter, but would endeavour to get advice from Sydney.

TEMPORARY MORGUE ESTABLISHED.

(Received November 4th, 11.55 p.m.) SYDNEY, November 41 •There are now thirty bodies, in the morgue as the' result of the ferry disaster and twenty passengers still'missing'. ' The divers' operations have ceased until to-morrow. The divers experienced great difficulty, at times having to hack their way with tomahawks through the wreckage to the bodies. So far all the dead recovered are from the forepart of the ferry. It is feared that there may be more in the after section. All ferries are passing the. scene of the tragedy with flags at half-mast and at a redueed speed as a token of respect to the dead. .So many bodies were recovered that a temporary morgue has been established where the bodies were brought ashore and largo crowds of relatives of the missing passengers are waiting outside this all day. Identification is proceeding slowly.