Gale Damage Runs Into Thousands Of Pounds

Chronicle (Levin), 7 June 1949, Page 7

Gale Damage Runs Into Thousands Of Pounds

SYDNEY, June 6. The poliee estimate the weekend gale damage in the metropolitan area of Sydney at many thousands of pounds. A collier captain said that the seas were the heaviest he had seen in 42 years on the Australian eoast. Inside Sydney Harbour seas and hjgh winds tore many launehes from their moorings. Some were pounded to pieces by rocks and others beached. At least eight launehes were totally,. wrecked. A submarine formerly owneil by the Netherlands Navy and now the property of the Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Oompany broke adrift from the moorings where she was on display as a sideshow attraction and crashed on to rocks near Manly. Four men aboard had a perilous time as the vessel rolled until the top of the conning tower touched the water. Oue man tried to swim to safety, but became exhausted after a few strokes. He was rescued by three men from the • shore. The others were taken off by dingliy. State Government relief parties are supplying tarpaulins, food and dry blankets to people whose homes are damaged by the storm. The Minister of Labour and Industry (Mr. F. J. Finnan) said that relief parties had supplied 67 homes with tarpaulins to replace roofs which had been carried awav or damaged. Many families are homeless and sheltering in public buildings. ' Huge breakers and gales transformed the face of Bondi Beach, stripping hundreds of tons of sand from the foreshore and piling it against surf sheds 80 yards from the water line. The sand is in drifts four feet deep on the promenade and the marine parade. The police say it will take years to restore the beach to normal. Drifts and the stripped beach are being conibed by youthful treasure seekers and finds of copper and siiver coins are reported. a