MARINE DISASTER.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 280, 7 August 1909, Page 5

MARINE DISASTER.

MANY LIVES LOST. ; S.S. MAORI WRECKED NEAR CAPE TOWN EIGHT SURYIYORS. FORTY-SEVEN GIVEN UP AS LOST. (By Telegraph.—Press Assoclotlon.-OoDyrlchU London, August 5. Tho, Shaw-Savill liner Maori outward bound from London for Dunedin and Lyttelton lias been wrecked at Duiker Point, near Cape Town: ''..'.■ \ - ' •'■''. , Tho Maori coaled.at Cape Town on Wednesday. She had-no passengers on board. Lloyd's report states that the vessel ha 3 broken up, and tie cargo is afloat. SANK IN FOUR MINUTES. BOATS SEPARATED IN DARKNESS. BOATSWAIN'S HEROISM. , i ■ ' ; (Rec. August 6, 11.15 p.m.) . -~ '■■»■ London, August 6. .The "Daily Mail's" Cape Town corrospon-. dent reports that the Maori struck a rock at Duiker Point forty minutes after leaving Cape Town, and sank- in -four, minutes. The discipline of the crew was excellent. When' the ship struck, the captain ordered the men—ss all''told—to man three boats; This was. done, and the boats were launched, but they lost sight of each other- in• the darkness. ,< : - ;•'■ > , . : r The boat under the chief officer; Mr. Reed, with fifteen men in her, rowed for tne open sea until: daybreak. She _ was. then turned.and they attempted to land; but the boat struck a rock and was capsized, - Eight struggled Through tho Surf. .'Eight men struggled through tho. surf. Tho rest of tlio fifteen were drowned. The shattered remains of one of the other two boats has t>eeii picked up: ', . . All hope of.the survival'of the other .47 officers and men has now been abandoned, as the-tugs which have been searching re- ■ port that it is impossible that the boats coii'd lived in tho mountainous seas. Those: saved include tho following:— ■, Reed, chief officer. Keetian, engineer.: ■ '..■;'. Stewart, boatswain. -.-'. :-' StMlwell, helmsman. And a fireman.

Tho.Maori was ; valued at £40,000. Hor cargo,''consisting largely ; of. steel rails, was Valued at £120,000. . ' A A .'..'. : A .' . Risked Doath Three Times, and Saved Two. , Stewart .displayed . magnificent':, gallantry: Ho swam eighty '-; yards through .tho ; boiling surf, though already oxbnusted.. and saved Stilhvell. He then returned, aud rescued tho fireman; , A; '' " ' Still undaunted,-. Stewart finally sought to bring iii thei chief/ refrigerating ■' engineer, Hutchinson, but .tho', latter sank A;', Stewart himself only .reached tho shore with difficulty.: . ' ; .'.the cargo; ,V A '•..'.• ■" (By TeleEraph.'-l'rcs3. Association.)' ■ '•'■ Duneclin, August 6. -In-connection.with the wreck.of the Maori is stated that several-local insurance offices 1 will suffer as the result of holding risks on cargo, whilo wholesalo and retail morcliants and others'will, be putto.oonsidcrable inconvomence' and loss/through delay in receiving shipments in place of-.those lost.. The Maori had ,4100 tons of cargo for Dunedin, including transhipments for Bluff, Oamaru, ; arid Timaru, and 600. tons' foVLyttelton.' She also had on board about 600 tons steel rails for Beauty Point, Tasmania A. A considof-able part.of the cargo consisted of .'now,'season's soft- goods; f or \ local warehouses, and Messrs.' Herbert Haynes' and Co, _ (drapers) had a 'considerable quantity.coming by. the steamer for their, Duncdin and Invercargiil businesses. ' The Drapery, Supply, Association-.-had 70 or 80 cases on" /board, valued at about £2000.. Butterworth Bros, had about£2oo or £300 worthof goods? and Bing, Harris and Co. about. 100 tons. Other people who had; cargo on board are: Messrs. A. Ross, J. MacEwan and C 0.,R; Wilson and Co., A. Barriett, Briscoe and C 0. ,; MacKorras. and'Hazlet, Stevenson and Cook, Farra'Bros.j'ShacklocKi Ltd.", and J. Sparrow. Plates for tho new ferry steamoi? being built to replace tho Matariki, which was destroyed by fire some months ago, were also on the Maori,'but tlie directors of the 'company have cabled to Australia' with the object of getting; a, supply there,:,,,';. •''- ..;'. A THE' STEAMER DESCRIBED. A ' The Maori was one of the oldest representatives ( of the Shaw, Savill.Vand Albion Com-" panys fleet, and, with*Hhe .exception of the Pakeha and Eungatira (the .last-mentioned ■ has now,been sold), the smallest. • She'"was built in 1893 at tho yards, of Messrs. C. S. Swan and Hunter, of Newcastle, to the order' of the Shaw, Savill Company. ''■;.;■■'. The Maori was specially ,designcd and fitted out for the colonial frozen meat trado, tho wholeof the then latest iniprovemeiics having 'been introduced..in. her deok and cargo stowage. She was built: on the improved threedook type, with poop, 1 long bridge-house,'. and long; topgallant forecastle.- Water, ballast was adequately provided on the cellular doublebottouv principle throughout. Her deck machinery included eight powerful steam winches./ ' The engines 29, 46, and 77 inches, with a stroke of -48 inchesA ■ The dimensions, of tho steamer were:—4o2ft. length; 48ft.-in breadth, with a moulded depth of 32ft. Gin. The holds and 'tween decks of the vessel wero insulated, and the refrigerating maoUinery was supplied by the Haslam Foundry and Engineering Company (Limited), Derby. Her gross registered tonnage was 5317. tons, net 4705 tons, and-she had a speed of. 12, knots an hour. Some years - ago she.. niado' two -trips in the mail service, and on those occasions carried passengers, but recently, sho was a cargo carrier only. Sho; was classified 100 Al' at Lloyd's.

Sailing Arrangement.-';' Cable advice received last month ' statod that the Maori sailed from London,on July 9 for Dunediu and Lyttelton. After discharge, at the latter port she was to proceed to Beauty Point (Tasmania) with a quantity of. railway iron. The fact that she called, at Cape Town for ooal. would, indicate that she had a heavy cargo, as vessels bound from London to 6outW em ports, with a moderate cargo only, usually take enough coal to lost throughout the voyage. ' On the present occasion, the Maori was making her twenty-ninth voyage from England to the Dominion, but prior to leaving London on July .9 sho had boon engaged for a period in the; London-River Plato service. Captain and Complement. , When the Maori was in New Zealand waters last December, sh,c was then in ecmnni"! nf Captain G. Nioole, and some of.tho officers associated with him wefo:—Chief, Mr. H. G. Roberts; second, Mr. C. M. Andrews; third, Mr. C. Rawlinson; fourth, P. M'Donnld; chief engineer, Mr. Brewer; chiof refrigerating ■, engineer, Mr. Hutchison; chiof steward, Mr>E. .Collins. .' ■ Captain G. Nicole is about CO years of ago, and has had over thirty years service with the Shaw, Savill and' Albion Company, ITo commenced in the sailing vessels' in the early days, and later on worked step by step to positions of responsibility in different of tjie com-' pany's stoamers. Some twelve years ago, ho was appointed master of the Pakena, and later on had command of. the Rangatira. It was' when Captain Moffat assumed command of the Mamari about flvo years .ago that Captain Nicole transferred to the Maori. Ho is spoken of as a most experienced navigator, one who knew, the Cape of Good Ilope thoroughly,: and who was familiar with the normal currents and the character of the weather obtaining in, that locality, r / i '■ Rocks and Fog. Duiker Point, where the. Maori was wrecked, is a capo on the west coast of Cape Colony, ftlMteoii' mila S.W.S.' of Cape Town. • It V

well known to shipmasters trading round the Cape of Good Hope. Bocks aro numerous in tho vicinity, and a strong ocean current runs ' \ to the northward, and swoops right up tho South Atlantic. The point itself is a Bpur of the Table Mountain Range, and as there is no light, there it is a dangerous locality in foggy weather;; but onco clear of Cape Town the \ usual course is for vessels to keen well out ■[■ from the mainland. Tho nearest light it at :': Green Point, a few miles away, and the nearest fog signal is at Robhen Island, off Tablo ' Bay. It is understood that at this'time of tho y : year fogs are prevalent thereabouts, and the weathor is naturally more severe. , v Those Who know the locality express the opinion:that tho disaster , occurred in a fog,, otherwise it is , pretty certain that.tho Maori,would have been ~ on a course well outside tho danger zone. Cargo. ( As tho vessel is not yetia month out from London it is too oarly for carfeo lists to havo: arrived by. the mail, but it is not likely that thero would bo much, if: any, Wellington cargo , • aboard her. It appears, however, that Messrs, ■ ,', John Duthio and ,Co., of Wellington, had a,-'-' lnrgo quantity of material aboard consigned to Dunedin. It comprised pipes, valves, and other ,-\ fittings for tlio Dunedin Drainage Board, and > some large lines wero .included. Tho unfor- ; ' tunato part about tho loss of this consignment V is the fact that much of it is irreplaceable here, and the order will havo to be repented. ' Tho loss of time is therefore serious. Tho shipment,(valued at was' covered by insurance. ' ..■■'v..(!.■■■ • :';';..,'■' "'■•.- Wrocks near Cape Town. :, "Mr.. Ji Mallard, manager,; of the National : Insurance Company,,supplies the following liefc.'. . of Australian traders that havo becti lost in the neighbourhood of Capo Town:— ■'■""''- .-.,,.•' ; 1871—Queen of the Thames, s.s., bound from . : ■Melbourne to London.: 1873.—Fidelia, s.s., bound from London to Mel- • bourne ' " ■"' ■■ ;;:;'v''v; '..., ISSi,—Bulli, s.s., bound from Glasgow s to \ Syd- . ' ney.'.. . \ ..'.. -.■'..., ...,.■ .-,.' ." , - - ;.•■,.•.: 1801.—Wallarah, s.s., bound from London to. Australia. '.Belonged to Lund's Blue Anchor Line,, and was on her maiden voy- ■'•■■ ■■. ' age, :■■•' .-"■ V-. •'- ■■ ' ; ;, ''.'.,: I'-'. -~',". ;■, 1899—.Thermopylae, s.s., bound from Australia '; .to<.London. Belonged to the Aberdeen :• Whito'ijtar Lino. .; .• ■ 1900.r-Kakapo,' s.s., bound from. Swansea to ' :.' .Sydney.-.". '--I ■■'■■ .Probably tho most serious Wreck that, ever ;-,'• occurred in the vicinity was that of the'troopship Birkenhead, which sailed from Queens-, towh for tho Capo on January.7,'l6s2. ■ Sho . <' struck upon ■ a pointed pinnacle rock-• Toff v.'> Simohstown, South Africa, and became a total.'':■'; wreck. On board were detachments from ton - - of.tho.lmperial regiments—a total of 638 souls.', . Only 181','were' saved by tho boats, and 451. of,'.'.':•>■' tho crew and. soldiers perished.,"■-../' ~,>■;,•■.'',.-•■'.'•'.■■