THE WRECKED DEVON.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1843, 1 September 1913, Page 7

THE WRECKED DEVON.

9 ' • FIRST DAY'S SALVING. TROUBLE WITH WHARF-WORKERS. FREE LABOUR ENGAGED. " Salvage oporations in comicction with tlio steamer Devon's cargo were carried out under most favourable conditions on Saturday. Mr. A. Walker, representing Lloyd's, is in charge of tho work. Tho sea was perfectly smooth, and tho weather was beautifully fine. So successful was the day's work that it was estimated that over £3000 worth of cargo was salved. This consisted of about 1000 cases of Massey-Harris machine oil, n motor-car, and a heavy piece of printing machinery, which weighed four tons. Save for the fact that tho machino is a little rusty in places, it is practically as good as tho day it was shipped in Montreal. All tho oil is iii good condition, and only two tins wero found to be leaking. The motor-car is damaged by water to a certain extent, but its machinery is practically as good as new. All tho above cargo has been taken from ftos. 4 and 5 holds. Waterside Workers Refuse to Co. ■ The Awaroa had been chartered by tho , New Zealand Shipping Company, who had chartored the Dovon, and sho was to have left tho Wool Wharf at 8 a.m. At half-past seven hundreds of water-. J side workers wore congregated about tho waiting-room opposito tho Customs I House. The solo topic of conversation was tho question or tho amount of . wages which wero to' be accepted for , salving cargo from the Devon. Presently one inan, armed with a sheaf of notes, mounted a stack of .piles, and harangued his mates on tho subject of law, equity, and other things concerning shipwrecks and shipwrecked cargo. His listeners wero sympathetic, and finally it was decided that the "crowd" would not go down to 1 the Devon unless they wero paid at tho rate of Gs. an hour cach man right through. It was quite evident that tho men thought that thoy' t held tho whip hand, and, for a time it " looked as if they would win. Captain Frank Jelly, of tho New Zealand Shipping Company's shore staff, of- > fered tho watersido workers 2s. an hour I ordinary timo, and 3s. an hour over- ) time, but. this was refused. Tho ordinary rates of pay under tho agreement • which the waterside workers have with ) 'tho shipping companies is Is, sd. an i hour ordinary time, 2s. 2d. per hour from then up till 10 p.m., and 2s. 3d. per hour from that timo till 8 a.m. This agrecmont is for wharf labour at , 'Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, Dunj edin, and Timaru. Special arrangel ments for 12s. per day is made _ for . work at outports. Further provision is made for men engaged to work within the limits of any of tho harbours- covered" by tho agreement, to be paid from tho timo of leaving the place of engagement and up to tho timo of arrival at tho wharf on return. It is held that the wreck of the Devon i 3 within harbour limits. Wellington t Harbour takes in all that portion of the sea this side of an imaginary lino, drawn from Pencarrow low-level light to Sinclair Head. Tho Devon is just !• without that boundary line. The men J r declared that salving the Dovon's cargo was a special job, and thoy raado their j claim accordingly. The Shipping Com- . pany, however, thought . When tho'watei-Eido workers refused 1 ' to turn to, Captain Jelly, and Mr. j O'Shoa, his assistant, endeavoured to j make other arrangements for procuring t labour. Some of tho engineers of tho Devon wero going down to visit tho ship, and they wero pressed ,into service. A man was sent away to seo if ho could pick up any of - tho crew of the Dovon. Ho was most successful, but tho waterside workers, who had clustered together at tho head of tho Wool Wharf put their side of the caso before tho ship-wrecked men, and tho words, spoken evidently went home — tho crew of tho Devon did not go down j. to thoir ship on Saturday. Timo was getting on, and tliero was a lot to bb dono. Captain Jelly offered wages to anybody who would work. A young i lad offered his services. Ho was i told that ho would .got "a bob an hour," ). so ho jumped aboard tho Awaroa arid ) turned to with tho others. Tho Awaroa i finally left at 9.30 a.m. with a gang of l free labourers on board.- This gang 1 did excellent work, and although some i of tiein had never- "grafted" in their lives before, one heard many expressions about an easy earned day's pay. • The seamen and firemen signed off tho vessel's articles on Saturday morning. Those who aro unsuccessful in finding berths on steamers going Homo will havo their passage money paid for them, t Tho auxiliary scow Echo lias been ohartored to. assist in tho work of salving tlio Dovon's cargo. With a view 3 to the operations being carried out unt der the most favourable auspices, the 3 insurance companies interested aro cof operating for the salvage of tho cargo. Mr. A. Walker, Lloyd's surveyor, is acting under instructions from prin- . cipal insuranco companies and shipowners. As it is salved tho cargo will be brought to t'ho wharves and placed in U shed. Desolation and Ruin. Scenes of desolation and destruction mot the eye of a reporter every way d lie looked on board the Devon. Great >i rents could be seen in tho vessel's hull, and tho iron plates had been torn apart like pieces of paper. 'The hugo d seas, which washed over tho stern of it' tho Vessel on Monday night and Tuesd d,iy morning, havo twisted pieces of r- iron- as thick as a man's wrist about ir liko wax. From stem _to stem tho water is swirling about inside the vest sel, ■ and all cargo in the lower holds 3- of tho ship is afloat—damaged beyond ), repair. As each ocean swell comes in from tho Pacific it washes right n through tho ship. Tho engines aro t- covered with water to the cylinder, tops, ; and a largo rock can bo soen projecting •s up into the stokehold. Men who wore ig working below at tho timo'of'the mishap. had to run for their lives, as tho h water rose as quickly as they ran up !; tho ladders. There appears to be little doubt that 2- the Devon's stern part',\will break off io shortly. As a matteroosr s fact, it was !; moving about on Saturday afternoon, even though tho sea was calm. One or 2, two good "southerlies" will do a lot to help the old Dovon along to a watery grave, and when thoy' do come she will d not ho long in going. r. Sir. Woods and Quartermaster Jolin- ). stcn liacl an unenviable experience oil :o Thursday night. They had remained a on board tho Devon for the purposo of io keeping a watch on things, and on tl',6 night in question tho steamer appeared to be afloat in tho forward part as tho after part. Amidships she was as solid as the rooks which had [j pierced her. Thcro was a nasty sea on i at tlio timo, and the "oldhooker, as [1 the quartermaster called her, was shuddering and swaying about m an alarmji ing manner. So bad did the outlook be- [, eomo that tho two men on board deem[c ed it advisable to swing ono of the lifeboats out clear in caso of emergency. "I 'can tell vou things looked pretty ir bad during the night,' and wo wero I- wondering how wo wero going to get d ashore pretty often," said Mr. Woods. From what could be , gathered tho 5 Devon swings up and down liko a sce- " saw. Her stern has dropped out of |[ line with the othor part of tlio ship. When tho timo came for tho auxiliary ' scow Echo to make for port with tho

cargo sho had' salved it was discovered that sho was unable to clear tho wrecked steamer under her own power. When tho Duchcss was at tho scene of the wreck yesterday afternoon, Sir. A. Walkor, Lloyd's representative, asked Captain Cambridge, her skipper, to put a tow-line aboard tho Echo, and en- ■'.' deavour to tow. her clear. . . This was accordingly dono, but tho attempt was unsuccessful. At 7 o'clock last evening, however, tho sea having moderated, a lino was passed aboard tho scow from tho Karaka, and tho Echo was Bhiftcd from tlio Devon, and towed to Womer Bay, where sho dropped anchor.. Tho Echo has succeeded in winning further valuablo cargo from tho Dovon. This consists of motor parts, agricultural machinery parts, arid soino of tho ships bonded storos. All this salvage has como from tlio after , end of tho ship. ' Thousand!.? of peoplo visited- Seatoun oil Saturday and' yesterday to get a"; view of the' wrecked: : steamer Devon. Weather conditions favoured the-excur-sion,' and a capital view in perspective of tho ill-fated steamer, with her lioso high and dry on the rocks, was.obtained from the hills near Fort Dorset, Breaker ••• Bay,, and tlio roadway between tho Pass of Branda amd the quarry. On Satur - day afternoon tliero. was a smooth sea, . and the lightest of southerly breezes — one of Wellington's perfect days. Tha ■ Awaroa was lying snugly alongside the after-iliold of'the Dovom. During th« . afternoon tho Duchess, well-laden with oxoursionists, and a regular flotilla of small oraft manociwrcd as to tho big "la.me duck" as their curiosity and prudence dictated. It seemed incredible tliat tho Dovorij lying so comfortably there with level decks, should bo regarded as altogether lost to tho sea. It may bo' that tho report of the_ diver, wbo As to' niaiko a thorough examination of tho vessel's bottom to-day (weather permitting), will put a different . complexion on the matter, but those with experience in Biich matters have little hope that any effort to refloat tho vesse) would pay. INQUIRY TO-DAY. An inquiry into tho circumstances of tho wreck of tho Devon- will bo opened " at 10 o'clock this- morning. Dr. M'Axthur, S.M., will bo.on tho'Bench, and the. assessors will bo Captain Bollons, of the Government 6tcamor Einelnoa, -and Captain Felix. Black.