STEAMER TYRONE WRECKED.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1867, 29 September 1913, Page 7

STEAMER TYRONE WRECKED.

AT TAIAROA HEAD& CREW SAFE. ' VESSEL IMPALED ON THE ROCKS. I A PERILOUS LANDING. (By Telcgraph-Prces AcsoolaUon.) Dunodln, September 27. At about 4.30 a.m. to-day, tho Houlder liner Tyrone went ashore near| Wahino Point, about a mile and a half to tho (southward of Otago Heads. Tho i vessel was bound from Lyttelton to' Port Chalmers. At 12.45 p.m. the following message Was received from Otago Heads:— "Tho Tyrone is a hopeless wreck. ■ There is a liole next tho engines,. 1 tho vessel is full of water, and'port propeller is jammed. Suri is breaking on tho deck. Tho orew can land, but will have to bo hauled up the oliff. It is thought that tho rudder is gone. Tho fog lifted, but ib now settling downagain." ■' '1 ho first- intimation was a telephone message recoivcd at Port Chalmers from tho Heads at 5.30 a.m. Detonators had been heard from tho direction of Wahino Point, and rockets were afterward? discerned in the samo direction. FIRST VIEW OF THE WRECK. The pilot launch went off, and. turn- j ing south, discovered at somo distance Boutb of tho Heads the Tyrone, hard I and fast, about 200 ft. from tho cliff, j TJio launch was unable to go along- - side, owing to tho choppy naturo of the ' seas, and it immediately turned back and got into communication with tho harbourmaster at Port Chalmers. Tho first step taken was tlio dispatch of tho tug Plucky, about 8 a.m., fop the scene ol' tho mishap, with orders'ta Btand by in case of further develop* mcnts, Tho Koputai was also sent out somo timo later, and at 10.50 a.m. Drcdgo 404 left Port Chalmers, equipped with anchors and wires and wire liauserß for salvage purposes. On the way down the dredge received' signals from Harrington Point intimat- 1 ing that her services were not required. She, however, proceeded to tho sceno of tlio wreck, where a view of tho fated vessel confirmed the intelligence received from shoro that nothing in tlio way of salvage operations could bo attempted. 1

It was seen tliat the Tyrone was in a very bad way indeed. The steamer; appeared to bo pivoted amidships I broadside on to the rocky coast, whilo the heavy sea which was running sent tho spray up funnel-high. After remaining somo littlo time at the scene of disaster, tho dredge returned to port, arriving about 1.30, p.m. She loft tlio Plucky and Koputai! standing by, and tho pilot launch cruis«' ing close in. A HOPELESS PREDICAMENT. Tho Koputai left Port Chalmers at 10.30 a.m. with the harbourmaster, 1 Mr. Tyson (representing the Houldei'i line), and Captain King (assistant! marine .< superintendent or the Unioni Company). The fog lifted as the tug' approaohed Harrington Point, where', the pilot launch, with Pilots Maxwell and Duncan, came along-' Bide. Tho pilot reported that tho Plucky • was standing -by the Tyrono.. The launch had just returned from the stranded vessel, which to all ap« pearances was In.a hopeless predica« raent. No. ■ 8 hold was full of water, and tho vessel lay broadside across tho entrance to a small cove. Rocks were showing ahead and astorn, and tha port propell-31' bad jammed .by coming: into contact with the rocks astern. The* boilers were being blown down. On receipt of tlint information those on board tho Koputai considered it to bo useless to seiid iho.dredge with salvage; appliances to the aid of tho stranded' Blup, and she was therefore ordered t<y return to Port Chalmers. ) When the Koputai cleared Otagoy Heads tho Tyrono was plainly risible,; about two mijlos distant. • She wasi down by the head, and had a list toj seaward. The northerly wind was fresli-j oning, and a heavy' swell was foaming! white alongside the rocks. The waives! were pounding furiously against thoj Bide of tho Tyrone, the spray ally swishing over the bridge. POUNDING ON .THE ROCKS. As the Koputai approached nearer iVI was but too plainly evident that thai Tyrone was doomed. She was impaled! on tho rocks, and it seemed that atj any moment she might tumble over and] expose her desks to tho heavy' rollers/ which threatened to ongulf her. Her stem was fast on the rocks, but at tlioi stern tho visiblo rocks were 20ft. dis-i tant from tho rudder. Sho appeared to/ bo impaled amidships, on rocks which? had piorced No. 3 hold, and wero acting] as a pivot, on which sho swung back-, wards and forwards. j As tho Koputai came abreast of tha< Tyrono a huge wavo rolled, in and liftedl tho stern ■ portion of tho vessel high, from tho rocks. As tho wavo subsided sho camo do mi with a terrific crash,* winch shook her from stem to sternfj and caused her to roll heavily. j Captain M'Lauclilan was on thtf bridge when the Tyrono went ashore. A.' few more yards to the north and tha stoanior would have been into a wido( sweep of rock and sand, bow on, arid' sho could tliUB have missed a lot of tha 1 ! forco of tho waves. A hundred yards to the south of Wahine Point tho land) again sweeps in, and the vessel would have got somo littlo relief from tW' full forco of tho sea. Tho waves kep| on boring her stem round into tho lanqi till she was soon lying fore and aft facing the north-west, right in under tho cliff head. ) Whether the Tyrono is aground atnidj ships cannot bo soon from tho landward side. About 2 o'clock tho ship had go# : into a position lying parallel with- tha shore, and sho sebmed to havo sottlecE down into a solid position on tho rocks.) At half-tide the register in h(!r stem posts showed that sho was drawing 15 feet wiien tho surge loft tho view clear..'j As tho Tyrone' now lies it appears as if sho wero held out broadside on at tha, end of a claw-like arm, to tho full power of tho sea. Every, inch of her hull is open to tho waves, which all day oa Saturday pounded her seaward side, and swept across the bridge and decks in columns of spray. Practically every: nautical man who. has seen the wrecked ship emphatically says that she is there to stay. Yesterday morning tho launch managed to pick up a lino from tho stern of the Tyrot'.o and oarried it to the tug Plucky. Tho tug got a haul on, but mado vorv littlo, if any, impression on tho straudod craft. Tho captain of tho tug was' than informed that tho third and fourth holds wero full of water and that one of tho propollors had got jammed in tho rocks and could not be worked. The Plucky thorenpon return-, cd to Port Chalmers. WHAT OF THE CREW? All hopes of salvage wore out of *3ae and $hb fmrbouraiaßtoi-

sent tho pilot launch to inquire from the captain of the Tyrone as to what steps lie intended to tako tq ensure tho safety of the crew. Tho pilot launch later returned and reported that the captain of the Tyrone was about to launch ;hia lifeboat on tho side of the'ship nearest the shore, and no difficulty, was. anticipated in landing the crow safely at a place, whore they could possibly scalo the cliff with little diffi-, culty, 'The Koputai was then headed back to-the harbour, in order that the tug's hands might go round by land and assist in the landing of the crew, but she had not, however, steamed very far when she was recalled. DESPERATE ATTEMPT—DREW REACH THE SHORE. . Those on board saw that a desperate effort was to be made to transfer the ■wrecked crew to tho Koputai. The lifeboat ■ had 'been launched and a- rope passed from her to tho pilot launch. . it' was intended! to put the crew into '■ tho lifeboat by means of a' pilot ladder : suspended over the ship's stern, but * the sea was too rough, however. ; and that'.schemo had to be abandoned. . Then'itho pilot launch informed those ■on the -Koputai that the lifeboat was mow to bo used to convey the crew directly from the ship's gangway to the .shore. • The water was practically smooth between the ship and the Bhore. Soon': after a cheer broke rrom the ■ bottlers on the cliff above, and in ft few minutes - some of ■ the crew could ibeseen clambering up the rooks. A Tope was securely tastened between the * ship' and the shore by means of Which '•<the lifeboat could be hauled backwards and forwards to land with the balance of the. crew. 1 1 . As the tug could now render no furtheT assistance, she steered round to the hairbour, and a number of men went over to the scene of tho wreck to bring, the crew back over the bill to the tug, to he conveyed to Port Chalmers, i There were in all some 70 men to be brought ashore. At the bow-end the 'cliff rose'sheer up, 200 feet'. There was 'no chance of .the men scaling the pre- ; cipico that way. At the stern end the * cliff was not so high, and a landing [place was therefore secured on nearly' I the opposite shoro. A stern ladder 20 i feet long was obtained from tho vessel [to bridge the short Bpan, and then a .' leading line enabled the men to scramble up the rest of the distance, some [20 or. 30 yards to the level ground. [ The, life-boat \was worked on pulley- ■ ropes over a span of 100 yards of water. The work went steadily on all'after'xioon, a large quantity of baggage being brought ashore. Only ono accident occurred, Mr. Au- ' brey, the purser, getting crushed be- ' tween the boat and the ship's hull and having to be taken to the Hospital. His ; injuries are not definitely known, but : apparently are confined to a broken rib ! or two.' . At 20 minutes to 5, Captain M'Lauchlan, tho last man to leave, came ashore. Thio captain has been coming to Port ' Chalmers for the last lo years or so, ■ and is recognised as one of tho most 1 caieful and able seamen who ever walk'ed a bridge. i A big quantity of luggage was also brought ashore, the men saving practically all their effects. ' The latest intelligence from Taiaroa Heads this evening showed that the iposition of tho vessel remained unchanged, except that she had taken a slight list to starboard, that is, out to sea. The weather had moderated some- . iihat. The vessel stands well out of tho water, but is apparently firmly feed. ,