THE LATE FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT AT GEELONG.

Dunstan Times, Issue 614, 23 January 1874, Page 3

THE LATE FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT AT GEELONG.

The following is the statment of Miss Keal, one of the survivors “ Wo 'eft the gardens in the boat at about three o'clock, as I had never been there be'oi c and was dtsiiVuiß of ge'tmg away early, there being drunken men about. Our nbj 'ct was to reach the steamer in which wo had come to the gardens, but I think we mistook the Melbourne stem er fiit it. The wafer came into the boat a quarter of an*hour after we started, a d they had to keep haling it out. We wete frightened at this, and the man B'ashki who was lost, offered to j ay all the exposes if they would take ns hack again or on t > Geelong, hut Sharpe laughed at him aid sdl he was pai Ito meet the stcanieV, or something like that. As near as I can remember, there must have been almiit t vonty in the boat, and I believe most of them were fr. m Me bourne; they were at •angers to Geelong. The men steeled the boat across to Cowie’s Greek. I think they were both dim k, and 1 said to one of them, ‘ We shall never j.ct ashore,’ as tin wind was blowing stioigly, tic e;a was rough, an I 1 was fidglittned. I'c only laughed, and 1 said ‘ will report you to the first placeman I meet when I get onshore’ Sharpe again laughed at me, and said, ‘ IE ‘ever yon do get on shore again.’ I replied, ‘I loii’t think wo ever will.’ I can’t re. number, or to 1 what distance we were from the shore when they tried to make the sail go from one side'Of the boat to the other (to wear the boat), ; the sail gave & sudden jer<, the boat went over on its 'side an 1 seemed to shit from under us. When I rose I just managed to catch hold o:' the boat, and there held on. Before the accident occurred, I saw Mi-s Walker, the two Mbs Wa’ts, Eliza Tainton, Armstrong a d the young man wdi i 3. id he had lost his father ; two men in grey suits, and a number of others ; there must have been twenty in the boat. When I got hold of the boat, I also saw holding on to it the two Miss Watts, E iz i Tainton, Armstrong ami three others ; I saw Kite Watts, after holding on fora short time, she said 1 Oh! 1 ait going, ’ she held up her hands and tank, and I never saw mythiug more of her. I thought Ellen Watts would go out o her mind when she saw hch sister sinking. There was such a look of horror on herfaeo. She screamed, ‘ Oh! Be‘sy...look on her—she’s going down ; I must go after', and she actually jumped off the boat and tried to save h'T. I don’t know how she git hold of,the boat acain. Wo clung on till two fishermen came up with passfenge.s in their boat. They went ashore and then came back again, and saved us.”