TWO MONTHS ON A CORAL BEES.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1185, 14 November 1884, Page 4

TWO MONTHS ON A CORAL BEES.

{Town, arid Country Oct. 25)

A,' thrlllinse storv of maritime adventure is found contained in aorae ■official documents published under the ■authority of the Western Pacific High Stanley labour recruiting vessel, belonging to Maryborough, Queensland, while returning from a cruise to Mew Ireland, became wrecked during a storm in the night, on a coral formation, known as the indispensable Reef, situated far out of sight of land, and •covered with water at everv high tide. On the following day their being every probability of the ship going to pieces before any assistance could be obtained 'from the Solomon Islands or other place, the Queensland Government agent on boird the vessel, Mr W.A. M'Mnrdo,decided on having a raft con* Btrncted from the gearing of the vessel, •sufficiently large to hold about a hunfired men. This raft; h* intended to have moored on a suitable part of the reef, and protected bv a breakwater ■constructed of ship’s timber and loose pieces of timber piled up to make a •dry refuge. There were numerous difficulties in effecting this, principally the result of opposition on the part •of the 'captain of fhe vessel, and the want of requisite skill on the part of 'the recruits. The captain and a portion of the white crew of the Stanley afterwards departed in an open boat in search of assistance, taking with them an ample supply of provisions and leaving behind on the reef, Mr M'Murdo, two white men, eight semi» savage islanders, and ninety natives ■of an extremely low type, many being ■cannibals It was an extremely diffi* ■cult position for an individual like Mr M'Murdo to become placed in, for the slightest panic or misunderstand* ing on the part of the “recruits” would have led to the massacre of him self and companions. The wreck took place on August 1, 1833, the captain taking his departure on the 7th. Thenceforth, Mr M'Murdo had a most trying lime of it, the “ recruits ” fre« •quently proving very troublesome, ■especially with respect to stealing pro visions, thereby necessitating the employment of force in restraining the offenders. The account of the manner in which the raft was constructed from the ship’s materials, huts erected, and a breakwater constructed to protect the lot from being damaged by the waves dashing over the reef, reads like a . chapter from the works of Defoe. . The short supply of water occasioned in several instances by the useless •-character of the ship’s tanks, one of "which was stated to be as thin as a sixpenny bit,” was supplemented by ' that obtained by spreading sails to ■catch the falling rain at night For seven weeks Mr M'Murdo and his ■companions remained on the reef before • assistance bove in sight, and more than once the Government agent found himself on the point of giving way to ■despair. J August seven he writes— Work went well ahead to day; had ‘only to thrash one man, who was in 'the water and dared me; men (11) ■out fishing only brought a few home; ‘fed rice; in five minutes there were three robberies of food from one ano» ther. I pummelled two and thrashed "the third. These men are really heart* breaking devils. I shall be thankful when I see the last of them ” Mr M'Mnrdo had also to contend with sickness among the band of castaways, and his heart sank within him as sev» oral succumbed to the depressing in* ■ouenc.es by which they were surrounded ; but he did not relax his endeavours, and with the aid of the ship’s medicine chest he prevented the increase of mortality, so that when rescued August 23, by the master and of the Sydney trader Venture, there were no less than ninety survivors on the reef—a fact which Sir G William Des Voeux regards as a convincing proof of the “ heroic fortitude, fertility ■of resource and active humanity displayed by Mr M'Murdo.” The work •of rescue was not effected without difficulty, taking some days to successfully accomplish ; but once safely on board the Venture, Mr M'Mnrdo and his companions in misfortune reached Brisbane without furthur adventure.