TOTAL LOSS OF THE TAIAROA.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1259, 16 April 1886, Page 3

TOTAL LOSS OF THE TAIAROA.

GREAT LOSS OF LIFE., [BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.] (From Our Own Correspondent), Donepin, April 12, 10.50 a.m. The Union Company’s steamer Taiaroa is lost near Kaikoura, It is supposed that all hands have perished. Two bodies have been washed ashore.

[The above was issued by us as an extra on Monday last]

We take the following from the “ Otago Daily Times”

FULL PARTICUT. \RS OF THE DISASTER. Considerable excitement was crea'ed in town yesterday when it became known that ■ the Union Company’s steamer, Taiaroa had wrecked on the voyate from Wellingto' Lyttelton. The first news was received. by the Union Company about 9.30, and was published by us as an extr». It was from their Blenheim office, advising that pews had reached there that the Taiaroa, which left Wellington at noon on Sunday, was ashore one mile north of the Clarence River, and that two,of the passengers were saved. Prom time tiTiine during the day extras were published in town, which Kept the public informed of all the intelligence obtainable, and these were eagerly awaited. When the news camthat the captain’s boat, which had drifted away from the others, had landed at Wairau, it was thought, in view of only three bodies having been washed ashore, that perhaps more of .the passengers and crew had escaped. This view was supported somewhat by the statement given in one telegram that one boat with females on board was still missing, and as the captain’s boat had no females on board it was generally thought that another boat was still unaccounted for. This, however, appears not to be the case, as three of the boats ’ were caps : zed ; and nut of those on board, only three reached the shore—namely. Sergeant Grant (of the Armed Constabulary), Constable M ‘Quartier, and one o! the passengers named Gilbert Hatton These three, with those saved in the captain’s boat, will prove, it is to be feared, the only survivors of the sad catastrophe. During the day anxious inquiries by friends and relatives of those on board were made, but the out-of-the-way place in which the wreck occurred rendered it impossible to obtain accurate information.

The Union Company, with commendable promptitude, took steps to at once send relief to the scene of the wreck. Orders were sent to Wellington to despatch the Penguin for the scene, and to Lyttelton to send on the Wanaka there at once. The Blenheim manager of the Company was also requested to proceed overland to the scene, which is some 70 miles distant from Wellington.

STATEMENTS OP THE SURVIVORS. Wellington, April 12. A very painful sensation was created here to-dav by the arrival of the news that the a. s. Taiaroa, which left this port yesterday, had been wrecked with deplorable loss of life.' It was not till the afternoon was well advanced that any information of a definite character could be obtainc 1, and even up to \the present the available details have been Tyery meagre. lam indebted to the courtesy of Mr Pufiett, of th“ U.S.S. Company, for copy of the following telegram received from their Blenheim agent:— Gilbert Hutton, a passenger from Wellington, formerly in the Government sera vice, says : “The Taiaroa struck between 7 and Bon Sunday evening. An ’attempt was made to get a line ashore, but failed. The boat 1 was in capsized, and I was picked up. The boat Sergeant Grant was in also capsized. All the crew and passengers had cork jackets on. Sergeant Grant slates Pour j boats started from tbe ship’s side, 1 was in the starboard lifeboat. She was swamped about 10 o’clock. The captain’s boat broke adrift and went to sea. Of the four boats three cansized, The vessel is Jving half a-* mile to the northward of Waipapa Point, her bow abont 50 yards from the shore, and ber brnadsi 'e nearly parallel with the beach. She is heeled over a little to port. The sea is striking her with great force, but not washing over the bridge or the poop. Three bodies have been fond.) -'bout three miles to the northward of the wreck. One boat with the female is supposed to be at sea.” A further telegram states that Constab'e M'Quarfier, from whom little information can be obtained, was washed ashore four miles north of Kekerangu.llG miles trom the scene of Hie wreck. Twenty-nine persons were in his boat, including tho mate, stewardess, and five women, who were all drowned. He thought the captain’s boat must have been swamped about half-past 6 this morning, and that all bauds were lost. He believes the boat ho was in beached at balf-past 6- this morning, as his watch stopped nt that hour. He is still very weak and unable to talk.

A DETAILED ACCOUNT FROM KEKFRANGTJ. KrKEP.axou, April 12. Three survivors from the wreck of the Taiaroa up to the present have reached the shore here -namely. Sergeant Grant (A.C., and torpedo instructor), Mr Hutton (a passenger for nine years pilot boatman at Lv'tleton), ond Constable M'Quartier (as sietant torpedo sendee). Grant and Hutton swam nsbore at. different parts of the beach. Grant bad a lifebelt, but was jusi giving up bone When bis feet touched thn shore Hutton got in one of the boats which capsiz’d, and then swam parallel with the shore till he reached shallow water. Hutton save bo heard one of the other men in the capsized boat ery out, and he told him to strike out boldly for shore, bat nothing more was seen or beard of him. Grant and Hutton both suffered from the effects of their perilous adventure,' but are at Mr Trolove’s Wnodbank Station, receiving every attention and progressing favourably towards recovery. Hutton’s watch stopped rt two minutes’past 12, which shows four yhymrs and a half between the time the yUoamer struck and the time the boat cap sized and he swam ashore. Grant’s watch never stopped, and dry matches were found in his clothes. M'Quartier drifted ashore in a boat this morning on the beach, between the River Uro and Flag feint, Wirtli of Kekerangn, in company with mother man, who was qnite 'dead. The . beat turned over and righted itself several times after leaving the wreck, it being a cork lifeboat, but M'Quartier was very much ■exhausted wb"n he reached the shore. Ho manage! to wa'k nearly np to Kekerange Station, and was met by the manager’s son, who nroenred a dray and took him to the accomodation house, where he now lies.progreasingfavonrnbly towards recovery. Search nartie» from Kekerangn. Flaxhonrne, and other s( ntions along the coast, have been ont ->ll dav looking.,for the survivors. Un to ‘b 1 presen' *'l■ Vit bodies have come ashore. Three are at Woodbank Station—two being soarne”. and one anparentlv an engineer. Fim li« on the bench north of Kekerangn. One appears to be a passens ger. He wean a moustache, is of middle

height and stoat bnild. Three others of the five are seamen, and the fifth is the man found in M’Quartier’s b"at, and who is in uniform, and supposed to be the second mate.

The Taiaroa at low water this evening was within about 10yds of - the shore, lying steadily, with small seas breaking oyer. She was leaning seaward. There is 7ft of water by tho bows. • • Three of the men working at the Clarence bridge swam on board and obtained dry clothes from the forcastle, and rescued a cat and monkey, which were the only living things on board, and fixed two warps from the mastheads to the beach. There appear to be no holes or damage to the steamer above tho water-line, the masts being perfectly firm and stationary. When the Taiaroa struck last night the captain ordered the crew and passengers into the boats, which were fixed a°tern by a line. The captain’s boat got away to sea, and reached Blenheim. Another beat still hangs to the line, and floats keel upwards. M'Quartier’s boat came ashore as already described ; and the fourth boat, containing the passengers, is supposed to have capsized with all hands, as wreckage of a boat, such as linings, have been found along the beach. There' is not the slightest probability of any other lives being saved. 'The Taiaroa lies on a beach composed of boulders and sand, and it is feared she has a hole in her bottom, as Hutton, one of the survivors, maintains the steamer was fall of water before he left her to go ashore. The five dead bodies north of Kekerangu will be brought up to Kekerangu Station tomorrow to awaij an inquest. The bodies will be carefully guarded on the beach tonight. M'Quartier states that there were 11 men in his boat when she left the wreck, but nine di-d of exhaustion be r ore the boat righted itself the last time. The night was bitterly cold, dark, windy, and wet, and nothing but the physical strength of M *Quartier, who is a powerful man, saved his life. A boisterous SW. gale set in about 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon in the Straits, replacing a north-wester. It is supposed Captain Thompson hugged the shore to avoid the wind. M'Quartier’s statements are somewhat incoherent at present, owing to the awful night’s adventure. Both Hutton and M'Quartier say that the captain, after the steamer struck, remarked that he thought he was within five miles of Kaikoura, and steering into Half-moon Bay. As a matter of fact the steamer was heading direct for C|arenoe Bridge, in the mouth of the River, when she struck. M'Quartier considers there were 50 souls on board all to'd. The body of the passenger washed ashore had a leg bitten off by a shark. The wreckage which has come ashore at present consists of several lifebuoys and the remains of the car-sized boat. The body of tho man in M’Quartier’s boat was much knocked about. None of the eight bodies are actually identified.

LATER, April 14. The telegrams which came to hand last evening appear to dispel all hope of more survivors from the wreck of the Taiaroa turning np. It is now estimated that there were in all 47 .persons on board the vessel, of whom 33 are believed to have perished. The number of passengers on board is supposed to have been 20, and of the 14 saved air are passengers. Up to the present nine bodies have been washed ashore, and of these only four }mve been positively identified ; while a fifth is supposed to be the body of the purser, Mr Spooner, who is well known in Dunedin and is the son of an old resident of Otago. Mr Moukman’s body is another of those identified. Ho was a nephew of Mr H. B. Monkraan, of the Union Company. The body of Mr R, Morrison, fireman has also been identified. He has a wife and one child living in Dun. edin. His wife is at the present time we understand in a rather critical condition. The other bodies identified are those of Mr Powell, the second officer, and Mr Martin a passenger. Among the passengers who were drowned was Mr Murray, formerly a teacher in the Tapanui d strict. It is probable that all the bodies washed ashore will be identified by the steward, and when he reaches the wreck it is likely that definite information wilt bo forthcoming as to the number on hoard at the timo of the disaster.

M'QU ARTHUR'S STATEMENT. John M'Quartier, one »f the saved, gives the following account: —1 am a native of Manchester, 32 years of age, and came out to the colony as second mate of the ship Warwick to Port Chalmers two years ago. I was a steerage passenger by the Taiaroa, and lying in my bunk at 7.30. when I felt the ship st'ike on the ground. I rushed out on deck, and found everyone making for the saloon for lifebelts. The captain was on the bridge, cool and collected. Some one asked him where we were He said about five miles from Kaikoura. Great confusion took place on deck whilst the boats were swung down from the davits. I got into the boat on the starboard side, and in the same boat were four women, Ward (the Whitehead torpedo instructor). Sergeant Grant, and also the ‘spieler’ with the curly hair, who greatly lamented having to leave his performing monkey. The women were all dressed except the youngest, who was a Salvation Lass about 23, who had nothing on but her nightdress. All four wore lifebelts. It was quite light, and we cored sea the hills, but no beach. A heavy sea capsized the boat after we attached it to the stern of the steamer by means of a line. The women kept well up for a long time, but one after another threw up their hands and sank from exhaustion and the bitter cold. As I swam past them one woman tried to clutch me, but I eluded her, and, together with 12 others, succeeded in getting into another boat, which was Boating keel npmost iThe boat righted itself notwithstanding the heavy aea, and 1 found all we had was one broken oar. My companions seemed terribly distressed and exhausted, and when the boat turned over again five went under and never came up, leaving the second mate, five seamen, and myself. These five groaned fearfully, and laid in the bottom of the boat, one after another gurgling in his throat and dying. The second mate was very weak also, but helped me to throw the dead men overboard, as their bodies, wi hj unturned faces, washing from one slide of the boat to the other, greatly distressed and obstructed ns. The second mate said just ns day was breaking, 1 It’s no pood ; I can’t keep up any longer,’ and by the time the boat grated on the boulders of the beach and went on ! the shore, he also was dead. I managed to . crawl out of the boat and up a sandy creek i towards iho hills, and was making for a ' light when a man met mo and took me in a trap to the Kekerangn Station. 1 consider • th« night was not too dark to prevent the ■ captain seeing where he was, and I believe i everybody might have been saved had they ’ swam straight ashore. The captain and . officers behaved coolly and well, and the steward served out the lifebelts as- quickly i as possible. I really believe the captain thought he was heading direct for the K iii koura. The four women consisted of two • passengers and two stewardesses, all being

elderly females hnt on", and all behaved snlen lidly and made no fuss. I believe all four were drowned close to the steamer it* self’