INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF THE WRECK OF THE S.S. AHURIRI.
(Before I, N. Watt, Esq., R.M., and Captain Johnson, Assessor.) An official enquiry was held at the Custom House this morning into the circumstances connected with the loss of the s.s. Almriri. The following evidence was given ; Captain M'Kinnon sworn ; Was master of the Ahuriri when she was wrecked. Had been supplied with the report of Section 9 of the Inquiry into Wrecks Act. He produced a certificate of competency. The Ahuriri was classed A 1, he believed for nine years, but wav not certain. She was a steamer built of iron and schooner-rigged, of 131 tons register. The crew, including the master, numbered sixteen, and in addition there was the stewardess. The cargo consisted of wool, flour, and live stock ; of the latter four racehorses, and somewhere about 100 pigs on deck. Twelve passengers were onboard at the lime of the wreck, one of whom was a woman. The Ahuriri left Napier about the 16th November, and called at all the intermediate ports between that place and Port Chalmers, She left Oamaru on the 22nd November, at 11 o'clock a.m., at about high water. The wind was blowing from S, E , with a light hazy atmosphere. The vessel struck on a rock off Two-mile Point about 5 o’clock p.m., and was wrecked. It must have been dead low water. The wind was blowing a gale from the S.W., with clear weather. The vessel was worth about L 4.000, The cargo was totally lost also. The crew and passengers were saved by the sjiip’o boats without assistance from the shore, He h»d an Admiralty Chart of the Ninety Mile Beaoh on board, published in March, 1869. '1 he rock was not marked on the Chart. A bridge compass and a standard steering compass were on board. The vessel was swung fo adjustment of compasses in May. The two boats were sufficient to carry all the persons on board. They were surveyed by Mr Douglass just before leaving, on' tfce pth of November. They as well as the vessel we,e if* good order, and he had a certificate to that effect wndpr the Steam Navigation Act. She drew 54 or 6 feet of water forward, and 8 feet 6 inches aft. Her bottom was in water-tight compartments, which proved of no service. The land was plainly to be seen. The lead was not hove either before or after she struck. He shaped his course by the land, although a little while before he had been steering by the compass. By compass her head was about south, beading right for Otago lighthouse. Seventy bales of wo d and some flour were tak: n on board at O.imani, as a so a few small packages. He bad been master of sailing vessels and steamers on the coast since 18(31, and had sailed along the coast of New Zealand pretty nearly all the time. He had never heap of suy danger in the locality * litre the ryrecjk occurred. He had passed the spot frequently, but never observed the sea bivak th- re. It might have broken without btiug observed,' as the strength of the wind might by breaking the tops of the waves make the sea appear uniform. On that day there was a ground swell. He himself was looking out at the ti « e, and was at the wheel, to enable the helmsman to help to set the mainsail, as it was blowing so hard the crew could not do
it without help. He estimated the distance from the shore to be about a mile and a half, judging hy the eye. Captain Thomson with him had since taken the bearings of the rock accurately. Thomas Hart, master of the s.s. Beautiful Star, hud been eleven years acquainted with the coast. He always understood there was danger off Two-mile Point through the foul bottom. He had never seen any indicatio of the rock on which the Ahuriri was wre ked, although he had pissed it hundreds of times. He always gave the point a wide berth, as while chief officer of the Geelong, under Captain Turnbull, he used to keep four or five miles of the land. He had never se' n the sea break there, but had not been nearer to the shore than four miles. He had no idea who o the rock was on which the Ahuriri struck.
Captain W. Thomson, eleven years harbor master of Port Chalmers, had commanded both steamers and sailing vessels trading on the coast prior to his appointment, and know the coast between Port Chalmers and Oamaru. While master of the Geelong, he knew of the kelp patch, about two miles off shore, between Pleasant River and Jones’s Head. On the 29th November he surveyed the rock where the Ahuriri was wrecked. He was accompanied by Capt. M'Kinnon, and Robert London was in charge of the steamer. The Samson was anchored about half a mile off the wreck, the masts of which were visible above water. Soundings all round were taken within a radius of 35 yards, of which the rock was the centre. In an area of 10 feet square, there was only 5 feet of water upon the rock. The soundings were suddenly deepened all round the rock to two and four fathoms. He was of opinion there was a great extent of foul ground. He had frequently passed over that grwnd while in command of the Geelong, and found not less than seven fathoms on the edge of the foul ground. The bearings of the rook were taken and plotted on the chart produced. The bearings were Remarkable Cliff, S by B. $, E., bare; Vulcan Point, N. by E., full; Harris Bluff, S.S.W. | W., bare. Those bearings gave the distance of the rock from the land threequarters of a mile, A bed of kelp was the only indication of the foul ground, but the break was so close on shore that it was merely a continuation of surf along the shore. When he visited the spot the sea was smooth, the morning was quiet, with the usual ground swell. There was no break and the kelp was a’! away, so that there was nothing iu indicate foul ground. With the sea on, and the state of the weather when the vessel struck, he did not think the danger could have been seen from the bridges, as the sea would be feather-white. The edge of the shoal was about two miles from the shore, more or less. On the Bth March, 1867, as Habor Master, he addressed a letter to the Superintendent, urging the desirability of an accurate survey being made of the ! ast coast of Otago, that the “position of foul ground off Pleasant River of which there is no record, might be determined,” and new sailing directions published. No action was taken, though the Provincial Government corresponded with the General Government, who promised that Mr Balfour should survey the coast as soon as his services could he spared, i hero were no public notices of the position of the foul ground. G. W. Elliott sworn : He is agent for the New Zealand Insurance Company, said the Ahuriri was insured for L2OUO in the New Zealand Insurance Company, and flour shipped at Oamaru for the sum of L6O insured by the Wellington branch. 4 Alexander Duff M'Gillivray, chief officer of the Ahuriri when she was wrecked, had been trading off and on the coast during ten At the time the vessel struck he was on the quarter-deck loosing the mainsail. It was not his watoh, but he was called up to make sail. There was a small carriage on deck, a few empty hogsheads, and four horses and 100 pigs. At sea the captain and himself took alternate watches. The courses were given him by the captain, except when near the shore, when he was generally on deck himself. The ship did not strike heavily ; in fact, he did not beli ve she was on shore until the captain gave orders to stop the engines, to leave the mainsail, and set the jib. There was nc reef in the mainsail. The wind was blowing from the south, with not much sea on. There was a light easterly swell. He never heard of any danger on that part of the coast. The l.fcboat was lowered without difficulty in three minutes after the vessel struck. He had a master’s certificate. Everybody on board was sober at the time of the accident.
J. T. Nutt, late chief engineer of the s.s. Ahuriri, had held that office four months. He had certificates of competency. The vessel was surveyed iu October. The hull and water-tight bulkheads were good. Nominally the engines were 60 horse-power, which was ample for a vessel of her size. He was below in the engine-room at the time of the accident, The first indication of her touching the rock was a slight sfyook q,nd the vessel listing about a foot over to port. Orders were then given to stop the engine aud turn astern. She never appeared to strike heavity, but as she began to draw astern, the water ruslxd into the engineroom through her sides, and in loss than three minutes there was five feet of water in it. It was also in the fore and aft compartments to the same depth. There were sluice valves in each bulkhead. He believed they were shut, but was not certain. The usual plan was to keep them shut, and only to open them when wati-r was in them. The mate kept the key of the valves. The engine stopped immediately. On going upon deck, seeing there was no chance of the engine being of farther use, he opened the safety-valve to prevent an gxplosion or collapse of the boiler. She appeared to strike the rock about the stoke-hole.
Kobert Glendiuning, merchant, was a passenger from Wellington by the Ahuriri. Was in the saloon when the vessel struck. Before he got on deck she struck twice. He got on deck as quickly as possible The captain was at the wheel, and he gave orders to stop the engines and go astern. In one or two minutes the engineer went on deck, and said there were about three fe<-t of water in the engine room, i he next order he heard was to haul down the jib and lower the boats. The crew and passengers were put on shore. The wind was blowing fresh from the southward. The crew were all sober. Neither before nor after the wreck did he fiear any complaints respecting the behaviour of the crew. He wished t" say the officers behaved in a very manly way, and were remarkably cool and self-possessed, A Hill Jack secretary for the Victoria Insurance Company, said the '.huriri was insured in the office for LIOOO. The cargo was insured for about LUOO,
Captain Thomson, recalled, said the course taken by the Ahuriri was not the usual course taken from Oamaru to Otago Heads with a full power steamer, being more in shore than customary. The kelp patches along the shore were in very deep water He took soundings of a kelp patch in Moeraki Bay, and found not less than five fathoms of water. He had known it to grow up to seven fa( horns of water. In reply to Captain M'Kinnon, he would with a full power steamer steer direct for Otago Heads from Danger Ueef, although a gale of wind might be blowing from the south-wed. Unless bound to Waikouaiti. He was nob aware of the auxiliary boats, such as the Beautiful Star or Wainui, hug* ging the shore to the southward of Shag Point. M Gillevray re-called. —Said the valves in the water-tight compartments were worked from the deck. They were kept open when at sea, and wore open when the vessel struck. The first thing the engineer spoke of after the accident was the keys cf the sluice valves, which were shnt immediately after the accident occurred. When shutting them he observed water iu the stoke-hole, but did not see any water in the fore compartment. He could not see aft. R. Macdonald, able seaman on board the Ahuriri, was steering immediately before the accident, not by compass, but by the land* Her course was hard from the S, W. The sea topping, and white all over. W. H. Grant sworn, able seaman,—Had his watch on deck when the accident happened. It was blowing very hard from the S. W, at the time. The crew were all sober and did their best, Nutt re-called by Captain M'Kinnon.— Believed he had seen the Beautiful Star much closer in than the Ahuriri was that day. Captain John Corn (called by Captain McKinnon) has been four years pilot at the Heads, and four years trading on the Coast in a steamer. With a vessel bound southward from Danger Reef with the wind blowing hard from the S.W., we generally try to get the fore-and-aft canvas to draw and stand to within half or three quarters of a mile of the shore. He would not do that with a full power steamer. With an auxiliary steamer that could steer hard-on he should do so and tack. He was not previously aware of outlying danger between Danger R ;, ef and the Heads If only going one and a-balf knot with a full power steamer, and by going in shore not knowing of danger 4 knots would be gained, and the safety°of the cargo of live stock insured; in smoother water he should consider the better plan would be to go ashore.
Wreck op the Ahuriri. Tie evidence of one witness was taken after our reporter left. The decision of the Court w< s to return Captain M'Kinnon his certificate, as the rock was not marked on the charts; and censuring him for not having the sluice} valves of the compartments closed, as leaving them open endangered the lives of crew and passengers, and the watertight compartments were useless towards keeping the vessel afloat.
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Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2743, 1 December 1871, Page 2
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2,358INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF THE WRECK OF THE S.S. AHURIRI. Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2743, 1 December 1871, Page 2
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