EXCITING OCCURENCES IN WELLINGTON HARBOUR.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 27 May 1901, Page 4

EXCITING OCCURENCES IN WELLINGTON HARBOUR.

There were two exciting occurrences in the Wellington harbour last week. Two steamers were blown close in shore and a coal hulk was burned. The steamers were the Admiralty collier, Penartb, and the Union Company’s Pukaki. The Penarth was at the outer anchorage and the Pukaki was alongside her transhipping coal. The wind came in huge gusts from the north-west and the coupled vessels dragged well in towards Oriental Bay. Apprehension was felt by persons on the Queen’s wharf, but fortunately nothing untoward happened. The harbour steamers were on the alert. It was fortunate that they were, for at half-past 3 o'clock in the morning Seager’s coal hulk, Omega, was found to be on fire. The custodian and his family were taken off by tho Union Company’s launch Snark. The spectacle of the burning hulk, was one that reminded those who witnessed it of the pictures of fires at sea. Tift Omega burned fiercely till about 7 o'clock. There was very little smoke. Her timbers and her store of coal were consumed with a clear flame, which the wind tossed about in jets and sheets. As the vessel was in an isolated position there was no danger to the other craft. When the fire had subsided,, the Omega was towed into Waterloo quay, near the reclamation works, opposite the Wellington Meat Extract Company’s buildings. She was burned to within a few feet of the water-line. The Omega was a wooden vessel, and she was formerly a barque of 401 tons and was built in 1836, or sixtyfive years ago, at Medford, in the United States.