ADRIFT IN DINGHY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20073, 20 October 1939, Page 2

ADRIFT IN DINGHY

JAPANESE PEARLERS FOUND EXHAUSTED SYDNEY, Oct. 11. On arrival at Darwin from his station on Melville Island, Constable R. R. Pryor, of the Northern Territory Police, told of the experience of four Japanese seamen who spent four days and nigh'ts drifting in a small dinghy ofr Bathurst Island, before being rescued by a party led by himself.

The four seamen, he said, were members of the crew of the Nachi Maru, which, with oilier Japanese luggers, was working pearlshell beds ofT the north-west coast of Bathurst Island. One night they left the Nachi Maru in a dinghy to take clothing to friends in another lugger. The dinghy was swept away by a strong current, despite vigorous paddling, and for four days and nights it was carried up and down the coast by the tides. Although onjy six miles from Bathurst Island, they would not make for shore for fear of natives. They were also aware that they were not allowed within three miles of the aboriginal reserve.

Constable Pryor explained that the disappearance of the men was reported to him by the captain of the Nachi Maru, who believed that they had deserted and was apprehensive of a prosecution in the event of an infringement of the law. On the second day of the search in the Nachi Maru the missing men were rescued. They were in the last stages of exhaustion and thirst. Constable Pryor, through a portable wireless set, was in constant communication witli the Native Affairs Department in Darwin.