SUPPOTED FIRE AT SEA.

Gisborne Times, Volume VIII, Issue 525, 23 September 1902, Page 2

SUPPOTED FIRE AT SEA.

A BURNING BARQUE. SEEN OIF UfCK’S BAY. STATEMENTS OF EYEWITNESSES. The schooner Waiapu, which put back from Hick's Bay, yesterdav. brought as | p.l s.-c-ng. rs Messrs William Bantham ami ( A ried Sirii-gieilow, ilaxtoillers at Iron j puinl, who refine a strange sight as hav ? big been seen at that place three Sundays j ago. Early in the aite-noun a barque was j seen about twelve to fifteen miles out from the land g-.ing north. Afv.r widening it for some tune the men working at ( j the mill and the Natives residing in the I i v eiifi-.y. observed a fire suddenly spring I ! up on board, the dimes sweeping the rig- ‘ ging and sails. The fire continued for

about twenty minutes and then died or.:. | The bare outline of the barque could then j be discerned, but all but one small sail j had disappeared. The barque, which did no*, appear to make any progress after the outbreak of the fire, remained in sight until dark, but next morning ithal disappeared. Upon the arrival of the Waiapu yesterday, the matter was re ported to the Collector of Customs. The men give as their reason for not reporting j ihe matter before that they thought that 1 the vessel had been seen from other places | along the Coast. Iron Point, where the mill is situated, has no telephone communication, and it was not until they re ceivcd the Auckland and Gisborne papers and found no account of the occurrence, that they realised that they should have reported. Captain Martin and the crew of the Waiapu also report having been informed by the men at- li.e mill and the Natives living in the vicinity of the ! occurrence.

Interviewed by o Times reporter yesterday. Mr Benthani said that he was a tiaxmiller residing at Hick's Bay. On Sunday afternoon, three weeks ago, he and his companions, Messrs Springfellow and Grcyson, saw a vessel under sail, about twelve to fifteen miles oil the land. It wao about three o’clock in tiie aiternoon. A little later they wore amazed to see the vessel in flames, and m a very short time the whole uf the sails were swept away.

*■ It was not more than a quarter of an hour,” remarked Mr Bentham, “ and then we could see the remnants of the rigging. I t was a sailing vessel of some description. Greyson, who was well acquainted with all the coasted schooners, went fur his glasses, and when he returned he said that the vessel was not one that visited the coast. He slated that it was a barque. I could sec that it was not one of the coasters, for it was so much larger. Through the glasses we could see distinctly that it was a barque. The Humes soon disappeared, and in the morning we saw no more of the vessel. After the lire wo could just discern the vessel.” Mr Springfellow gave a statement similar in till details to that supplied by Mr Bentham. “ Our mill is about a quarter of a mile from the sea coast,” he remarked, *■ and o:i this particular Sunday we observed the vessel under sail. Shortly afterwards when we looked out it was in Haines. Gvegson went lo the camp for his glasses, and we watched the burning vessel. After the llames disappeared there did not appear to be muon of the sails left. All bad been burnt away, with the exception of one little sheet of canvas. The fire did not last more than a quarter of an hour. The sea was fairly smooth at the time. Before the fire broke out the vessel appeared to bo going along all right.” Questioned as to the weather at the time of the occurrence, Mr Springfellow said that there was not a heavy sea. It was a dull day and the sun was clouded. The boat did not appear to move after the fire had died out.

“ Why did you not report the occurrence ? ” asked our reporter. “ Wc thought that ihe vessel would he seen by others and reported. It was not until we searched the papers for the account of the accident that wo discovered that nothing was known about it.” “ I trust there is nothing of a hoax about this,” remarked our reporter. “Wc do not want to pass it oil on the rest of tho colony at your expense.”

Mr Springfellow: “I can assure that it is tho truth. The vessel was soon by Messrs Bentham, Greyson, and myself, and the natives residing in the vicinity came to us on tho following morning and asked us if we had seen a burning ship.”

11 Has any wreckage of any kind come ashore ?”

“No, we have not seen any.” Captain Martin, ot the Waiapu, said that tiio matter was reported to him oil his arrival in Hick’s Bay, and he deemed it advisable to at once acquaint the Times on arrival at Gisborne. The thing was common talk at the mill and among tho natives, and ho had no reason to doubt the statement.