ELINGAMITE WRECK

Gisborne Times, Volume VIII, Issue 700, 20 December 1902, Page 2

ELINGAMITE WRECK

THE NAUTICAL ENQUIRY'. By TeKgraph—Press Association. Rotorua, lust night, I The Eiingumite enquiry resumed here to-day. Her. i y Wethcriit said the engines i stopped within Ex .-eeonds of the order to ' reverse, lie we. to the skylight of the ; engine-room, a:;,l s-v.v tiie machin-. r\ 1 ,-t -peed. T .ere was a commotion bei-.nv. i bo: o. u i I •: - .V vbA little iutcr lie could no! .- • tiie cause of the hammer:!-. -. w-:i ■; c--r: rot i for -ome time, i.l'rn. -dip h-I r : tm-usnoek Wime- | wl > :!io nil : *r me ve>?‘. j struck. :: i- •:i; i on tin in to- ci: -iiic-ioimi. it was not '.annual t> wedge the engines to take up the slack to prevent vibration on a long voyage. It occurred te him that that might have been done on the Ilimgaiuite, causing a jam. The hammering was of iron on iron, not a wood-.n plug. Ik- suggested it was the knocking out of a wedge. There was nothing outside the ship to prevent the revolution of the propeller. Auckland, last night. At tho Eiinguuiite enquiry Wethcriit

said time was wasted in getting No.‘2 boat out. The crew of No. 1 boat seemed contused. Tii.: passengers rendered assistance. The choc-Ks generally were not in working order, lie considered this caused the faulty launch of No. 1 lifeboat, lie got on a raft with l'J people, and saw another dozen in the water. He hailed tiie pu-scr's boat, and asked them to take tiie stewardess. The purser said he had sul'iieit’nt aboard. Later lie pointed out that the raft was at the mercy of the waves, and asked for ft tow, stating they would not attempt to hoard tho boat. The purser replied lie could not do it. He again asked tiie purser to take off the stewardess, and he replied lie had to get on, and to tell the others. The raft drifted till Thursday, eight of its occupants dying. Later.—At tho Elingamito enquiry, Wethcriit explained tiie nature of the boat drill, which, lie said, impressed him as unsatisfactory. At tho time of tho casualty a number of men were not at their places, and some bouts had an insufficient number of seamen on board.