WRECK OF THE OTAGO.

Globe, Volume VII, Issue 774, 13 December 1876, Page 3

WRECK OF THE OTAGO.

RETURN OP THE COMERANG. (From the Daily Times , December Ilth.) The return of the steamer Comerang yes tetd .y morning was entirely unexpected, for allowing for exceptional expedition on the part of those who went down to Ohasland’s Mistake with her for the purpose of recovering the gold lost in the Otago, and presuming that they would be lucky to boot, two days, at the fewest, was reckoned upon to make preparations to get the gold out. The action of the underwriters and agents in Dunedin had, however, been anticipated by Captain Oalder and his chief officer, Mr Donaldson. Their object was to redeem the time, and right well did they succeed, by, at great personal risk, extracting the goid from the specie room, and removing it safely to the shore, Six of the deck hands assisted, and Uie gold secured, the attention of the plucky party was turned to the passengers’ luggage still on board, and the greater part of that was also saved. Having attained the object the pursuance of which induced Captain Calder and his officers and men to stand by the wreck, they embarked with the gold in the steamer Comerang on Saturday night, and returned with her to port, and from Captain Oalder we have received the following account of the proceedings from the time the Otago left Port Chalmers. He says : She left Port Chalmers at 4 p.m, on the 3rd inst, cleared the Heads at 4.40 p m, and was abreast of the Nuggets at midnight; weather cloudy, wind light and variable ; could see a distance of from five to six miles. At 2.35 am. on the 4ih stop went ashore at Chasland’s Mistake. It was

thick at the time, and the Fecoad mate’s watch on deck. I went below at 1.40 am, r.fter giving orders to the second mate to keep her S.W. by W, nothing to westward by standard compass. At 2.50 a.m, I hesrd the second mate ran aft ordering the helm to ba put hard over. I ran on deck, and the first thing I saw was the high rocks close to the starboard bow, and immediately the ship struck with an awful crash. I sprung on the bridge and put the telegraph full speed astern, and ordered the pumps to be sounded. We then got the boats out and provisioned them. The weather was very thick. The vessel continued to bump heavily and to make water. Got all the ladies and children into the boats ; then the gentlemen. There was a heavy swell at the time, and by the time all were safely in the boats the fires were drowned out and the water over the saloon deck. I saw there was no hopes of saving the ship, and when everyone was out of her I left her at 6 a.m. The passengers and crew were all landed safely through a heavy surf on to the beach about a mile from the ship. I then despatched a boat, with Mr Donaldson, chief officer, in charge, and five men and two of the saloon passengers who had volunteered, to Waikava to report loss of ship and to obtain assistance. We then rigged tents and made all as comfortable aa our means would

permit. At noon the ketch Palmerston, (Japtain Brebner, bore down to us. I hoarded her, and requested the captain to report the loss of the steamer on his arrival at Dunedin He very kindly offered assistance, for which I thanked him. At 3p m. we launched the boat again, and sent her for the wreck in charge of the second mate, with five mtn and the second engineer, chief steward, butcher, and pantry man, and Mr Brook (a saloon passenger), in order to save luggage; but when the boat reached the middle of th-’ surf, she capsised. Launched another boat to the rescue, whilst Mr Birch, the purser, swam through the surf and saved the second engineer, who was drowning. . Others were picked up by the boat, and two or three swam ashore. All had a narrow escape The following day, at 6 pm, the steamer Express, with the relief boat in tow, came down and anchored off the beach, and embarked all the passengers, and the men belonging to the engineer’s department. The embarkation was accomplished without accident. I wish to thank Captain Christian, of the Express, for his help and kindness. He was most kind and obliging. Myself, officers, and seamen, remained by the ship. Next day, myself, the chief officer, and six of the men, endeavored at great risk to get at the gold on board. The gold room was right aft under the salcou deck, built in the run of the ship, and at low water the gold was 12ft under water, and the door of the gold room sft under water. We succeeded in breaking open the door, and then secured an auger to a long wooden batten, and boring through the gold boxes, fished them up and secured the three by 5 p.m. We landed them safely on the beach, and also a quantity of luggage which we managed to save, I consider thi* a special service, apart from my duty to my owners, and I expect that the owners of the gold and the underwriters will recognise the claim myself and my chief officer has upon them, for we have lost nearly all our clothing and valuables. At 9a m. on the Bth a steamer (the Maori) hove in sight, but it being dark and the surf heavy, we did not attempt to board her. On Saturday, at 11 a.m, the steamer Oomerang arrived and embarked the gold and passengers’ luggage, and lastly the ship’s company, and left at 7 p.m. One of the Otago’s petty officers and a constable from the Bluff were left behind in charge of the wreck. The Otago, says Captain Calder, is lying with her starboard bilge on a rock of hard granite. There is a large hole through her bilge, the after boiler and cylinder are lifted about two feet, and the smoke stack lifted about two feet. Her forefoot is gone, her stern twisted, and about ten feet of the garboard plates and keel gone forward. She has a heavy list, her masts and smoke stack standing, and she is in peril of being broken up by the first heavy easterly sea that comes in. We enquired particularly of Captain Calder concerning the report about the illbehaviour of some of the crew. He states that the report was a gross exaggeration. Soma two or three of tho men did sib down in front of the tent in which the ladies were, and commenced smoking. The ladies complained of this to the captain, and when he ordered the men to remove they unhesitatingly did so. This is a very different version of the affair to tho one given by the saloon passenger, whose oamo we know not. It also agrees with the .statement made by several of the firemen. We are glad that is so, for the credit of the crew. According to Mr Ddnalchon, tho chief officer, the Otago had very little cargo on board when she went ashore. There were a few bales of wool, a few packages of sundries, and between 100 and 200 bales of flax. Touching the reported loss of one of the passengers, both the chief officer and captain feel convinced that every soul who left Port Chalmers iu the Otago has been Bayed,