WRECK OF THE SCHOONER “TYNE.”

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 29, 16 January 1862, Page 5 (Supplement)

WRECK OF THE SCHOONER “TYNE.”

(From the Cornwall Chronicle, December 7.) News of the total wreck of the schooner Tyne, bound from Port Chalmers, and the loss of four of her passengers, one of them cut in two, only' reached us yesterday although it occurred at Tasman’s Peninsula, early on Tuesday morn in"last. We are indebted for the following particulars to Mr. J. M’Qucen, of Charlcs-strcot,whow'asone of the passengers, on board at the time the vessel was wrecked. The schooner Tyne, Captain Biddle, sailed from Port Chalmers, for Hobart Town, on Monday, tho 18th of November, having on board Mr. F. Tucker, of this town, and forty steerage passengers, besides tho master, mate, and crow

of five, in all forty-eight souls. About half the passengers belonged to Launceston or its vicinity. The Tyne made a fair passage and arrived off Tasman’s Peninsula on Monday night, "where she was becalmed between the Ilippolyte rocks and Torteseue Bay : the current drew her gradually towards the perpendicular rocks near the entrance to the latter. There was no anchorage in that locality, and as the schooner was rapidly nearing thereefs, Captain Biddle saw that the destruction of the vessel was inevitable. The only boats—a fouroared whaleboat and jollyboat were lowered, but rhey were too close to the breakers on the reef, and were both stove in. The position of the unfortunate passengers and crew appeared then utterly hopeless, as the schooner neared the reef. She soon struck upon it bows first, but before she could settle on it an immense breaker carried her right over into deep water. There the position of those on board seemed almost as desperate; they were drifting slowly but steadily direct on to an iron bound coast fringed witii rocks from 200 to 300 feet high, and escape from death appeared utterly impossible, as the vessel must be dashed to pieces against the rocks. Slowly she neared them, and at about two o’clock on Tuesday morning came into contact with one of the highest. It was as perpendicular at the base as a stone wall—hope sank in the stoutest heart on board, and four pas-sengei-s, jumped overboard in the hope of reaching some crag on the rock to save them from tho devouring waves that lashed against it. They all perished; one of them, J ohn Wilson, well known as a bricklayer in this town, was literally cut in two—it is supposed—between the schooner and a ledge of rock. The severed body was seen before it sank, striking terror to the hearts of the survivors, who knew not but that such would be their own fate in another instant.

At length, it was noticed that as the schooner rolled towards the rock, the foreyardarm reached to a ledge out of the reach of the waves. The vessel though beating and grinding against the roek held together until the whole of the passengers and crew passed across the frail bridge formed by the foreyardarm, and thus escaped certain death. Some of the crew and a few seafaring passengers first crossed the dangerous bridge, and they had to snatch the others from their hold on the yard arm as it dipped over towards the ledge of rock, or hoist them on it from the decli with ropes. Soon after the last man was taken off, and about 2 hours after the Tyne struck she was completely broken up. Nothing was saved except a chronometer, the ship’s papers, and box of charts. Some of the passengers were almost naked, one entirely so. It was not daylight, and they could see no means of escape from the ledge of rock, on which they had been miraculously placed. Mr. M’Queen attempted to scale up the rock, and got so far and found the ascent so difficult, that he was unable for a time to either ascend or return to the ledge of rock he had left. Nerved by the fearful danger of falling down the precipice, and seeing no hope of escape but by continuing the ascent, he at length succeeded in reaching the top of the cliff, which ha supposed to be 300 feet high, as his late companions could not hear him when he called down to them, although when daylight broke they could see him from the point he had scrambled up to. They escaped by a more circuitous and less precipitous route. One of their number, Joe Smith, was afterwards lost in the bush while they were wandering on in search of a habitation. From ■where they landed they had to cross the Peninsula before they could reach Port Arthur settlement, and they did not succeed in actually reaching it until Wednesday night. They must have suffered most severely from cold andhunger during Tuesday night and throughout Wednesday, as the weather was very inclement and rain fell in torrents. At the settlement they were treated kindly, as shipwrecked and half-starved men invariably are throughout her Majesty's dominions. They were forwarded by steamer to Hobart Town on Thursday, and about ten of them arrived here by the mail yesterday morning, and several others by Page’s night coach.

The men who were last were John Brown, lately resident on the West Tamar: John Sawyer, and a man named Moore of Hobart Town besides poor John Wilson who suffered such a fearful death.

It it is said that the barque Don Pedro was wrecked near the same spot as the Tyne, and that it was by the aid of one of the Don Pedro's planks the survivors crossed a deep chasm, and escaped from the ledge of rock on which they had first been placed.