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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1507, 13 December 1872, Page 2

THE JOHN KNOX AND THE CITY OF NEWCASTLE. The Sydney Morning Herald of the 23rd November has the following ; The barque John Knox arrived yesterday, bringing live passengers and three seamen belonging to the City of Newcastle, who were picked up at sea, and Captain Jenkins furnished the following particulars with respect to the circumstances attending the rescue of the unfortunate people:— “ The John Knox left Port Cooper on the 13th instant, with a fair wind. On the 14th instant, at 6.30 p.ra., a boat was descried full of people, one mile on the port beam, the vessel then being eight miles from Stephen’s Island in Cook’s Strait, and going 10| knots. Everything was at once let go by the run, and the ship rounded-to so as to bring the boat on the weather beam —a very heavy sea running. On the boat reaching the ship, a line was hove and passed to leeward, all on her were got safely on board. They proved to be four ladies, a little boy, and three seamen who had been wrecked on the barque City of Newcastle, from Wellington on the 11th inst* bound to Sydney, which went on shore on the 13th instant, in Cook’s Straits, but the spot the survivors did not know, and the only information obtainable from them respecting the accident was that the ship struck at 3.30 a.m. against what appeared to be a bold bluff cliff. The boat in which they were saved (only 14 feet long) was got out, and the passengers placed in her, as also the three men, who were ordered by the captain to pull round a point which he indicated, but they were unable to do so, and got forced by the wind away to sea, and were drift* iug about for sixteen hours when providentially sighted and picked up, ThW6

were neither water nor provisions in the boat, nor shelter for the females, and in the midst of a gale, with the seas continually breaking over them. All that could be done to attend to their wants was promptly carried out by Capt. Jenkins and his passengers. Dry clothing was pro\ided, as they had saved nothing from the wreck, and the necessary stimulants supplied; and doubtless had the John Knox parsed them an hour later, all would have perished that night. The following are the names of those saved in the boat:—Mrs Jones and son, Mrs Fox, Mrs Pilcher, aud Miss Cameron, passengers; A. Smith, F. Thomas, and J. Palmer, seamen."