THE WRECKED OPOURI.

Hokitika Guardian, 11 October 1917, Page 4

THE WRECKED OPOURI.

SUCCESSFUL SALVAGE

WORK

(Lyttelton Times.) The .arrival of practically all the Opouri’s machinery at Lyttelton indicates that the salvage operations , at Grevmouth have been very sue- ’ cessful. When the vessel was wrecked on the northern breakwater at Grevmouth she was considered to be a hopeless wreck and was soon abandoned to the underwriters.

The Opouri was sold by auction, and was purchased by Mr D. Reese, who carried out the salvage operations. All the winches, windlass, etc., were soon got off, and a bigeffort made to get out the main engines and boilers. A hole was cut in the side of the vessel with a heavy wire cable forming an aerial tramway overhead, connecting the ship with the shore. In this way the' whole ot the main engines, after being dismantled, were landed on the beach. After that another bighole was cut on the port side opposite the boilers, and alter building heavv skids tUS' boilers were par buckled out with a heavy wire rope round them and pulled from the shore with a hush log-hauler. The salvage has 'proved a successful venture, and with the high price of machinery to-day the purchaser should be well rewarded for his energy and enterprise. The conditions ot the purchase stipulated a removal or destruction of the hull, and this work is now being carried out. Already all the vessel forward of the bridge deck has been blown away, so that there is now no risk of that part falling into the foreway.

It is stated that despite the frequency of wrecks at Grey mouth the Opouri is the first vessel that has had her engines and boilers salved since the steamer Girder went ashore twenty-eight years ago. The salvage Avork is considered to be the best since the Union Company refloated the Mapourika some years ago.