STEAMER FOUNDERS.

Hokitika Guardian, 2 July 1923, Page 3

STEAMER FOUNDERS.

p; IMDil’l.i: ABOARD. AfSTI.AI.IAN AM) N.Z. CAlll.t: ASSOIIAIION SYDNEY. June J!) The .-mail steamer Sumatra left Sydney on Mmnhiv for Rahaul. She 1ttow iius-ing. Il I- believed that she has I,Hindered in l !■,■' \ ietniiy ot Port Maequarrie. she i- I’tJieve I to have sunk dining the lieie kt ot lif ri'n'ilt -lorn!. There V.el'e hi jc'tipk' ahoanl. six "I whom were whiles, and I" coloured P"o|,|o. All the wireless calls made to t lie \c-.-cl have mu been answered. No sign has been seen of her by the other coastal v es-els. Tin Sumatra sililek reef at the Admi rah v <• t otip. prior to her visit mg S\dne\. ind -In -li-I allied damage to her hulk Sim came to Sydney for rcpmr-. ,\ iicdv ha- he,-n fonnd at Kemp-ey on Hie h.-ieh. and it has been identiat Sydney a- that of Mr Fewtrell, mil otfieer of the -tearner Sumatra. Allot) ■ r body ha- :d-o been washed a-liore.

Tb.e Vi"'id's oflhers included : Captain F. n il ('master). Mr .1. Colhoun, chief odicer : Mr A. Kennedy, chief cn- ■ ilit• r:Mr C. Kirknal rick, second engineer: Mr K. Cnllit'onl. siipereargn : and Ml A. Mcliuos'n. wireless operakor. The Sumatra carried seven whiles., one tpeing a passenger, the mother of the captain. The latest detail' indicate Die folal loss ol the vessel, with all hands. The Sumatra belonged to the New Guinea Administ rat inn. Mr Few tre 11 only lasi week sal fur his Ma -1 el''- deep sea ceriitieale and passed the exa in in a i inn with honours, lie wa, a widower, and served in the infantry during Die war. One ot his sons was killed al Jutland. Ho mol hi- surviving son only last week, after an absence of five years. Tin: RODIMS IDENTIFIED. (Received this day at H a.m.) SYDNEY. July 1. il is proved canelu-ively that the Sumatra was wrecked mi the North Coast. T ,ie two bodies, washed a-bore at Crescent Head, have been d< .'finitely (delttilled as Duse of F.. Bell (Master) and Sydney Few trc-U. The latter died üben wilbin sight of safety as he was seen clinging to a plank in the stirl a few' minutes before being picked up dead willi a large cut in ids bead. The tugs are patrolling for •dgns of In c utradiet.ion. of the reported si :lenient that the steamer was overloaded an announcement has been issued, bv Die Prime Minister’s Department, that the vessel was overhauled by the navigation officer when she left Sydney and was passed as in peDect ordrr. The lirsl news of the disaster was receive-! when the body of a fully clothed man. cm in-led by a lifebelt, and ijuaiuity ef v icckage. was washed n-bnv at Keinjisey. Igiter. another body limited ashore. Both, bodies were badly mut dared.

| LNF.RAI. .SERVICES. :-YIiNEY. July 2. Wreckage of the Sumatra was picked up on the norDi Coast. It com-jirj-es piece- ef boats, chairs, and companion ways. Funeral services were bold at Kempsey on the two bodies L und. The police are despatching the ii dies to Sydney for interment. 'PH F. KF MAT I!-VS CREW. TOTAL LOSS OF -1-T. (Received this dav at 12.2.3 p.m.) SYDNEY. July 2. The coloured portion of the Sumatra's crew* i(insisted of thirty-one Papuans, six Chine-o. which, with the seven Europeans, makes a total loss of forty-live*. Captain Bell was a Welshman and did notable work on troopships during the war. Three vessels cn which he served were torpedoed. On cue of these occasions al) the officers but himself were taken by an enemy submarine. He navigated the ship's boat several hundred miles to the African Const,

Kennedy, tlie chief engineer, was bom in Dunedin, but had resided in Australia since the age of twelve. He saw service at Rabat)] and was aboard the steamer Matnunga when she was captured by the German raider Wolf and was sent to Germany where lie spent 18 months in a prison camp. Confirmatory evidence is given in several (planers that the Sumatra and Iter lifeboats were thoroughly overhauled before her departure. The Sumatra was not overloaded and carried only three hundred tons of cargo.