Wreck of the S.S. Wairarapa.

Manawatu Herald, 3 November 1894, Page 2

Wreck of the S.S. Wairarapa.

Since our last issue fuller particulars of this awful catastrophy have corue to hand. The Union Company have received a message that I 111 pas^nsjpra nni 23 of the crew { wpre drowned, making the total loss 1 181 The Presd Association reI port ;—

The place Mere, tile, steamer 1 .struck, is knowrL-as. Miner's Head— the north- western point of the Great Barrier^ T "p.": The passengers were in bed at the time, but were speedily aroused, and life belts served out to them. Although the greatest alarm prevailed, and the. scenes— more .especially in the case of those whp had children on board— were of a most pathetic and'heart'rending cfiar'acter, there was nothing approaching panic, 1 Captain •- ftl clntosh : was V on. the ; bridge a? the time, and gave orders Ito launch the boats,,but owing to the great list of the Vessel^ and to the heavy seas which were breaking over her, -fihis was a-wdrk .of veryv great difficulty, and it was- almost impossible to take on. board any.,c£ the" passengers, as the lower portions of the deck were under water. .. An attempt was • made jo:]o.wer, , the ■starboard boats,- but theywere . capsized, and a number of those who were in them were drowned. The life-rafts were cut adrift, and " were the means r of saving a considerable number by enabling' them tosupport themselves- untir they r were rescued by the boats. . ■••'. - j The majority ■■ of those drowned appear to have made for the bridge of the steamer when the accident" occurred, and to have remaibefl'' there or in its vicinity until it was swept away by the force- of the waves breaking m"b oard;- ■■•■■"' •■'■-.' The Captain- was observed up to the last moment at his post, and as the bridge was carried away he wasi :: it is said, seen to plunge info the sea, but was not again observed*.. ... Apart.. from those on the bridge, .a.numbei had sought safety in' the' fore . and main 5 rigging, and although the ■ funnel was carried, away the masts remained in position. / , ' . I When daylight brake and the seas | somewhat lulled, communication ;-- ----■ with 'the shore was effected ,'di gr^at" risk,, by two of the crew" "sJviiiiniing..,, ashore with lines. .-'. •:::'•■: :':■■■/. ' By 'this means those in. the riggings' ' :j were . hauled through , tlje r r'Wteiy All succeeded in effecting , &. landing save two, who, letting go their hold of the rope, were swept away by the current and drowned.^ .^. None pi ! f tiiejiurvi^ra. !^ 3 W e JI $Rsf dfj thing, many of them barely, eicapfng with their lives in the scantiest- of clothing, after being ,on the locks for over HO hours", 'with ribt'hing more sustaining than a few cases of oranges " 'winch had been washed" ashore from the wreck. The survivors were discovered by som^ Maori boats and taken off to. Catherine Bay; : - ' : . ;;! i: In the meantime the third officer and some of the crew made their way overland to Port Pitzroy and ■"reported the catastrophe. ' The s.s. Argyle, which arrived at that port on Wednesday morning, took the Bury,iyor who > had. J reached there ori'lioVrd, and^rjoceededTtaWef * scene of the wreck, afterwards going on to (Catherine Bay, ;;w]jere the y. remainder were talj^£Ji7&oar<l and brought to Ancklan J, arriving there about 8 o'clock on Thursday morningt T/f'i'XT W-S'i A fireman namjed.Chatles Peny, : who had been crushed by one of the boats at the wreck and ..injured internally, was, on the arrival of the Argyle, ta'ien in an-ambulance to ) the District Hospital for treatment. The names of the cr-ew drowned are — Capt. John M'lntosh ; the Chief Steward, H. H. Judd ; F. M'Lean, -steward: J. M'Bonald, steward;; Groucher/ steward ; \Birir M'Donald, stewardess; Miss Grimroad, stewardess-; Miss M'Quaid, stewardess ; H. Monaghad, baker ; H, Year, chief co6k;" A. Holmes, - assistant forecabinsteward ; Cooper, fireman ; Jones, fireman ; J. M'Gee, fireman ; Mumll, fireman ; Burke, sailor ; Simpson, sailor ; M'Leod, sailor,; E. Eratt,^jlor^M'J)on4ld f ,, " b0y..,..: ... , . ,;' ;..;;. :;,;.; l^M.. Tliose of the crew saved are :— 3. r '' Sinclair, chief engineer ;,, J. it .Wv^ : " Dunlop, second engineer ; W. tJar^ ? son, third engineer ; H. S. Jenkins, lourth engineer; A. Moyes, chief officer ; J. L. Clark, second officer ; 1 W. H. Johnson, third officer; 1 Tulloch, fourth officer ; F. Gough, J. Fraserj H\ Sipitb,rH.-,PaUpip,Y js. P Neil, W; Smith,- Rya», ••&- Dow^. €h Perry, J. Gil), J. Hempseed and M. ' F. Harding, firemen ;,-:!,; Baker, Davis, Campbell, R. Idling, Greaves, | Cherry, and J.M- Donald sailors; R. H., Thompson, carpenter; P. Fenwick, parser; Jones, assistant purser ; B. A. Kendall, C. Baldwin, W. Middlebrook,, ■W. Beckett, T. 1 Corbett, ; B. Allen, A* G. M'Keown, C. Butler, and W. J 'Caia- ' welj, stewards ; J. .Wjllmol^.boy ; F. ■ Wilson, brass cleaner; T. S. Lucas, forecabin steward; J..G. Gardner, ■ third 000k... • ...-.■ . , y < The following is a list ;of jbe pal- ! sengers who were saved. Owing to the fact that the ship's books and... !. .papers were lost " in' the wreck;' itief ' ' impossible to give a complete list of J those passengers wher left Sydflfiyiiy the steamer :— Mrs M. L. Fwgusson, Mrs Vella, Miss M. McEellar, Miss Cave, Miss Williams^ Miss E. Dickensen, Miss Braon, Miss Macilton, • Miss J. Hadwick, (?Chadwick), Miss 3 Annette Paul, Miss Uanna, Miss E. - Buckleton, Mrs Harris, Mrs Hanser, b Mrs E. L. Bullock, the Rev. Mr t Peters, Messrs G Parrish, W. Fi s Ross, A. H. Fisher, P. Wishard, 0. ■ Monagban, J. D. Breen, J. Andrews M. Ambrose, J. T, Roberts, F]

flicholls; S* Har.dy, A. Lumley; G. Stepheni; T. Roberts; T. Henderson; J. Mulvay, T. Clark, N. Coogan, C. A. M. Chapman, J. Levesquo, J. Harris, F. R. Grunzing, H. Jolly, W. Pearson, G. "Walker, A. Black, Hickey, A. J. Dunbar, W. Ferguson, J. Geenty, R. Bramwell, Vella, C. Langley, S. Skews, Herbert H. Pounds, B. Madon, F. Hastie, W. B. Geoghegan, H, J. Chamberlain, A. Hanna, F. W. Varley, F. W. HJeighton, D. M. Roberts, T. Gough, A. F. French, T. Corrie, J. Austin, J. Pipe, S. C. Smith, J. Stewart, Scott, J. F. Fraser, M. Cole, E. Bufctleton, J. Chaleyer, 8. H. Harris, P. Nicholson, M. Boyd, J. Perry, M. JDalton, M. Hill, K. Wheatley, A. Hanser, W. Wilson, Tuckett, Snell, W. Brown. J. Hainea, Banser, Won Fin*, Sow Wai, J. Wright, Master A. Tarabokia, amd W. Hing, Miss M. Cole, Rev. P. J. Doran. WHAT AN OFFICER SAYS. Joseph Lucas Clark, second officer of the Wairarapa, made the following statement :— We left Sydney on Wednesday, about 6 o'clock, and had moderate weather and winds. Passed the Three Kings at a quarter to 8 on Sunday morning, the weather being thick and foggy. About half-past 10 o'clock. passed Cape Maria Van Diemen ; at 12 o'clock were off Spirits Bay., Close to North Cape, at 12.40, a,, thick log came. down,, obsouring everything; ; /We steered a course for Cape Brett, and continued that course until about 10 o'clock at night, when the course was altered to steer outside the Big Hen (Hen and Chicken Islands). It was ten minutes past midnight when the vessel struck. We felt a severe shock, which rOU3ed everyone on board. It soon became known that the vessel had run on the rocks, although the night was so dark that no land was visible until the steamer gfcruck. There was then a big sea running. The passengers behaved with great coolness. The captain, who was on 'the bridge when the ' vessel struck,, at once gave the order to get out thecboats. The boats on the port side were quickly got out. Some of the lady passengers got into them with great difficulty, as th 3 j ship had filled with water, and the sea was breaking over her, washing people away. We tried to launch the starboard boats,. but owing to the heavy list of the vessel and the heavy ! seas they smashed, and the few who we^e in them were precipitated into, into the water. I doAnot know whether they were saved^ four life-rafts were cut adriffe^and were the means of saving, a great .manj,,. The boats that^^po^^fefpi^ means of picki^'g.m a >|^fe/p\iin-l ( ber of passengeW^fid-ta'a' He'mf swept fromi the 'deck by the heavy j seas breaking 'oV-di^heJJi-i A 'great'many more would; have been saved bu^for the 1 fact'tbat the ship sudd6my canted over to port and: the waves coming over at the same time, swept the decks, carrying, numbers iafcothesaa. She was* at such an angle that it; w«^ wip«»sible ; ;to.get; up to the high side without qrawling on one's bands and knees. ,. : When all the boats were got out those who were still left on the steamer tried to go to the rigging, but many of them remained on the upper deck to windward of the bridge-house. The sea was then breaking continually over the vessel, sweeping the decks. About 2 o'clockin the morning the j funnel was carried away, and some*where abotifrS or 4/ the bridge and all those abput it including the Captain and those clinging to it, were washed overhead. All this time the boats that': had, been launched were doing what they could Ao save: life, and I may. .mention . hare that when the vessel struck, life ; belts were served out to every passenger. When daylight jcame we found that the vessel had struck against a high cliff gome 600; os 800 feet high, with no meanß of easy landing. . "We saw several dead bodies floating around üb, and a few persons still supporting themselves on bits of wreckage, while a few had succeeded in obtaining a landing on the edge of the rocks. After I had seen all the boats launched I took to the rigging, and when daylight came I unrolled the jib-halliards and signal-halliards, and tried to-heaye the latter on shore. There were about 60 people then on board in the fore and main rigging, and several ding to one of the davits. We failed to heave the line on shore, and^hen two men— Fraser, one of the firemen, and Dunlop, the second engineer — tried to swim ashore with it, but owing to the tremendous sea and backwash, they had to let go the line to save themselves. With great difficulty they at length succeeded in landing on the rocks, much bruised, and battered.* Shortly afterwards the sea was , a little quieter, and Kendall, the second steward, volun teered to take the line ashore, and succeeded. ""The jib halliard rope was then hauled to shove, and by this means those on board were safejf landed by being pulled. through the water, with the exception of two who lost their hold, and were carried away by the current. Thee were passengers but I do not know their names. After we had all cleared from the ship and had got ashore, we noticed a lady in the water — Mips Williams, a passenger — who had been floating about for 12 hours, and one of the crew swam out and brought her ashore. She was sup.

ported by Her life- belt and two life* buoys which site had picked up. It is a wonder so many were saveel} considering the very dangerous locality in which the accident occurred. Those who were lost were principally swept from the deck or killed by floating wreckage. We remained on the rocks until 8 o'clock on Monday afternoon, when several Maori boats cama round, and took all except ten to Coppermine Bay and some to Maori Bay. The rest remained on the I'ocks until next morning, when they were taken off by the Maoris. Some of our people went overland to Port Fitzroy and reported the wreck, and the Argyle came round and took us off after having been on the rocks -for aboin ;86 hours. The Maoris treated us well, and before they came to our rescue we had managed to secure from the wreckage a number of cases of oranges. The scene on board after the vessel struck was remarkably quiet and calm. There was no panic. The lady passengers, however, were greatly alarmed, and some pathetic scenes were witnessed, especially in the case of those who had children. It was very difficult to get to the boats, owing to the great list of the steamer and to the fact that the lower part was under water, while heavy seas were sweeping over the decks, carrying every .thing before them. The crew and -passengei'3 who were saved lost all their effects. The captain behaved with great coolness, and stood on the bridge till it was carried away. I hope I may never see such a scene again. ; ... ,