Schooner on Fire oft Gisborne.

Manawatu Herald, 5 August 1897, Page 2

Schooner on Fire oft Gisborne.

_» The inhabitants of Gisborne have been feasting on exoitements. They had the first news of the loss of the Tasmania, then two Bhops in the town were destroyed by fire, and now they hear of a schooner being on fire. The schooner Aotea, a vessel of 89 tons, with auxiliary oil engines, owned and commanded by Captain Skinner, took fire at 8 o'clock on Tuesday morning in Tokomaru Bay, 45 miles from Gisborne, and is still burning. The vessel lies within half a mile of the shore, shrouded in emoke, and men have gone off to her to assist the crew in fighting the flames and say- - ing the cargo. Captain Skinner was aroused at 8.80 in the morning by smoke from the engine-room, and he at once gave the alarm, rousing all hands, who' made their way from the cabin as Bpeedily as possible. The cabin by this time was filled with dense smoke, so thick the men could not see their hand* before them. The fire was evidently caused by the ignition of kerosene, but how it caught alight cannot be imagined, for there had been no light in the engine-room since 1 o'clock the previous morning. The crew secured buckets and commenced throwing water on the flames, but nofc being able to approach anywhere near the seat of the fire could only pour water down the ventilators. The purser says that of all the fires he has seen on vessels in London he has never seen a vessel any where near the Aotea'a size burn so fiercely or contain such a volume of flame. The Aotea's crew, who were much exhausted, having had nothing to eat, were relieved at noon by a body of men from the Tokomaru station. There were about 18 men on board, all working hard. The fire was still burning at dusk, when a big steamer, which is no doubt the H.M.S. Plyades, bound to Wellington, stopped off Tokomaru Bay, about 10 miles off, having been attracted by flashlights from a mirror in a boas which the Aotea put out to sea. The Aotea ooßt £8000. Mr Kirk, of Gisborne, who owns a ahare in the vessel, thinks she was not in' sured. The warship stopped and seemed to make towards the shore, but it is now dark, and nothing can be seen except that the Aotea is still burning. There are a number of men on board rendering help, including Maoris. The fire was got under somewhat about 7 o'clock, but lately it has freshened up again, and Captain Skinner fear? that he will lose his ship if assistance does not arrive soon. The Aotea was bound from Auok-. land to Gisborne, via ports. Her cargo constated of 29,000 ft of timber,

28 tons coal, 86 cases groceries, 805 bags and 2 tons sugar, and half a ton potatoes, 8600 bricks and sundries.