The Wreck of the Ly-ee-Moon.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XII, Issue 1729, 9 June 1886, Page 2

The Wreck of the Ly-ee-Moon.

FULLER PABTICULA.RS.

(Per s.s. Te Anan at the Bluff.)

(UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION.) I IMPELBOURtfE, June 1. The vessel was off Gabo Island at a quarter to 8, when Captain Webber is reported to have given a course which Rho'uld have taken her clear off Green Cape. He then left the deck after giving instructions' to be' called when the steamer neared the Cape, Returning to the. bridge at a few minutes to nine, he found the vessel heading straight for the reef. The engines were immediately" reversed, but the vessel dashed on a rock with such force as to part her m two. Most of the passengers appear to have been below' at the fame. Within ten minutes :of striking, the forepart of the vessel t broke right' away, and drifted towards the shore/ turning over, and eventually lying broadsideon to the rocks. All the passengers and crew on this part of the yessel clung to the; rigging and bulwarks, the heavy seas washing continually over the deck. Shortly after the vessel being m this : position the foremast went overboard the end just touching the rocks, and three seamen made their way ashore on the mast but shortly afterwards the topmast broke, and this means of escape was no longer available. The lighthouse-keeper, with a staff of seamen, tried a long time without avail to throw a line- aboard. At last the boatswain succeed£ji.in throwing a brass lock, with a fishing line attachedi over the vessel, which caught, and a rope attached to the line was pulled aboard and [ made fast. A bowline was then attached to the rope, and all the remaining paa-sengers-that were saved were then pulled ashore by means of the bowline'^ -The; after part of the vessel remained on the reef,, a hundred yards from the shore, and it was impossible to render those, aboard any assistance, as no boats codld ..live m the terriffic sea. Unfortunately there were no rockets or life-saving: aprpartus available, except the ropes of the lighthouse. All the engineers, and the greater part of the crew and steerage passengers were lost. Among the- incidents of the wreck, it may be mentioned that there was only one lady on deck m the forepart of the vessel. The third officer, Mr Fotheringham,.made a gallant attempt to take, her ashore, and nearly succeeded when she was struck by some floating debris, and instantly killed. In addition to this lady two other passengers (died, not from drowning, but from exposure. The- exposure endured,. and the dangers experienced by the survivors may be gathered, from the fact that although the vessel struck at 9 p.m., those rescued were not landed until half-past , 8 a.m. ..All these are doing well, though some 'are' much knocked about. One steamer passed the Cape, bound north, after the steamer Ly-ee-moon struck. She stopped temporarily, but was unable from; the :pos!#tfn of the ship to. render any assistance. During the whole time the behaviour of the passengers and crew was exceeding calm and brave. Thethird officer, Mr Fotherin^ham, was m charge' at the time. How the vessetigototi to the reef close under the lighthouse — so short a distanoe from the- shore — is a mystery. The pilot steamer Captain Cook was dispatched from Sydney to the scene of the disaster to take off the survivors and convey them to Sydney. She is expected to make Green Cape early to-day. _ Among : the passengers who lost their lives was Mr McGregor, son of Mr McGregor, of the British Hotel, Dunedin, who has been employed m the New_Zealand Insurance Company's^office^ and Mr 0. G. Bradley, a ;son-"of Mr J. G. Bradley, merchant,' of San Franoisco, who was : on his way to start business m Sydney, The Ly-ee-moon was not insured, as the Company adopt the principle of doing ; their own underwriting. • ; ..- >: Eighteen adults and three infants re- : mained m the saloon after she strode, ■ On account of the staves breaking away, rand the water rushing into -the oabin, • and from thn position of the ship, it was impossible to save them. The. after part ef the ship, containing the engines and the steerage, remained fixed on the reef about ICO yards from tbe shore, but it wan impossible to render, those on this part of the vessel any, assistance. No boats could possibly have lived m the sea that was breaking on tbe shore, and unfortunately there were no rockets or life-saving apparatus on board. All the engineers and the greater part of the crew and steerage passengers wete lost. . Among these was Mr Morrison, the chief officer. The waves were so strong that before morning nothing but the ; masts of the after-part were visible. The A.S.N. Co., have a bad practice of continually changing their captains, and not one of them has a proper opportunity to get used to his work, for ia scarcely any two ships will the action of the compasses be found to correspond. There are nearly always deviations ou .each, which a oaptaio must watch and allow for m steering. Any small deviation of thiß Kind by the companies of the Ly-ee-Moon, if unnoticed by the captain while hugging the shore northwards from the Howe, might moan destruction, and this is probably what has partly caused the oalaniityi as there are no rocks marked on the coast within many miles of Green Cape. This was Captain Webber's first voyage m the Ly-ee-Moon. He Dad a very experienced mate on the coast, having roede several trips between Melbourne and Sydney m command of various vessels. His last trip previous to the wreck was m the steamer Berksgat, belonging .to ; tbe same Company, and he was transhipped from her m order to allow for her re. ceiving her monthly overhauling. Captain Webber formerly commanded tho s.s. Zealacdia m the San Francisco mail service, and thi3 is his first accident for twenty years. Eighty Tone persons are known to have been on board, and only sixteen were saved. The Ly-efl Moon was built of iron m 1559, at Black wall, and had a most eventfnl history. She was built as a blooade runner, and experieuced some service off Charleston m the American war. Iv her early career she bad paddle wheels, and could steam 18 miles an hour; Her Araeriean experience was a short one, after which she was engaged m the Chinese opium trade. In 1872, at Hongkong, the vessel foundered, and was, after being raised, taken to England, by Mr Stevens, who purchased her. Shejwas there altered into a screw steamer,- and after making .two or three passages to Australia, Singapore, and Torres Strait, wa& purchased by Captain Tromton on behalf of her present owners. This was iv 1878, and : shortly after her arrival m Sydney she was completely gutted by fire. Some alterations were then effeoted to her m the shape of improved passenger accommodation.. After; this Bbc proved herself most serviceable up to the time of her wreck.