WRECK OF THE QUEEN BEE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 189, 11 August 1877, Page 2

WRECK OF THE QUEEN BEE.

; BQTB. BOATS .FQTJJTB. ;

I One- Man 'Drowned.— Two' iijtesin"* — j Women and Children till Safe.

• '- There- was intense excitement jfa town last' [night when; between ten and eleven o'clock jthe information -ivas brought upirom tlie iPort that tin* Lyttelton was in sight, as it [was generally known thjit h r er instructions ■ iwere, if necessary, to rehiam.out v until Sunday. It was, -therefore, argued thatshe niu3t have fallen in with one or both of the missing boats. Crowds of people at once flocked to the Port, but disappointment seemed to be in jstor.e v for- jiheni,. for; it^soon became known jtliat it ivas'not the Lyttelton,.but the Mana* Kvat'u, arid .the. general impression was'.that' jshe was triore likely to have jun.. down , for the purpose of making, enquiries than of' .bringing information. The pilot boat went Pyb-^A was a long time away, the state_of title uot allowing the steamer to enter the harbor, aud-tyie excitement and suspense bf thiwe who were so eagerly waiting for news became almost intolerable. At last about 1 2 o'clock, the sound of oars was heard at- the entrance, and there was a rush of people down the road to hail her, and-' very soon jivord was passed up from one knot of eager jivuiters to another,- "One boat has been found." -Then was asked the' question f Which?" and back came ' the reply "The Captains." It was a great relief. to leara that -so iuanV-' lives had been saved, but fcheu .came ,tk,e thought, " VV^at has' become of" the., poor, wbmeu and children?" and there' were many sad heaits among the excited crowd who thronged the pilot station to learn the full particulars. It speedily transpired that the crew had been picked up near Port Hardy, that one man, the carpenter, had been drowned in beaching the boat, and that two were missing, having . left the partytojbra-; yei'sc the hills in' search of assistance. This morning we- waited- upon Captain Davis, who very kindly supplied us ;with.:;tae 'follo'wiug: details. ' . '. T : IIE CAPTAIN'S STORY., .. • We left. London on the 2 1st of April, theship being well equipped in every way,- arid finally got clear of the Downs on the 24th. Everything i went well and comfortably' throughout:- the voyage, tho- officers, passengers,, and crew; all getting on well together. • We had light: winds to- the Cape of Good Hope, but from thence strong winds and' heavy gules until we arrived oif Tasmania _ from which" we 'met "with northerly winds. On the 2nd of August- we- -first sighted^ewr* • Zealand, being .then a little to the novthwa^

of i Ws vfcad to beat ajl jfce Faj tip uofcil tnakirig CagaFarewell on day afteruoori. 'M:BMs;m. we sighted; fcQe light/ the wedtheivljeing favorable, and ajjosfc wte rounded: ihe Spit UghUatid ;&aile<f along jAifcif by South/3ipHapfc' about I then shapefsia • course, and toldlhem to steer S.S.E. to 1 E. for a certain distance. Almost immediately afterwards, at about 1 1 o'clock, we struck on the inside edge of the bank. The ship at once commenced to bump heavily, and -tboitgb.:-I bac.kedshe- yards, and used oyery - gebh;er p*£jit mrsjbf no avail, was not the slightest r c6nfusion on board, all behaving admirably, and after firing guns and rockets, and getting no answer from lariywifere;.! ordered aftliiienßoafcs to"be:got out. At 3.45 a.m.JC sent the second mate and fourf inert jof;hisr<) W Q.gi c king r g, W ay in 'the'> di"gy, giving him the course to steer "to Nelson and a eompass.-and telling him to ask assistance for us. About eight o'clock I ; put the passengers in the lifeboat and cutter. I I $ung a cfaairfpd^putK ev'erjflady fnToTtf * niyself. Ther^lwia no rpsti>Ccj the boatsior Pjo|^%ion ; pf any kind.-' I? saw that tU^re "wefethree sailors' in^ea^h boatVand my§Sric"t orders were that they were to keep in smooth twatec-uHderetie^ee.rrof .»the,«^aip. I rafter^- ; wards ordered ' fihe^n. ; to • reujoro the pbJ&s; . family froirt the cutfjdr,' and inlzithdi' .lifeboat • wUhijthjar ? moii&ertf ; ! I repea^dljfj told them thiß, 4 aad oVei>-'ahduiver again? rsi peated my orders that they were not to leave the-shipv- I-had a^gobd-.ratGQk of provisions got out on the' poop all ready to be placed ia -the. boats,: and it was my inte^yfionjt^Pgcr myself in jthe lifeboat, and place "ilhe chief -bnic,er ini charge of the <su. r ti2?r. nW||i^ being myj idea I gave no sailing orders" Xnatever. | Notwithstanding miioydefe f^Bycut themselves adrift and started.". I^couid see' them £jor six or seven hours he^djog $£ . the Bay, ohe a little ahead _qf the other, £ ;%derstood that both boajfa ware fteKl srip{£j&£' with oars having been told~so by the officers. JEif teen of us .were^HQWileffe-QE^bQar^-and " I was in hourly hopes of seeing the second mate returning with assistance. ■— We^set tp :work and constructed,, V^^as, jft)iouglif. We should be toOjmariy for ttie only/bdat thafr\ .was left, and wefiniahediitabaut * p.£&, -^Afcthis time the sea was becoming rougher and v rp r ygher, ,-sud the,wind wa^ N blq\v«ing,rery haj:d. from the-\V.N:W. and increasing ia v f ofe Such.a_sea_wasj:olUngin-that we could not g^t anything into the. boat but-a,. bottle, of w4ter,a, tin^f bijouits, «ndf{[\?o. tins,o£ ; naeat, thVlatter ! of-wmTdh we're \fksh!ed : '"overb°oa.rd <! iu beaching the boat. I was frightened to bring her close alongside lest she should be stove in ortwOttldhaye putmoi'e-prbviiionsy on board. Eventually we contrived toj scramble on to her and the raft by watching j oyr chances, nine getting into the boat and! six on to the raft, which we-tovved after us.i It waa_thea .hlovving_hard-f rom -the same 'j quarter,, and just T beiare dark, , finding, that! it was impossible for the men' to remain o'n the r;\f t alUight we got under : her 'lee and took themih. The whole night it was blow- 1 ijy^4Miou^ly. s iindJxQ\v:.we_escaped-wita--our j boat so heavily laden is to me a perfect! miracle. I r did^not kfiow wher& we'Vete i going, and all I r qould. do was to keep v&er : head to sea. • At daylight we saw Steven's and D'UrviMe's Islands some ; 6 or 7 mrfeWdigtatit,^and as we got closer we saw several little < .bay3_as_they.appeared_to.be, andthesel tried ' to make for but could not on account of the .currents, 'All this; tune,theb6afc. was .leaking badly, and we ,hadjai,we could do to .keep j the water downby baHng.her out,, and ; find- i ing. tha) she,n?ust, sink if vve remained »i\ sea, I determined- to beach he?. -. -A.fci)fiv.e | o'clock I saw a small indentation in. theicoaat; I line where the mountains were very precipitous, and-the base of them -only about forty feet from low water mark. There was a fearful surf on, but there was {nothing for it but to "make the attempt, so-iWe 'ran- in ; a tremendous sea caught and lifted , v t|ie boat right on end, bow downwards. We were thrown ashore,' and the boat turned right over keel nppermost,-and in two mmutes she was smashed to atoms.- On mustering our numbeis .we fonnd that ,the ; carpenfe%c. was missing, and hemust hav-e^lroivued. Shortly afterwards one of the men started off of his own accord over the hills, and was -followed by MrHelliard, who in climbing the hill fell down theside.of the cliff and- hurt, his feet very severely. We made for -the; smuggest quarters we could find, _and tried to obtain some rest by : lying down-on the stones, but the tide came over us, at high .water, and. we had to get as far back as ,'w~e could,! but even then could scarcely get out of reack'.of the water. ,W;e~ passed a. miserable njght, no sleep, nothing to, eat,'and nothing to'drink. The next morning "the steward produced a box of ; matches^ which he "had siived, "b ! ut they were saturated with'Water. However, the mate fortunately had a_burqingiglass with him, aud by its aid we ignited one of the matched alia lighted -i. Brei-ivith : some * drif t- ; wood that was lying about, and dried the ; rust of the matches. We spent the whole i day on ibis little patch of ' land, TvhTclTwas ; certaiply not iOO yards in length. ; W,e were fortunate enough to firid : water/but looked in :vain ( fdr-jbirds or. fish' of' any^ kiM' VWe ! could see vessels. in. the distanee, but none noticed our smoke. ..During the day Mr Masqu, the third .mate, who, U np jv missing, went away over the. hills, afldove saw nor> ;more of him.-'Thursclay night a Repetition of the previous one, and a Wretched' tinie it .was, bufctherfiivasibiaiaonrlavopthistthe wea,thor ,\\ap .fine. r ,Qu . mornidg : it CJ H ne -Mh. t° ■ ?»JM and. l}tQMf.q lV:e t ßaw.Qaejor two vessels, ajad a .littje later 'a- steamer (the -' whrbh Was : ' dodging-■•ibont'-at -some distance- -from' tfe land. By her, jfoovemeutsoiwe felt sure ' that she was iookiu^.£or..us, in desperation we set 'fire to the'b'tisties and eVervthiug we could find about to, create ,»■ smoke to attract her attentidn.'biit all' in' 'vain. ' ; Just thcn J (about 2 p.m.),' to'' otir intense delight, | ■we_saw. the Manawatu rounding the point about a mile away. She saw our. smoke, and to our great joy wo saw h'er'hpisf the ; ensi%6 ill response. On coraing near/I heard' a voice that I-knew calliug to toe by^- name; and, this proved to be tlie first officer, \vho had sailed with me before as second mate, arid the first words I heard were his :— " Captaiu Davies, am I liere to save you ?" •In- attempting to tell us of the kindness he and his crew received on board the Manawatu,• Captain Davies -fairly broke down; "I. must leave that to you" said he, "perhaps you can find words -to express what I ; mean. I can't." Is it necessary;that^weshould do so? - THE CUTTER FOUND. ;Shortly after eleven this morning tHeifdl-; lo\vit)g%elcome news was.irirediito-.us-froW' Cable Bay by. Lieut. Simpson, of the Naval Brigadeira : \ •..-.- , • ; .■-.>/■-■- '\ ~ x ; ■ r - - Wakapuaka, 10.34 a.m. ' The Aurora has found the boat and passcugers of the Queen 3ee at -the Preach I ass, all safe and well. SHewll arrive at Nelson at three p.m." » ; ■ To thoroughly appreciate the joyous excitement that was occasioned by this news winch we immediately . published as an Extra, it must be understood that by'nearly all had hope been given up of the cutter or nor passengers ever being heard of agaunAfter the captain's' report of the weather experienced on Tuesday night it was deemed impossible that delicate women aud children could have survived even if the* boat had landed anywhere, but to learn that all were safe was what few, if any, dared to hope. ■ Later iu the day we received the following particulars :~ . .■? •.•;\ : : C\.-U/" : Cable Bay, 12-45 p.m., Saturday. j "Left the Queeu Bee on Tuesday luonring at 7 a.m.,' with 21 passengers' itf aiC >: The

"•Bsdtetifcgrt |sail 3 , *$$$$$ or ifi^^n^o rmtertexccpping one. bopfcjk xrij&tL a passenger hagi|euaa;to %e>^thre4^ias of inrL jslerved^eafcj Wprie&to ke#4on toj|fie the bo^va&pver/^^de^ Is£ 6oul%ifos wind and sea being very high ftom the west.' After struggling for an hour we had 'to run before it ; when two-thirds across the bay we found we were making no southing, and we expected to be blown seaward, the boat three times. ;iFort^nat% £ne\wlujf jhif fcej^to north-wes.^ndiibX m&niof a ! iui. held on to a brass rod, we made a little southing. At eight o'clock we sighted ,§:&PSS J^oint jibojte^lie, ireaeh, Paas^when the wind shiftedTo West again, which, blew us to the mouth of Puua Harbor, where we held on to our oars all night, but had hard work to keep oiE the shore. At daybreak we-rovvediiito-Puna- -Harbor and - laStled-ori" the beach, where we made fires, boiled some Wst§royhile_some,of the crew went over thl hil{ to jlopkjfotfhaKtyation, and fell in with 1 Mabri tehere they were treated S-SLI& gfea£^ho^>ifedity. We remained a6 Puuga Harbor till the following day, wheri we rowed into JElmslie's place where we we.rl us com? op iQ;fh^.Aatrpmiiand thatfceaisiiuing eleven ;^^;Maop li<Msi P, ffi. ; 3'l^S l^ B^- °$ |# rd the ; .jAur.araare:— Dri and family, twd r Jjfsses Fosberr^ and four of the crew. The Aurora leffc Cable Bay at 12.30 for Nelson. The Maor; r boafc cpntaining.^he other T ga^engers is outf i.aide; cWheJ^urora.teing .better manned will likely make $e|sonfirst. r All in the best of fs^irifca.'."'.-: -..-1.-'-V : .=ii;.;. ] noe&&%s&%' (MaciM.yi-URORA. | „t§bor6l£: - before -f gm tfqlpck the Aurori the tidd j,y^.Tnnping..out.srithjc ; onsiderable force she fornearfy half an hour) Then the sweeps ware got to work, and, acl compauied by a number of boats that bac. gone out to meet her, she rounded the poinl dfpb^B^k./lfTly'tiliisftnnei^there were i sej^eraf th^safadg; bf<: people] congregated,' w|o throngei ; the^6a|i a^ jgiach from th4 j ""Pilofstatrdh t(Tthe"entrance. !Ss the Auron, i r entered the harbor,, ringing cheera went ujj ■Jront^'.cr^iyd'of , people who were assembled on The Hocks, and were taken by omi little knot after another the whole way up" .t\fe harbor, the Artillery Band, which wa;i (stationed at the Boat Shed, striking up the peculiarly appropriate air of " Home Sweef Home "as she neared her destination. Al .thisaigiejtb.a • eheeripg was - incessant,- unti the boat reached the landing, when it ceasec. fora white, as, preparations- r were made td land ,the passengers. ; The firsfc to come ashore:waa a little child some . three; or fouif yeartf^f age, AbTo wa3'haMed-out : the boat by Lieut. Gully, fchen came aannf ant not ten days oldj followed immediately afterwards bjf Aii&i Maanaeil, i& i tnbther,-.-hndT tier twd sisters, the Misses, -tfosberry. Theu again cheers that seeoujd ioudqcvaadTheartier than] ever renUhe-air; aud a{ the ladies reached tha jihed where -thTeiF- .sisters; " re"sTdents~i« . Nelspn,- were in. waiting iorjthe%, ihe Band] a.tJthe.r.equest...Qf_t&e.Blsh6p of Nelson and; . other. clergy whp. ; were,. presehi;, itruck up, the; well knawndoxqlog-y, M PrftlsejGod froinj whom all blessings flow," W,hicl_wa9 warmly; joifledin^by theeothusiaatibcrowd^. Of the! i meeting between ihe;sisersj after the painful! ' tnals.aad auspcnaeof-the-list fourj daya we! : shßll : say nothing.. That w4s a ma^ter^f too! , sacred a phara.ctecjto^boJbrqught befofe the| ' P.^Mc.gazei; The sailprsj)^ the Queeii B^e; : who^rpivedmeiwitha hearty welcome fromj j their fellow seaman .and otljera who heldoiitj I the; .hand of friendship to (them on their ar-; ! ri*al. The carriages with the pjasseugers! ! then, drove, up to town, aud ith&orowd gradu-i alFy dispersed, after one of jtheAtnost euthu-l siastic ovations it was ever Our 'tot to witness.' O vviog to & c&ange of wind tfie Maeri-boaC,: with the remainder .of th^ passengers, hasj : nofc y.efc,cpme iin:sight, but it improbable sliel ■ \viU arrive auring:th.e night! I , ■