WRECK OF THE BARQUE "HELENA," AND SEVEN LIVES LOST.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 777, 24 September 1853, Page 2

WRECK OF THE BARQUE "HELENA," AND SEVEN LIVES LOST.

It is our melancholy duty to record one of the most disastrous shipwrecks which has occurred on our coast for several yenrs, that of the barque Helena, of Sydney, which occurred on Friday week, in Waitakere Bay, about 13 miles south of Kaipara, involving the loss of her commander, chief officer, and five of her crew. The Helena was a handy barque of .265 tons, built nt Nova Scotia, in 1841, and recently purchased at Melbourne for the New Zealand timber trade by Mr. Macnamara, of Sydney, for the sum of j£IOOO. Her late commander, Captain Brown, bad already suffered shipwreck this year, when in command of the brig Nina, of and from Bristol for Port Phillip, an account of which we subjoin elsewhere. Prom this it will be seen that he was not, os it was published yesterday, the gentleman " well known to many of our fellow-citizens whilst in command of the brig Nina." The brig Nina, which loaded here for London in June last year, hailed from London, and was commanded .by Captain It. Phillips, who, with his vessel, we understand, are at present employed in the Mediterranean trade.

The following particulars have been furnished by George Lane, one of the survivors, who reached town on Thursday evening, accompanied by two of the natives who had behaved so kindly to him and those of his shipmates who escaped. The Helena left Melbourne on tie 28th August, and experienced pleasant weather until the evening before she made the coast of New Zealand, which was on the eighth or ninth day. At that time, the westerly gales, which have blown so long and fiercely, set in, and the ship was in consequence hove to under a close-reefed main-topsail and spanker, a heavy sea running, and driving her bodily inshore. Captain Brown, of whom the survivors speak with the utmost affection and respect, took every precaution a skilful mariner could take to reach off shore, profiting by every possible opportunity to make sail and stand out to sea ; but the continued with unabated fury ; and although topgallant masts, mizen top-mast, and all top-hamper had been sent down to stiffen her ; although even her topmast back-stays had started the dead eyes under the pressure of her canvas, yet, being but in ballast trim, and makißg so much leeway, it was only by means of" the most untiring energy and skill that the ship was enabled so long to maintain her seaward position. During eleven days of weary anxiety, Capt. Brown and l)M crew were thus occupied, vainly endeavouring to gain an offing; and tossed about, up and down the West Coast, from Hokianga to IWanukau. Three several ports were successively sought to be entered, viz., Hokianga, Kaipara, and Manukau. The attempts, however, were found to be altogether impracticable. So close was the Helena at ona time, to the foimer port, that a ship was seen at anchor inside. Not knowing the bar, and the sea breaking right across, Captain Brown was afraid to venture. An attempt was then

made to enter the harbour of Manukau. This was on Friday last, and between 3 and 4. p.m. The ship was, unfortunately, driven too far to leeward-of the Northern head, and in this melancholy position, thare was no alternative but to wear the ship: in doing so, she was driven still further to leeward, and in fact became hopelessly embayed. Night being now fast approaching, as the last remaining chance of escape, the ship was beached, taking the flat sandy shore nearly at low water. She struck heavily several times, when the mainmast was cut away to lighten her. At this moment, she broke right across in two pieces, all hands being left on the after part. A boat was then lowered, but, the moment it touched the water, the sea swept it clear of the tackles. Two of the crew next endeavoured to swim ashore with a line fastened to tbem. Neither of them could succeed, the sea and tide utterly overpowering them. They with difficulty got back to the wreck. The only alternative was thus to remain by the ship until she broke up, an event which took place almost immediately after the tide began to flow. At this appalling juncture, all hands,—except the chief officer (Mr. James Hutton, of Aberdeen) and one seaman (Edward Davis, of Bristol, late of the Nina), who were on deck, from whence they were swept by a heavy sea—were in the cabin, where Captain Brown was reading prayers to them. The cabin was a deck house; and was continually filled with the seas that burst in from seaward, and the back-wash that poured in from a-lee. Whilst the Captain was reading, the mizen-niast fell, killing as is supposed, a boy of fifteen years of age, named Thomas Harrold, a native of Bristol. The ship at the same time parted in pieces, and all hands were swept away. The survivors can give no account of the manner in which those who perished met their fate ; but as Captuin Brown's head was frightfully lacerated, when his body was found, it is supposed he might have been killed by some portion of the wreck. The names and occupations of the others who perished were, Mr. William Farthing, of Bristol, second officer; John Hutchins, of Torquay, Devon; George Smith, of Tenby, seamen ; these last being the two poor fellows who vainly endeavoured to carry a line ashore. The names of the survivor.} (who, of course, have lost their all) are George Lane, London; John Coleman, Armagh, late of the Nina; Thomas Peters, Leven; and Robert Williamson, Sunderland, seamen. These four were washed ashore on a part of the stern frame which split in two the moment it struck the ground. They were sadly buffetted, being sucked back by the under-tow. Lane was dragged ashore in a state of insensibility by bis Bhipmates, *nd Williamson had the cap of his knee badly wounded. The survivors were discovered by the natives the next day, about 3 o'clock ; and, it is pleasant to state,,experienced the utmost kindness and humanity at their hands. Capt. Brown's body having been cast ashore, the natives dug a grave and interred it ; his late shipmates reading the funeral service over his remains. The seamen were conveyed to the dwellings of the natives; whence, having been hospitably entertained for the next three days, they were conveyed to Mr. Hendersons's Mill, at the head of the Waitemata. There was no other body but that of the captain cast ashore. Two boats, some stores, together with several spars, rigging, sails, and a considerable portion of the vessel, have been saved. These have been taken charge of by the natives.

The natives who so kindly assisted the survivors belong to the Kawerau tribe, some of whom are under instruction at the Three Kings' Native School. One practical inference which may be drawn from this melancholy narrative, i 3 the necessity of having completed, as soon as possible, a trustworthy chart of the whole line of the West Coast, with the entrances to the harbours well defined, and the appearance of the land clearly shewn ; no mere harbour chart being; sufficient for the direction of strange vessels making the coast on either side of the harbours during the prevalence of strong %vesterly gales, such as we have recently experienced here. The following is a narrative, by two of the Natives who were among the first to come to the assistance of the survivors from the wreck. To .the Nkw-Zkalan'Der Newspaper.

Friend the Editor—How do you do—this is our talk to you, about a vessel that was wrecked at Waitakere, on the lu'th day of September. We did not see her when she came on shore ; we were after wild pigs in the forest, and our dogs were all killed ; we came down from the hills on to the sea coast, and saw some white men's goods scattered on the sand ; we thought that some ship had been wrecked. We did not touch the goods; we sought for the men if any one should be alive. Tamihana went along the beach and saw three men; he thought that they might be afraid of him, so he put his cap off, and they did the same, he then went and shook hands with them. Th«y told him, by their fingers, that seven men were under the water. They went with him and they found the body of the Captain, and Tamihana put his black silk neckerchief on the face of the Captain, and the white men wished the Captain to be buried where he was found, but we would not, so we carried him up on shore and dug a hole for him and one of us wrapped him in one of our blankets, and we were kneeling down to pray, for we had no book, so we could not read what our Wesleyan ministers read over the dead, and we were going to pray when one of the white men took out a Bible, or a big book, and read. We all listened, there were four of us Natives and four white men. One of them had his head cut with the stones on the beach. The white man read, and then we covered the Captain up. We then went to gather the goods up in one place; the man with the cut hesd sat behind three casks of pork, while we were getting the things in one heap, his face was covered all over with blood, we were very hungry and the white men gave us some biscuit. When it was evening we all went to our settlement and we heated water and washed the men with it: they were very much hurt with the rocks. We got some food for them, and we had some food. They did not begin to eat until we said the words that make the food sacred ; we thought they were good men; one of us gave them three blankets, and one man gave one blanket, and we gave them four pairs of boots. They thought we wanted to sell them, but we were soft in our hearts to them, because of our sorrow for the Captain who was dead. On Sunday we wished the white men to go to see if there were any of the drowned men, and if there were we would go and bury them, but they would not go, their legs were so bad with being so much hurt. They could not understand our talk as they did not go with us to the chapel. On Monday all the tribe went to the wreck; the ship is all to pieces, but two of the boats are quite good. We tried to find the drowned men; we got some of the sails but we could not get them out of the sand as we wished, and we tore them. On Tuesday the white men wished us to come to Auckland with them but we thought they were not well enough, so we sought for the corpses, but could not find any of them. On Wednesday we left to come with the white men to Auckland; the men with his head cut did not walk very fast, we got to the mill, and left the sick man there, and on Thursday we came in to the Three Kings. The white man came down in a boat, three of us came from our settlement with them, we all carried something for them, one carried one coat and one double barrelled pistol one pair of trowsers and some other little thing to put on the body, another had an old blanket and a coat and some other old torn clothes, the other brought the biscuit for the men to eat. This is all from us, from Henry Wateiuiouse, and Thomson. September 23,1853. |fa

The Auckland brig Moa, launched here in 1849, is about to proceed to the Island of Kawau to have her old copper stripped and replaced by new. The fine harbour of Kawau affords excellent facilities for effecting such a work, of which we are glad to see our thip owners and ship builders avail—thus placing the Port of Auckland in aa independent position for such operations, which cannot at present be effected at Sydney or any other colonial port, unless at a sacrifice of time and money amounting almost to a prohibition.

WnfeCK of the Brio Nina, of and from Bristol. -—The Nina sailed from Bristol on the 29th March, for Port Phillip, and had a prosperous passage till the Bth July, when in lat. 38"30 south, lon. 63.10 east, at about 9 a.m. in a very heavy gale, she was struck by a sea, which carried her mainmast by the boird. The masler and crew remained on board for seven days, when the Antillus hove in sight, and took the master and some of the crew on board, though in the attempt to take off the remainder his boat swamped, and his chief officer and two of the brig's crew were unfortunately drowned. The niaster speaks highly of the kindness of Captain Stamper and his crew, who supplied them with clothes and every necessary. They w£re not able to save anything from the wreck, as most of the crew were taken on board by life buoy?.— Sydney Shipping Gazttee, August 27.