BY TELEGRAPH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4355, 5 March 1875, Page 2

BY TELEGRAPH.

POUT CHALMERS, Thursday. Sailed: Otago, s.s.. for Melbourne via Lyttelton, Wellington, and the West Coast: - SEW PLYMOUTH, Thursday. Arrived : Wellington from Manukau, and Phoebe from the South. Sailed: At 11, Wellington for the feouth. The Phoebe goes north at 4 o'clock, p.m. : ; OAMAEU, Thursday/ 1 S p.m.—The Zior has sailed'for Wellington with cargo. . . ; . AP.KIVAL OF THE ESK. The barque Esk, an iron vessel of about 800 tons register, Captain J. B. Stitt, was.bronght to an anchor off Kaiwarra by Pilot. Holmes, at two o'clock yesterday morning. She left London on the 11th November, and on the 27th. December, forty-six days out. the Lino was crossed. The passage from the Channel to Sew Zealand was uneventful, the coast of this colony being sighted on the 23rd ultimo, since -when light southerly weather has prevailed. During the voyage a few drums of paraffin oil for tiie General Government and several jars of acid, which were stowed on deck, commenced to leak, and for the safety of the vessel they were all cast overboard. The Esk made off the entrance to Port Nicholson at about five o'clock on Wednesday evening, Mr. Pilot Holmes boarding the vessel shortly afterwards. The night was very dark, a dull sky and a smoky atmosphere making the working of a vessel into our port anything bnt'a pleasant task : Somes Island light was invisible, and Pencarrow Headlight but a speck. After five hours of hard beating the barque was safely anchored. The master of the Malay, which arrived off the Heads almost in company with the English vessel, anchored his vessel till yesterday morning, when he succeeded in bringing her into port. The Esk comes consigned to Messrs. W. and G. Turnbull and Co., her cargo being general.

The barqne Malay, Captain Hill, arrived from Hobarton at-noon yesterday, after a passage of fifteen days: She brings a cargo of Tasmaman produce, including a quantity of timber for the General Government. -; The Malay, has: fourteen passengers, but scarlet fevec or scarlatina having broken out the day before she arrived, the vessel, by .order of the Health Officer, was sent to quarantine last evening. The barque Esk, from London'/will.be entered at the Customs-tbis morning. ~ - - Advices have been -received in Wellington, stating that'the ship Kingdom of Italy has been laid on at, London for this port. ~ . Captain Bishop's fine ship the Avalanche has commenced bending her canvas preparatory to sailing for Lyttelton, where she will till up with produce for lon, don. It is probable the Avalanche will get to sea about Tuesday next. ~ . Th<s barque Anne'and, Jane,, which in future will be a storeship in-this harbor, ia being rapidly :dis-> mantled.-' ~ -, . . v. Owing to the difficulty in-getting his sailors on board, Captain Heigho, of the ship Berar, wa3 unable to' proceed ,to sea-yesterday morning. If his hands can be- got,on board, he will, get away for Newcastle, to-day. " ' ■".''",.. ' -'•'. The American barque Chandiere, at Port Chalmers, from New York with a cargo of notions, will leave the former, port, for Wellington-to-day. -About one-/ third'of-her original cargo is for this port. The barque Queen of the South, and the three-' masted schooner'Mer'cury, have been laid oh at New York for Wellington and another New Zealand port, j The' steamer St'ormbird was yesterday successfully, floated ofT the sandbank in the Wariganui Elver, and her agents expect her to arrive in Port Nicholson'today. .'. . : -' - ": The-steamer Ladybird, Captain-Andrew,.arrived at 1 p.m. yesterday,'from Port Chalmers and Lyttelton.. She left' Lvttelton at 4.30 on Wednesday afternoon;' the wind during the voyage prevailing 'rom tbenorth-. ward. The Ladybird will sail. this afternoon for Picton, Nelson, Taranaki, and Manukau. The steamer 1 Star'of the South, 'Captain Tarrmhar, having . taken -on board 'a quantity of merchandisetranshipped ex the Alhambra and the Oseeo, sailed for Napier,'Auckland, and Fiji yesterday at noon. .- ~: The steamer Easby," which left Lyttelton for Napier on Tnesday last, was expected to arrive at Napier last evening:"" -Her-ageMircio" '■aofexpccfser'^ta'ycs.es" Wellington before Sunday,: and it- js probable she will not leave for Newcastle beforei tile following dny.

Snrp;Btni.Diwo o?r tite Thames.—Onlyra: f<yy ■' yeareiack, the Thames goldfleld was 'Maori lahd.-ferns swamps and timber its chief feature ; now it is a' thriving settlement, the seat of-thriving industries, so much having.been.accomplished in so short a time by the magic influences Of gold discoveries.' How the place has .expanded,!and.is' flourishing, rnightily.lms been demonstrated in. a variety of ways. -., It, can boast of its ship-building yards.'ahd only yesterday a sample of the mechanical skill of one of its builders arrived hereinJtne shape of a'snbstantial-barri'rientinej fitted i with-auxiliary steam power, ,and named; .the; Emu;( She was built on the' banks of the Kaeweranga River, by Mr. Robert Stone, a shipwright of no mean ability,who has for many years been-associated with the province of -Auckland,, in that capacity. To Mr.' Stone/ belongs the credit of building tho first steamer lannched'ln' the colony!' She'was the old Governor , Wynyard—a vessel out of date, and almost out of* mind now, the year of her launching being 1851. Not only the, hull but the;cngines of, that, unhrue.little/ boat—she was about sixty constructed, in, Auckland, and as was but-natural in 'those days the' Wynyard was thought; muchof by. the early settlers;' > and played, a very good part :in trading up and down: the Tamakl River. Subsequently, in 1852, she was sent to Melbourne, and made a "pot of money" for her owners—Messrs. 0. B. Stone; Gardiner, and Langford—irt thoSe good old days. •■-. The. last we heard of her was that she had subsided into obscnrity.at.the Thames River, Launcestoti; Many other'vessels have been turned out by Mr. Stonc'alnce then—one of the latter being the Emu. iiShe was built 'to the order of' Mr. C. J. Stone, the builder's brother, expressly, to run in the coal trade between the Bay. of Islands "and the''Thames, bat her-capabilities being above those of average colliers, she' is occasionally diverted into- other channels of trade, and now, comes here with a full cargo of white pine timber—the product of a bush about eight miles up the Thames river, where is situated Mr. < Gibbon s saw-mill.— The-Emu is built'upon the- diagonal-prin-" ■ ciple, is 131 tons register. Length, 125 ft.; beam, 22ft. 6in.; depth of hold,"Bft. 'Sheis flat in the floors, and full-lined, but withal so moulded in order that* the desired speed might not be altogether ignored. She is bsnpientine rigged, with double topsail yards, and to save time, in,light weather.at sea, she was llttcd with a 2a horse-power compound engino, built by Messrs. Kramer and Tinnc, of Auckland, and which drives a double-bladcd scionr. Altogether, Hio Emu is a ,handy, and, we should say, a profitable vessel, and must afford to the Thames folks, gratifying evidence of their progress. Captain Conricll, an.old trader here, commands'her, and reports having left the Thames on the 18th instant; rounded Cape Colvllle tho same day with a fresh S.W. breeze, and carried it to "White Island, when the wind hauled round to the eastward, and increased to a heavy gale, which held for thirty hours, and fully tested the seagoing properties of the'Emu ; she behaved very well. Light weather followed for a couple of days, then a rattling N.W. gale blew up, and obliged tho Emu to run tlwil before it for eight hours, thus taking her some fifty miles out of her course. Cook Strait, with Cape Palliser in sight, was passed on Wednesday last, and Banks Peninsula on "Friday, and thence the Emu steamed up against a heavy S.W. gale, which suffered no abatement untilshe arrived at the Heads yesterday morning, and fetched the-port anchorage about noon. She is to discharge her cargo at Dunedin.— Qlaijo Daily Tirnen, March 1.. A Story krom this Sea.—Some weeks since an account of tho loss of the Euxino by fire was received from St. Helena, at which place tho captain and the ;; reater part of the crew had safely arrived, but it seems that a third boat's crew, comprising the eecond mate and eight men, were believed to have perished. Fortunately, however, this was not tho case, fur it appears from news received from Batavla that part of this missing boat's crew have been picked tip and taken to that port by a Dutch vessel. Tho following is a report made by one of the survivors;—" Wo sailed from Shields in tho Euxino, of Liverpool, and under the

command of Captain Murdoch, bound to Aden, and all went well until August 5, when an alarm of Are was made. Nothing daunted,:our captain immediately ordered all available hands to work. At first we thought the fire had been got under, but on the second day it again broke out, and do. all we could, we saw no chance of extinguishing it, so it continued gaining on us for two long days and nights, when on the fourth day from the discovery of the fire, it was found impossible to remain longer on board. "We then abandoned the vessel in three boats—in ours we altogether numbered nine. "We then endeavored to make for the Island of St. Helena, but our boat got separated from the others during the night, and, finding that we were much to the westward of. the island, we held a consultation and it was agreed to steer for the Brazil coast; but an accident happened which, caused the loss of the boatswain aad two other men. It was that of the capsizing of our boat; consequently, what little provisions wo' had in the boat were lost. In these straits and clinging to the bottom of our boat, and reduced to the very last extremity, almost to frenzy, and hunger having gained upon us with its agonising pains, we were compelled to cast lots among ourselves as to which of us should bo sacrificed, and it fell to the lot of an Italian, the only one with us, who bore' his fate with the utmost resignation. .Had wc been able to have borne the hunger a few hours longer, this poor fellow's life would have been spared, for the same afternoon a sail hove in sight. "What a joyous moment ! Noticing our signs, she made for us/ and lowering a boat, we were with difficulty taken on ■board. We could scarcely render ourselves the least assistance, being much reduced,' and almost as weak as babies. The vessel proved to be the Java packet, bound from Holland to Java. We were landed at Batavia on the 3rd November, having recovered much of our lost strength."