THE LATE FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT AT MARTIN’S BAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5406, 25 July 1878, Page 3

THE LATE FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT AT MARTIN’S BAY.

By the s.s. Maori, which arrived at Port Chalmers yesterday, atg' {Otago Daily Tima, 20th inst.) have received intelligence of a fatal boat accident and loss of life at Martin’s Bay. The following letter has been received by Mr. Commissioner Weldon “Martin’s Bay, July 10, 1878. “ To the Commissioner of Police, Dunedin. “Sir, —On Saturday, 15th June, between four and five o’clock, two men arrived from Big Bay and informed me that they had dis-; covered three bodies six miles beyond Big Bay, the bodies being the remains of Andrew: Williamson, postmaster and registrar, and James Yell, the other body at that time un-. known. On the next morning X manned the boat and proceeded up to James Town, and itfformed the settlors there of the accident. The ; next morning—Monday, 17th June—l proceeded to Big Bay by, tho beach, the sea at' that time being too rough, accompanied by four Martin’s Bay settlers and one Big Bay man, to search for the rest of the bodies supposed to be lost. We arrived atßig Bay at dark, and next morning made a start at four o'clock, to be about the place at daylight. On arrival wo found the body of a, mar; named Gabriel, a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was very much consumed by crayfish—might be termed a skeleton. Ho was identified by his hoots and fragments of shirt. About two chains further north, round the point, waa found the body of Jeremiah Yell, identified by the fragments of clothing remaining qn him. Continued the search for two or three miles further, but nothing more was found. The bodies, tent, &c., were all found within ten or twelve chains of each other, proving that that , must have been the scene of the accident. As to the boat and fittings, nothing was found. The body of the stranger, I should think, was that of a man from Jackson Bay of the name of Branstay, commonly called the Doctor. Nothing being found on the bodies, wo, of course, buried them. The dog belonging to Williamson Paine to Big Bay about eleven days before there was anything found, hut the Big Bay people took no notice of that, thinking the dog may have walked from Jackson Bay, as the dog had a new collar on, registered at Jackson Bay on tho Bth of July. A man by tho name of Harry Fisher came from Big Bay, and he informs me that he was out searching along the beach, and ho found another tent, and cut a piece of it to show,me the stains of blood upon it, which I forward you by the steamship Maori. After the funeral we went and informed Mrs. Yell of the death of her husband and sou, and also of her relation---A, Williamson. The widow, I believe, is perfectly destitute. She is left with four small children. Mrs. Yell being tho only female-in Big Bay, I, with my boat’s crew, 1 took her to Martin’s Bay, where she is at present staying with a settler by the name of Mackenzie. She intends p.ro-., ceeding by the . steamship, Ma,ori to Dunedin. It would bo a great charity to help her, as she is perfectly destitute. I have to inform you that two of the settlers who accompanied me from Martin’s Bay to Big Bay wanted to dispose of the effects of the deceased. I had some trouble to stop them.. However, the houses are locked up, and everything secured, awaiting instructions from you how further to proceed in the matter. There are throe men'at Big Bay who have been' very attentive, I have lost a great

deal of time over'the disaster. The men ought to be rewarded for their trouble. They cannot afford to lose much time,-'M' they are making very little when they are at 1 work. I forward you a statement given to ;me by the Big Bay have, &c, ' " ' • ,'" ' "T.F.BHENOHLBY. ' " Big-Bay,"Juno 18, 1875.' "Sir, —On the evening of Thursday, the 13th instant, I went for the purpose of bird hunting along the beach from Big" Bay to the north. When I had proceeded about six miles I came upon'the following, viz,. the fly of a tent, which'

I knew, a blanked, and a tent, and the dead body of a man whom I did not recognise. I immediately returned to Big Bay and informed Mr. Green and mate, and next morning at daylight wo threo then started for the place, and on : arriving at the spot found two more bodies. The first found was that of Andrew H. Williamson, of this place, and the other a boy of the name of James Yell, also of this place! We shifted all the bodies above highwater mark, and covered them with blankets, tarpaulins, &c, aud finding.no more we,then returned to the camp. Knowing that a boat left here (Big Bay) on the morning of the 26th May, for Jackson's Bay, with the following men on board :—Andrew H. Williamson, coxswain, Jeremia Yell and son, James Yell, a boy of ten years of age, and John Gabriel, and having found the stranger whom we did not know, we did not know how many might have been on board the boat on their' returning home again from Jackson's Bay. So we proceeded to Martin's Bay settlement on Saturday, 15th June, and on arriving there reported to Captain Brenchley .the supposed wreck of the boat and the finding of the bodies. Captain Brenchley manned the pilotboat, and proceeded to James Town on Sunjday morning to inform the settlers, so that they, might render assistance to complete the search. The settlers all'volunteered to proceed with Captain Brenchley, but he considered five men would be quite enough along with the three men at Big Bay. I forward this to Captain Brenchley for enclosure to you, as it is a full report of what we saw arid did up .to the time of the arrival of Captain Brenchley and the search party from Martin's Bay.—We are, &c, " Hekhy I"isheb. "J. L. Gunn." ,' We" are informed that no valuables were found on any of the bodies, although the settlers at Big Bay state that Williamson had his watch on when he left' for Jackson's Bay, while Gabriel had some gold. : The bodies, of Yell and his son, Williamson and Gabriel, were buried together, while Branston was interred alone. Yell, as before stated, leaves a widow land four young- children, who are stated to be perfectly destitute; Gabriel .was also a" married .' man. His family are residing in Nova Scotia. ■ Williamson was a single man,' and it is stated Branston was also single. A fourth person is stated to have left Jackson's Bay with them—a German named C. Kroupti, of whom nothing has been seen. He is also stated to have left a wife and large family. It is supposed that when the boat left Jackson's* Bay on her return to Big Bay it was deeply laden with crowbars and other mining tools, which had been taken to Jackson's Bay for sharpening. '.'