THREE LIVES LOST

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 40

THREE LIVES LOST

AUCKLAND. Augu-t 2. A shocking drowning accident occun«d in the harbour to-night, when three men from the mi&eion steamer Southern Cro.-»> lost their iives. The victims were :— Tne chief steward (Mr T. Mealand), the chief engineer (Mr R. Rae), and v nathe buy named Jim AsL.-. A boat left the Southern Cro?s for the .shore this ewning. containing the chiet officer (Mr R. Houchen), the chief engineer (Mr Rae). the chiet .<-teward (Mr Mealand), and four native boys. All the officer.- m the boat had tlwir homes m Auckland. and after they had been put ashore the Melanesian boys were to have taken the boat back to the Southern C'roes. Thcweather wa- unsettled, and a strong squally soutli-we<t gale \va> blowing. Captain Sinker, of the Southern Cro? = . stated to a Herald reporter th.it the boat had gone only a very short distance fioin the Southern "Cross, and was ore* sing from the leeward to the windward side w hen a sudden squall struck her, and she overturned, and all the occupants of the boat were thrown into the water, where they struggled for some time. Three of the native boys and the chief officer eventually managed to take hold of the overturned boat; but the steward and the engineer, together with one of the native boys, failed to reach the boat, and as nothing has been since 6een of them there &eems to be very little doubt that they have been drowned. One of the nathes, however, managed to swim back to the Southern Cross after a very unpleasant experience, and was subsequently brought over to the Sailors' Home. The upturned boat, with the chief

T officer and the three natives clinging to it, •was blown some distance up the harbour, where, after drifting about for half an hour or co, it was seen by the master of the terry boat Albatross, and the native boys were rescued. They were taken to the Sailors' Home and attended to. The chief officer was found to be in a very weak ftate, and was attended to by Dr Murray. He -was naturally much upset at the occurrence, and his unpleasant experience had told upon him severely, though it is not thought that his condition is at all serious. The chief engineer was a recentlymarried man, whose Rome- was at Ponsonby. He had been on board the Southern Cross for about a year. Mr Mealand (the steward) was also manned, and his wife lives at Onehunga.