WREAK OF THE STEAMER SOUTH AUSTRALIAN.

Southland Times, Issue 656, 12 April 1867, Page 2

WREAK OF THE STEAMER SOUTH AUSTRALIAN.

(FrpmLftie! ," Otago I)aily Times/') TheAto&d steanta South Australian left Port , Chalmers for Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon ; the weather had re-, mained calm and clear here ; -andit was, therefore, with great surprise aswell as deep regret that the news of her having run ashore near. Goal Point, was., received, yesterday. The later, news, confirmed by some of the passengers; who returned overland to town, that the South Australian was a hopeless wreck, caused a t very general feeling of sympathy for Captain Hugh Mackie, who has so long been known as the commander of the; Gothenburg. The South; Australian had just been purchased and refitted by Messrs M'Meckan, Blackwood and Co. of- Melbourne, after long lying idle; at that port ; and Capt Mackie having been . chosen to command her, he was, we believe, heartily congratulated on his good fortune by his many friends here. We are told that £25,000 ■ is alow estimate of the fair- value of the South Australian, as she was when she left Port Chalmers on Tuesday. She has always been famed as probably the swiftest steamer in southern waters ; . and - t her new owners having spent fully .£BOOO in her refit, she was in most excellent condition throughout. Except her compasses !, We believe that that will be the substantial verdict, when an inquiry comes to be made as to her loss. Eut that point should not be too much discussed for the present. ' ...:■■ The first news of the wreck was a telegram from Tokbmairiro, to Messrs Koyse Mudie and Col j the agents of the steamer, which was dated at' noon:— ...,,-.. "- South Australian ashore four miles north Coal Point. Better send down small steamer at once. Sea calm. Passengers all safe. -Mr Edward Boyd, set- v tier, has brought news." . „ i "We received from our Tokomairiro cor-, respondent a substantially similar telegram dated 12.17. , , Mr E. B. Cargill received further confirmation of the safety. of the passengers, in a message from Mr P. Dillon Bell, also dated Tokoinairiro, about noon, and which stated—" All safe at Molyneux. Arranging to get them home." This referred°to relatives of Mr Cargill, who were passengers for Melbourne ; the list being — Mrs Kempthorne, Mrs F- inlay, Mrs Taylor, Mrs and Miss Cargill; and' two servants ; Messrs Kempthorne, Hay, Haines, Prince, J P. M'Kenzie, Burton, Thomson, F. D- Bell, C. Hoyt, Livesay, Bedgood; and 21 in the steerage. Messrs Bell, Hoyt and Livesay intended to land at the Bluff, for Invercargill. Mr Mudie, on receipt of the news, arranged to send the Geelong to the aid of the stranded vessel : and as a preparative, to unload all the cargo with which she was loaded at Port Chalmers, ready to start for the intermediate ports and Lyttelton. Mr Mudie as soon as possible started overland for Coal Point ; but near Green Island, he met Mr Charles Hoyt, j whose account induced him to turn back, and to go to the scene of the wreck by the Geelong. Mr Nutt, the chief engineer, with Messrs Kempthorne and M'Cracken, and two or three of the steerage passengers, arrived in town by. Hoyt and Chaplin's Tokomairiro coach at five o'clock ; and we have thus been enabled to compile the following imperfect account of the melancholy wreck of so fine a steamer :— The South Australian left her moorings at Port Chalmers, about twenty minutes after four o'clock ; and she was soon outside the Heads. The evening and early night were beautifully fine, and the sea was calm. Until about half-past seven o'clock, full speed was kept up, and the South Australian slipped ahead at the rate of fully twelve knots an hour. Prom one who was not a passenger, we learn that, before starting, Capt. Mackie had declared that as soon "as he had got a good clear Effing from Cape Saunders, he meant to run - his vessel " almost dead slow," as even then he should be at the Bluff by early morning. ___At... half-past seven, .being no" doubt well off Cape Saunders, Capt; Mackie seems to have commenced to carry out his intention; for from half-past seven until a quarter after nine, the engines were working half-speed. Then, they were further slowed ; and until the steamer struck— which w&b about half-past ten o'clock — the engires were making, but twelve revolutions a minute, or equal to a speed of about five knots an hour. Even at that speed, she struck so heavily, that, as one of our informants states, she seemed "literally to knock her bottom in:" which, as iicts proved, she must, in effect, have done. Capt. Mackie, who had been on deck for some lime, had entered the engine room— he aad spoken about everything working "so nicely" — he had said that the Bluff vfouldbe made before daylight, and he was; on the companion, just leaving the engine room when the crash came. The blof, we have been told, sent a terrific shock through • the ship, and it seemed to; have been struck within the line of tie engine-room compartment. The instant act of the chief engineer was to step the engines, but this was instantly fallowed by an order from the captain to "Go ahead." The doomed vessel forged ahead somewhat, but the crashing ripping of the bottom plates told uqinistakeably that she was but tearing her way more firmly on to a bed of rocfe, and the engines were again stbppecj. It was speedily the opinion of those In board who realised the full effects pf what had happened, that had the Soath Australian been driven ahead off tbe rocks she must have foundered withil half an hour, and then few on board/would have been saved. All our present information is from those j who would not be likely to note keenly weather or water appearances, but it i/ to the effect that for some time befor<3 the ship struck the weather had been g/tting thick, and that not until after she iafl struck; yt& there anything IM ft

"break" to be seen on the water, nor was there what could be called a heavy swell. The one was seen and the other was felt, when the ship was stuck, and •yet heaving and terribly rolling on the rocks lii ten minutes from first striking the water that was rushing into the engine room was over the cylinders ; in from twenty minutes to half an Hour, it was s , over the crank shaft ; in half an Hour the engine-room was filled. ' .The'tiight was now very dark, ' and'th'e ship was rolling heavily- on the reef. Some of the ladies, who were passengers, were at firsts dreadfully alarmed; but they soon became calm, and' there Svas., nothing Jike_ panic _or .real disorder\on. board.; , There were five boats, and they, were all safely got out,- but not without the lapse of a considerable time. , The first, boat out was one of the lifeboats.:, No woman : was assisted : into it. The Jboafc 1 wasjheavily. freigh^ct with .cres: andpassengers ; and Mr.Nutt found him-, self in command of her. The orders were that all the boats should lie alongside, as near as was. consistent with safety, and this, was done. -The women were-got-into the. second and third boats, we. ber lieve; the fourth was filled with firemen and crew ; and the fifth was kept along-' side for some time, ready for Captain Mackie and the officers and men : who remained with him. .. All the boats were kept near the ship until about half-past one o'clock, shortly before which time, Mr Mullin, the secpndmate, was put on board the life-boat in which Mr Nutt was, and he took command of her. Mr Mullin brought .with, him a compass. There were in all 25 persons in this boat, with no food or water, and nothing in the way of clothes, but the ordinary dress . of each. About . half-past one, Mr Nutt hailed Captain Mackie, and proposed than an attempt should be made to reach the Molyneux, in the hope that a small steamer (the Taiaroa) might be found there, and assis-,! tance thus secured: Capt. Mackie assen- i ted; but he suggested that, for safety, a landing should, if possible, be effected round a small point which was dimly visible away northward, and some of the 25 persons be temporarily put ashore there. Capt. Mackie also suggested that the boat should 1 be kept about until daylight, so that this lightening of her might be effected. The life-boat then parted company. There seems no doubt that the officers believed that the rocks on which the steamer had struck were south of the Nuggets, instead of being some 15 miles northward of that point. Soon after daylight, a point; was seen ahead of the life-boat ; and after a wearying pull, the point was reached, which proved to be the Taieri Heads— and that river, not the Molyneux, was seen. , On a beach there, Mr Nutt, Mr Hoyt, and two other passengers landed; and after a while they found a boat and got up the river to the. Ferry, thinking to be the first to send assistance to the wreck. Some others of the passengers landed on the Taieri beach, and stated that they would make their way inland ; but . the crew, and a few of the passengers, resolved to stick by the life-boat, and to make the voyage on :tb Dunedin in her. Fortunately for them, the weather has remained calm. It was about twenty minutes after nine yesterday j morning, when the landing on the Taieri beach was effected. It is very probable, from the telegrams published above, that at daylight, Captain Mackie at once recognised the real position of the reef on which his vessel had been wrecked ; and that he directed the boats with the passengers to go southward to the Molyneux. The - second and third engineers are said to have been in charge of the life-boat into which most of the women were got. One of them did not reach the boat without an accident. She fell into the sea, but was almost^ instantly helped on board the boat. One of the firemen got a similar fall, and he was for a while in danger of being drowned. The rolling of the steamer, and the heavy breakers which frequently went over her, must have rendered it a most difficult task for all to reach the boats. No doubt, .the South Australian strnck on a reef about four miles north of Coal Point, which reef is very clearly shown • on some of the larger maps of the coast. The reef is, by rough measurement, about 44 miles southerly from Cape »Saunders, and 15 or 16 miles almost due north | of the Nuggets; the marks on land between which, it lies being Cook's Head and Coal Point. Capt. Tall, of the Tairoa, says that he has, from Nuggets Point, many times seen a break on the reef, at a point fully two miles from the coast line ; but at high tide there is from 12ft. to 16ft, of water over the greater portion of the reef. The opinions we have have heard as to the position of the wreck of the South Australian, place it fully three miles from the shore. Captain Mackie was so thoroughly acquainted with the Coast, that he must have been fearfully misled to have got his vessel where she now lies wrecked. We have heard it suggested that a probable explanation of the wreck is this:—A current sets northerly along the coast, and is at times very strong. If strong on Tuesday night, the slow rate at which the South Australian was steaming would make her extremely susceptible to the current; and if the compasses were sufficiently wrong to lead to the course of the vessel having anunsuspected inclination shoreward, there is an explanation of how the reef north of Coal Point was struck, when Capt. Mackie must have thought that he was considerably to the east, and at least a score of miles to the southward of it. It is satisfactory to know that, at present, there is no reason to fear that any life has been lost : and it iB to be hoped that, to-day, all the passengers and most of the crew will reach Dunedin. The South Australian had on board over £13,000 worth of gold— 2,l4ooz. shipped by the Bank of New Zealand, and l,138oz» by the TJuioa Bank of Australia, Mi tfirtti Meres that this fewl

been got into one of the boats before the life-boat in which he was left the neighborhood of the wreck. About 40 tons of general cargo, of no great value, represented Hhe : whole of -the ship's other freight. ' • \ Mr Nutt started in the G-eelong, last evening, for the wreck ; there being also "on "board" the Harbor" Toaster (with his boat and crew), Mr Mudie, and plenty of hands and material for getting as much as possible from the wreck.— There "canrbe" no doubt that the wreck will be formally abandoned and sold, before the G-eelong returns ; : but a fijood f deal lof ; passengers' luggage, and. many thing belonging to the ship, will in all probability be saved, shjould fair weather continue during torday. ....... 'A telegram was sent to the Bluff yesterday by Mj Brodrick, agent for the P.N.Z. and, A..E.M. Co., directinsr that the TararuaV bnher way from 1 the Bluff, Vhall call at ;the wreck. ,i;; ; ;\K ; ; - i ;.'.

I Erom the same source, of a later date, we have the fonowiag further particulars :— , vAt mid-day on Wednesday, when the., se4 began to mate, a clean breach over" r the poop, Capt. Mackie, with those of r the crew and .passengers who had remained by! her all night, to, the : number of eighteen or twenty, had effected a, landing- at an indifferent landing: place, directly opposite the . vessel ; but on lv Thursday morning, the chief officer, Mr, Regnart, with seamen and stewards, returned to her tb recover any articles that were portable, and he boarded the G:eelong when she arrived. At this time thejsea was ; quite smooth, and the weather calm, and the vessel being" perfectly accessible, the work of removing the cabin furniture . and such .fittings as could be conveniently lowered over the side, was at once commenced by the few of the crew on board, by the GeelongV crew, and the TBtarbbr- hands, and by the few passengers '■;' •' who were r otherwise visitors to: the scene ; of the<wreck. . Capt. M'ELinnon and Mr < Mudie at the same time were safely , landed at the temporary camping-place on shore, and brought off to the Geelong the gold, which had been saved and re- ■ tamed in Capt. Mackie's personal custody., . The condition of the vessel, when visited presented a sad contract to that' in which ' she had left Port Chalmers, arid it needed ."" but very slight examination to convince any one that all chance of her ever again being made sea-worthy was at an end. ... She lay with a considerable list to the portrside, her head pointing to the outer Nuggets, and her stern consequently shorewards. She was boarded, and the ; work of transhipment was carried on at at tlie starboard side, the" overhanging maintopmast and 1 gear making the port side more difficult of approach even at „ low water, and at high water in the afternoon the sea was usually flush withher deck, and. occasionally washing over her . bulwarks.' The mainmast had been 1 * shaken out of the perpendicular during the first twelve hours after she struck ; and on "Wednesday evening it broke a little above the height of the funnel,, and dropped over the side. It had apparently reached . the rock through , her bottom, and rose and fell like a steam-engine piston, as the vessel lifted with . the sea. Close to the mast/ and "from bulwark to bulwark, the deck had bulged up and slightly opened at some of the seams ; and this indication of her damage in the. centre increased while the visitors from the G-eelong were on board, but towards evening, the decb seemed again to have takenits ordinary M set." But the damage . done to her was most seriously represented by theconditionof the engine-room. It was full of water, and although the shafting seemed to be all right, the entablature of the strong engine frame was broken in four places abreast of each column,, which were naturally forced up out of their places by the immense pressure brought to bear upon : them, and though invisible, the sole-plate was, no doubt;,' also goner Thebulk-head of the boilerroom was likewise stove in, and the steam pipe sprung. 'That' this -part of the ship • should be the first to suffer, and to suffer the most, was explained by the soundings around. She was, in fact, sitting on a pivot of -rock as nearly amidships as possible, and upon that pivot she moved, not rising and falling so much as swerving like a compass-needle; and dismally the iron- work groaned arid creaked in fit accompaniment to this uneasy motion. The engines wefe oscillating engines, arid were ' constructed, as was ■.- the vessel, by . " John. Key, engineer and ship-builder, Kirkcaldy, 1864"— - at least : s6 read the record upon what was now the coffin -plate of the masterly' piece of i engine- work : buried below. The. soundings taken, along the length of the vessel when it was -three quarters flood, showed a depth of 18 feet at the stem, 19 feet at the forepart of the bridge, then 15 feet about three yards aft, and gradations of 10 feet 9 feet, and 8 feet to abreast of the mainmast, and 6| feet only abreast of the engine-room, 10 feet at the main hatchway, 14 and 13 feet between that and _ the mizeri-riggirig, 9 feet at that point, and 12 feet at the sterri. ; Externally all ' the damage to the hull that, was visible was the absence of the stern-post, with the rudder and propeller, all of which' had been completely broken off almost- im- ; mediately after, if not by, the first ; "bump " which she gave .upon the treacherous bottom. Otherwise the admirable contour of the vessel was unaffected, and the beauty of her form above the water line, as seen from the shore, made it difficult to suppose that she was so complete a wreck as an examination of her " vital parts " revealed.