Broke Like Barrel CAPTAIN B. M. ALDWELL

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 239, 29 December 1927, Page 1

Broke Like Barrel

CAPTAIN B. M. ALDWELL

WRECK OF GREYCLIFFE

Captain Aldwell’s Evidence

By Cable. —Press Association. — Copyright. SYDNEY, Wednesday. r 3 inquest on the victims of the disaster in the Sydney Harbour on November 3, when the ferry steamer Greycliffe was sunk by the steamer Tahiti, was resumed to-day, but the hearing was adjourned until to-morrow;

’piE coroner said it was impossible to continue both the inquest and tie Judicial inquiries at once, and he adicated that if material witnesses from the Tahiti had not completed their evidence to-morrow he would tot allow them to leave Sydney. He tided that unless the Union Steam Ship Company gave an assurance that the Tahiti witnesses would be detained in Sydney he would issue sumttonses, and they would be detained legally.

The judicial inquiry was resumed Setore Mr. Justice Campbell and two assessors.

Captain B. M. Aldwell, of the Tahiti, taid the impact of the collision was tot felt on the Tahiti, but the Grey•iffe appeared to fall to pieces like a arrel. Referring to the speed of the essel, he said that up to Miller’s ?oint the Tahiti was doing four cats. Full speed was rung when massing Garden Island. After passes Gavden Island the Tahiti’s course * ss altered slightly to port, but just ,e fore reaching Garden Island the ™rse of the Tahiti had been altered o order to avoid a naval launch.

Ferry swung to port The Greycliffe was on a parallel ;°wse with the Tahiti after passing harden Island. He thought the ’Peeds of the Tahiti and Greycliffe * w * about the same. Just prior to ns collision ae estimated that the abiti was doing about seven and a- . knots. About two cable lengths •srnti a little to starboard. Counsel then asked Captain Aldwell “at the Greycliffe did then. J?itness said: “I then saw the Grey- —” Then for a moment wit•op appearet l to be on the point of -Apse. After resting he said he .. upset whenever he thought about collision. He then resumed, ie ,? as lo °king at the Greycliffe, lap. ?’ and Baw her swing to port S?„ bard - The p ilot said ’ “ Good • and immediately gave an order.

n„T h , e Greycliffe had swung over 'leas than four points. The “h ®* ve t * 1e following orders: ard aport,” “stop,” “starboard” * nd "full astern.” simJu Se ' Tere ®H given practically ’■hev*A neous 'y- Witness saw that to ,i,” er<l carried out. Witness added o» 6 r“ helmsman: “Put her hard

Howiv started to swing, but Sh. i. a • rst - Captain Aldwell said: but wh a Ways like that, slow to start, like « aea ahe gets going she swings ao,| .. Bau cer. A few more moments “toidea trouble would have been J* the Greycliffe could only

have squared up there would have been no collision.” STATEMENT TO POLICE Captain Aldwell said he heard the first officer order the Tahiti’s boats to be launched, but he saw plenty of other boats coming up. He thought the risk of the Tahiti’s boats overturning would ffdd to the confusion, so he decided not to launch them. The orders for the Tahiti to change over helm and stop the engines were all given within a minute of the collision, which it was impossible to avoid, as barely half a minute elapsed. It was only a matter of seconds. If the Greycliffe had not altered her course the Tahiti would have passed the ferry boat at a distance of approximately 100 ft. Counsel directed witness’s attention to a statement attributed to him on

reaching New Zealand, where he was represented to have said to the police that the Tahiti was travelling at a moderate speed, but I cannot say how many knots.”

Captain Aldwell, in reply, said he was very tired when the police hltervfewecf him in Wellington, and he was taken unawares.

He did not intend to tell them how many knots the Tahiti was travelling, Z he considered they would not unWhen he was interrogated by the Police in Wellington he had been navigating through fog for 36 hours continuously, and he was not in a fit state to make a statement.

TAHITI’S SWING TO PORT After cross-examination, Captain Aldwell, in reply to a question by Mr. tustice Campbell, as to the reasons that led to the Tahiti being swung to

port, said he thought that was the only thing to do to attempt to avoid the collision. It was hard to tell what the Greycliffe was going to do after she had swung the way she did. ... Witness said he had oft?” thought since that the Tahiti might have avoided the collision if she had kept straight ahead.

It would have been a narrow shave, but he thought sometimes they might have manage 4 it. But that, again, would have depended upon the course taken by the Greycliffe. Mr. Lawrence McMurrich, chief engineer of the Tahiti, said all the engines and appliances on the Tahiti were in good order. He was unable to give any estimates of speed. It was not possible in harbour to judge the speed of a ship from the speed of engines. On the day of the collision the Tahiti was working with two boilers out of commission. The engines were not warmed up by the time the collision occurred, and they would not have been working to their full capacity until the ship was two hours outside the heads. ANOTHER WITNESS

Roderick Macleod, quartermaster at the helm of the Tahiti when the collision occurred, said when he saw the Greycliffe he was steering for Shark Island. The Greycliffe was steering a parallel course, and about three minutes before the collision the Greycliffe altered her course to port about six or seven points. The Greycliffe was close under the Tahiti’s bows when he got the order for hard to starboard. The course of the ferry boat was so altered that she cut right across the course of the Tahiti. At the close of the day’s evidence, Mr. Justice Campbell offered no objection to an application by counsel that the Tahiti witnesses be allowed to leave with the vessel to-morrow.— A. and N.Z.