Island Vessel Reported Missing

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 846, 14 December 1929, Page 1

Island Vessel Reported Missing

OVERDUE IN FIJIS MOTOR YACHT SEARCHING Fears are held for the safety of the auxiliary ketch Endeavour, trading in the Fiji islands. The vessel, which is owned by John Burns and Co., Ltd., is now four days overdue, according to advice received by the owners this morning. It is believed that her company included four white men and a number of natives. rpHE Endeavour left Suva nine days ago on her usual run to the island of Rotuma, a distance of about 500 miles. The trip ordinarily takes between tour and five days with a favouring trade wind. The ship is in command of Captain M. L. Singleton, of Tawera Road, Green Lane, Auckland. There are also on board a mate and an engineer, both Europeans, and a native crew of six or eight. The company’s Suva manager, Mr. J. H. H. Millett, is also believed to be on board. It is likely that the Endeavour carries a detachment of native residents of Rotuma returning to their island for the Christmas season. The company allows the islanders their passage as deck passengers, the natives being required to supply their own food for the trip. A later message this morning stated that no news had been received of the Endeavour’s whereabouts, and that the Fiji Government motor-yacht Pioneer had left today in search of the missing vessel. A sturdy ship, the Endeavour has enjoyed a long and useful career. She was built in Auckland in 1904 for Captain Taw, who used to trade on the coast between Auckland and Tauranga. Some years later she was acquired by the Portland Cement Company, Ltd., which employed her in cement carrying from Whangarei to this port. In 1925 the Endeavour was bought by John Burns and Co., Ltd., and after extensive overhaul was sent down to Fiji, where she has since operated. Previously reported lost in the islands, the schoone*- later made her appearance after battling with a storm which drove her miles off her course. A hurricane has been raging during the past week and the auxiliary schooner Helena was wrecked on the Tailevu coast, but without loss of life. The Endeavour is an auxiliary vessel of 76 tons, with a length of 74 feet, a beam of 21 feet and a draught of six feet. She is insured for £4,000. NINE LIVES LOST IN FIJI STORM HEAVILY DAMAGES PROPERTY WRECK OF A SCHOONER SUVA, Friday. As a result of the storms the auxiliary schooner Helena, owned by Terry and Son, is a total loss on the Tailevu coast. There were no casualties. Several hundred Indians were rescued from their marooned homes in the Rewa Valley, where seven persons are reported to have been drowned. Reports from Labasa state that the sugar mill buildings were much damaged and most of the private and business premises unroofed or blown down. The stocks will all be practically a total loss. There is a flood 12 miles inland. The barometer fell to 28.44 in. Relief funds have been opened. The banana losses will probably be 75 per cent, of the output for the next six months. A message received this afternoon says two natives were drowned off the coast of Taviuni.