THE ALTMORE WRECK. NARRATIVE OF A PASSENGER A ROUGH EXPERIENCE. Auckland, June 15.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 378, 19 June 1889, Page 4

THE ALTMORE WRECK. NARRATIVE OF A PASSENGER A ROUGH EXPERIENCE. Auckland, June 15.

The steamer JMawhera yesterday had amongst her passengers from Fiji, iVJr \V. D. Robb, wife, and live children, who were the passengers on board the ill-fated ship Altmore, wrecked several weeks ago on the Yasawaa portion of the Fiji Group, while bound from S\dney to San Francisco with coal. Mr Robb, who joined the Miwhera at Suva, gave a Star representative an interesting account of the wreck and his subsequent experiences afloat for nearly a week in an open boat, with a number of the crew, endeavouring to reach the Ba River, Viti Levu, the nearest point from whence assistance could be obtained for the rest of the ship's company.

THE FATAL CORAL REEF. j The Altmore, which was a fine new steel four-masted ship of 1,716 tons, owned in Glasgow, and only on her second voyage, sailed from Sydney for San Francisco, with 2,823 tons coal, on the Bth of April, in charge of Captain W. G. Weeles, and according to Mr Robb's narrative, light and variable -winds were experienced till the Yasawas Islands, to tho westwaid of Viti Levu, were sighted on 22nd April. All that day the good ship made her way along the westward of the group, at the l ate of about 6 knots, with a S.E. breeze, but tho master appears to have kept closer inshore than he would have done if 113 had been better acquainted with the outlying Fiji coral islands. When Mr Robb, whoso wife and family and self composed the passenger lisb of the ship, left the deck shortly after midnight, in the early morning of the 23rd the clear night showed plainly a small, lowlying, reef-encircled island about five miles away to the east, which was afterwards found to be Viwa. Between the ship and the island the sea was broken in many localities, showing the existence of coral patches and reefs, which in this vicinity ai-e stated to be very frequent and treacherous. The captain was on deck after midnight. Just about half pasfc twelve a.m. all below were wakened by a sudden crash, and hurrying on deck it was found that the ship had struck on a coral reef, and was hard and fast on the rocks, drawing about 30 feet aft and 15 feet for'ard. The vessel had evidently wedged herself in tightly in a narrow channel between two coral patches, and remained perfectly upright. Her forefoot was found to have been smashed in, and her bottom injured, and she at once started making water in the fore water-tight compartments. The sails having been brailed up, a kedge was run out aft to try and heave her off, but without effect.

A BOAT FOR THE SHORE. In about an hour the wind freshened, the vessel began to bump heavily, and the hea\y spars above threatened every minute to come crashing down on deck. Water was also found in the main hold. The sea rose a little, and all that could be seen was white lines of foaming breakers all around, and high land some miles off beyond the low land of Viwa. All remained by the ship till 9 a.m., when the lifeboat was despatched to the shore of Viwa, which was seen to be clothed with cocoanut&, in charge of the second mate, with four seamen and Mr Robb on board, to ascertain the practicability of effecting a landing. They rowed round the encircling reef, which was mostly covered, but marked by great lines of surf, for five miles in a southerly direction without finding an opening, and at last they decided to take their chance in the surf and allow themselves to be carried over the reef by the breakers. This was successfully done, and when inside the barrier they rowed for a patch of sandy beach. About a dozen natives, men, women and children, appeared on the beach, and one of them advauced into the water as if to try and drag the boat up on shore and assist the occupants to land. However, the mate, seeing that the man held in his hand what he took to be a spear, and fearing that the others were also armed and hostile — which it was afterwards found they were not — decided not to make a landing, evidently fearing that he and the rest should, as one ot the sailors expressed it, be "knocked on the head and scoffed." So the boat left again for the ship, crossing the reef at a spot where it was covered, shipping a very heavy sea in doing so, and was followed for the whole of the five-mile row back along the reef by two of the natives on the beach, who kept hailing her and gesticulating all the way.

THE SHIP ABANDONED. When some two miles off the ship the lifeboat was met by the captain's gig, containing the captain, first mate and several seamen, and they reported that another boat with the boatswain and the remainder of the crew, eleven in number, had left some time before for the island. The ship was thus abandoned, and the two boats made for the shore. On reaching land at a point further down the coast they were astonished to find the boatswain and his crew running wildly about the beach mad drunk, amongst a crowd of natives. They had evidently broken into the epirit - room on board before leaving the ship and taken a large quantity of liquor ashore with them. Six of the men were induced to return to their boat, but the boatswain and the rest remained on shore howling drunk. Fearing that a disturbance might take place between the sailors and the natives, the three boats anchored near the shore — the lee side — for the night. At daylight next morning the three boats left for the ship to endeavour to obtain some provision, but the wind having risen there ■was a very heavy &ea on, the great waves breaking completely over the Altmore, and it was found impossible to board her, for no boat could live alongside. The vessel seemed to be in much the same position as when left.

A START FOR LEVUKA. The captain then decided to despatch the lifeboat with the second mate, the passengers, and four seamen to Levuka, which was estimated to be about 70 miles away, for aid for the rest, and to bring on a steamerif possible to save what could be obtained from the wreck. Accordingly at 8 a.m. on the 24th the boat left, equipped with a compass and a chart of the South Pacific, but badly provisioned, all the food on board for the twelve occupants being a bag of hard biscuits, three small tins of preserved meat, with two breakers of water. After a hard pull of 18 miles under a scorching &un they landed at 5.30 p.m., on the island of Waya, as the weather looked threatening. Ifa was found that very strong currents ran amongst the innumerable reefs and coral patches, setting the boat on very strongly to the rocks. A quantity of cocoanuts were found ready gathered on shore, although no natives were to be seen about, so the welcome fruit was promptly appropriated by the mariner?, who, as a salve to their consciences, considerately left a couple of fowls which they had brought from the ship tied up to where the nuts should have been, $9 a sort of gentle surprise for the

dark-skinned inhabitants of Waya. At 2. 30 a.m., next morning they left again and pulled away for Viti Levu till 3 p.m., again under a burning sun, the hard work, " tu g!?i n £ a k tne weary oar," completely exhausting the six men.

AN ANXIOUS NIGHT. A strong breeze springing up headed the hctle craft for fchoir destination, but at dark they hove to, owing to the number of treacherous reefs in the vicinity. They were then about seven miles off land. At about 8 p.m. they drifted on to a reef'and were bumped about by the surf for about an hour, expecting the boat to go to pieces every minute, and themselves to furnish a meal for the hungry sharks. After a terrible time being washed about on the reef, the boat at last floated clear, little damaged, but owing to the want of an anchor was in danger ot drifting on to another coral patch, when the mate rigged up a " jury " anchor out of a number of carpenter's tools on board ,and this luckily held. All passed a very anxious night, expecting the anchor to drag and the sea to s>et them again on the reefs, but fortunately all went well. At daylight next morning they found they were completely locked in by coral reef", great lines of surf stretching all around. They threaded their way along through narrow channels scarcely the width of the boat, and after having to anchor again for some time they made deep water, and soon reached the Viti Levu coast.

SHORT OF PROVISIONS. In the evening they landed on* a low marshy flat — afterwards found to bo three miles south of the Ba River— to obtain water, but none could be found. Leaving again they pulled along the coast northwards, and then anchored close to the nioubh of the Ba River, unknown ! to them at the time, as the locality was very low and the embouchw half-hidden by mangrove?. On Saturday, April 27th sail was set and the boat stood away from a point of high land some three miles north, ; where they expected to n'nd water, as their supply was just done. Their provisions also were giving out, as they had now nothing but a portion of the biscuits left to last them until help was reached. In a short time they landed and met a number of natives, who took one of their water-kegs to a spring abnufc a mile away and replenished it. Leaving again, they spoke at 8 a.m. a native cutter called the Driloa, bound for Malaki Island from the Ba River Sugarmills, with one white passenger on board, who supplied them with some warm refreshments and gave them considerable information reCTardingshoalsand reefsinbhe vicinity, • and told them they had still 75 miles to go to reach Levuka. In the evening they landed at a cocoanut grove some thirty miles further along the coast, and after adding to their scanty store of eatables, anchored off shore for the night.

PICKED UP BY A STEAMER. On Sunday, the 29th, the boat left again and ran along the coast before a light breeze, which gradually increased to a strong gale, blowing from the north, with torrents of rain. They were in rather an unenviable condition when the welcome sight of a small steamer bearing down on their bows drew their attention. On hoisting the Union Jack the signal was returned by the steamer, which shaped her course so as to pick them up, and at half- past eight they were safe on board her, enjoying a luxurious warm breakfast. The vessel was the Colonial Sugar Refining Co.'s paddlesteamer Rarawai, Captain Morton, bound, from Levuka to the Ba River. The locality of their rescuewasoff theislandof Malaki,on the northern coast of Vifci Levu. They had travelled some 150 miles since leaving the wreck, and after being at sea for five days and nights in a small open boat, the change to the steamer was very welcome. Captain Morton did all he could to make them comfortable. He informed them that they were still some 80 miles from Levuka, and a« he was goiug to the Ba he would tak9 them there, where they might be able to procure a steamer to proceed to the wreak. The Ba River sugar mills, ten miles up the river, were reached that evening, and the passengers were very kindly accommodated by Mr Lindberg, storekeeper, and bis wife.

THE WRECK RE- VISITED. The Rarawai was chartered by Mr East&ate, stipendiary maeistrate of the Ba province, to proceed to the wreck, and leaving on Monday, with Mr Robb and the mate on board, she reached Viwa on May Ist, expecting to find the other boats there. To'their surprise there was no sign of either boats or men. They were told by the natives of the island that a few days before the boatswain's boat had left for Levuka with two natives as pilots, and that the captain's boat had been picked up by a steamer off the island the previous day. The steamer then proceeded on to the wreck to try and save the sails, gear, etc., and Mr Robb's luggage. A lot ot the gear, etc., was got out of her, bub only a small portion of the luggage was recovered. The salvage was conveyed off to the steamer by boats, several native canoes and a small native cutter. The Rarawai during her stay there met with very heavy weather, and for three days she was continually dragging her anchors and steaming up to them to prevent drifting on the rocks. When she left eventually on the Bth ulb. for the Ba the ship was settling down and fast breaking up. Her back was broken, her decks breaking up, and the forward deck-houses and seamen's quarters, of steel had been swept away. Her deck was under waoer all excepting her poop. Her fforu r masts were still standing, but were sprung #

DROWNING OF THE FIRST MATE. On the Rarawai arriving 1 at Suva, via Ba, it was tound that the captain and his men had been rescued by the little steamer Midge, bound from Robumah to Levuka, the day before the Rarawai reached Viwa. It was also ascertained that the first mate had been drowned the same day while going out to the ship in the boat from the shore for provisions. The captain was on shore at the time. The boat, it seems, was capsized by a great sea in crossing the reef, and smashed to pieces, the officer being drowned, while the men were in the water fully half-an-hour, clinging to bits of the wreckage, before they were rescued by the Midge, which was ]ying-by in the vicinity. The steamer took the captain and men on to Levuka. Neither of the two boats had arrived there when the Midge reached Levuka, bu!> they turned out afterwards to be all safe, the boatswain's boat eventually reaching Levuka all right. Soon afterwards the whole of the crew and passengers met at Suva.

CAPTAIN'S CERTIFICATE SUSPENDED. The enquiry hold at Suva by the Marine Board into the lo3s of the Altmore, resulted in the rather severe decision that Captain Weeles's certificate would be suspended for two years, for gross carelessness in navigation.

Mrs Voix : "My husband has a magnificent voice, and ifc supports our whole family." Mrs Caller ; " A tenor singer, Ipresume?" Mrs Voix: "No, he calls oub carriage numbers at the fcheafcre."