FROM BUENOS AYRES TO MELBOURNE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 438, 18 January 1890, Page 5

FROM BUENOS AYRES TO MELBOURNE.

AN AUCKLANDER’S EXPERIENCE. FIVE MONTHS ON THE VOYAGE. LIVING ON MAIZE. Amongst the many who tried fresh fields and pastures new during the depression in 1888 was Mr Jas. G. Carr, who in company withMrH. Rotherham visited Buenos Ayres. Having left his wife and family in Auckland, Mr Carr decided to return here, and his experiences on the voyage home were such as seldom fall to the lot of passengers in these days of quick transit. Thinking that the narration ot thehardships suffered might inteiest our readers, one of our staff waited upon Mr Carr yesterday. Upon being informed what was wanted, Mr Carr s-aid : “ Well, 1 went to Rio Janeiro in October, 1888, and after a stay of two days pas>ed on to Buenos Ayres. I stayed there from November to July. I could make money, but as I did not think it was the kind of place to bring my wife and family to, I decided to return home to Auckland. At first I thought to go to England, and then come out direct, but hearing that the barque Contest was going straight to Melbourne I interviewed the master, Captain Walsh. He said that he expected to reach Melbourne in 40 days. I took my passage in I the Contest, and we lett Rosario on the 15th July, 1888. Instead of reaching Melbourne in 40 days we were 54 days before we got out of the river. They call that river the Purame, which signifies 4 good - fornothing, and it is well named. You see theie’s a bar where it joins the Rio de la Plata River, and we had to wait until there was enough water for us to cross it. VVe got away on the4bhSeptember,havingshippeda new steward at Buenos Ayres. VVe were soon out of provisions, and I don’t know what would have become of us had we not had a cargo oi maize. On the 29th of September we commenced to grind up this lor food, and rigged up a coffeemill for that purpose. VVe were then without flour, biscuits or any kind of bread. On October the 9th we passed the Cape of Good Hope. It was then beautiful weather, but the captain did not put in for stores. VV e had then to go 5 970 miles to reach land, and during the whole of that time until we sighted the Australian coast on the 10th of November we were living on this ground maize.

“ That must have become monotonous,” said our reporter feelingly. “ lb was, but the crew fared even worse than us in the cabin, for they had it dry, whereas we cooked the ground maize in fat and then had it tried. After a while all our fat was exhausted, and then the cook tried all sorts of experiments to make the maize palatable. It was cooked in paint oil, but we could not manage that. Then the cod-liver oil from the medicine chest was used, but that was not much better. The last thing we had mixed with the maize was a pot ot vassaline. Alter that we lived for a fortnight on ground maize and water. All our sugar and treacle had been used up long before, and we were all eager to get to land, I can assure you. What made matters worse was that we were almost out of firing. We chopped up all the spare wood we could find, and ultimately the fore royal yards and the skids of the boats were used for firewood, while the maize sac s were utilised to mend the sails. At length the captain decided to make for Albany, in the hope of falling in with a vessel and procuring stores. He experienced difficulty in making Albany, as he was a stranger on the Australian coast, and had no guide as to currents or headlands. The result was that we passed Albany without knowing; it, and then the captain decided ,to make for Adelaide, as he could nob go back against the strong head wind then blowing. Alter sail ing for one and a half days, the wind changed to the east, and we then altered the course to try and get to Albany again. On tbe Sunday prior to entering Albany we sighted a steamer at night. We had only one rocket and one blue light on board, and we fired these, but were mortified to see the steamer pass by without stopping. Next morning we saw a steamer, which proved to be tne s.s. Carthage, coming out from between two headlands. The captain made for that point, and it proved to be Albany. We were just four months getting from Rosario to Albany, We just got there in the nick ot time, for as we entered tbe port our pump? sucked in the tank, so that in another day we should also have been without water. I came on to Melbourne, in the Contest, and then crossed over to Auckland in thes,s.\Yai* hora, having been five months and eight or nine days upon the voyage.”