WALLAROO DISASTER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 7, 9 January 1904, Page 3

WALLAROO DISASTER.

I'AHTIOIiI.AHS OF THE ACCIDENT. HEROIC RESCUERS. SYDNEY, .lan. 8. The explosion oil 11.M.5. Wallaroo occuriul when the \essel was klioiiit two l.i...|V{r. I miles en route to llo'lAirl. I Loir \\its in) Until report—i.'nly a sooikl a;; oi a boiler being 1 Mown oil'. Willi the rush of escaping .steam, l»«mT, it was nt. once apparent thiat something serious had occurred, av.il a parly oi anxious bluejackets a:i.1.l petty oilirer:; matde ii rlisil to /;el bek.w 1o help tileir males; imt i.l.e steam repulsed them. Then from uj) the hatchway men came rushing, scKttmin&t in agony. Clil.-l* Stoker (!. E. Iliil! was dieail fully !j,ui >it>■. 1 ailout 1 lace, and hltlndc.l. I'll his mi.tless- coi.d'ition l.e lu,U rushed through ti.v el.-room n.i,.l to the deck ai.kyve, u.ily to full, mud be died slUjrtly a'lterwards, 'Phe only man kilhd cu'trig'lit was Frank Mooie. Heroic el'iorts were made hy the omU'imi'i-ir.s stall', nmler I he' t'liiel Kiigiiuvr arad Lieutenant (Alasspole, out they were repeatedly driven buck. Struims of water were nourud into the stokehole, and inially enabled the i'artj U, enter it. Lieutenant Glass.ole was badly blisteiod bv the steam. As soo-u as po,-Kil/le a relief parly fifH below. 'Hi" stokehole was I'oiiikl to be lloo.aU to a depth of two feet by boiling water and in this the bLi.ly ui till' imiurtunatc man wusliCI.I from s-ido to side. Tlje corpse hwd practically been boikd. Two other men, C. 10. Ellis ami Wiliru-.l Cku.l, also got out oi ti.e .stokehole only to .succumb to tiifir injuries within a lew hoars.

Of those injuied (W. .J. Sandow Fivomas P.vtly, It. J. Atk . ilK ,; all stokers), Sasidow is in a serious eouJiuicn, but thy otlvr men are IMi/gresßing fawiuralljly.

It was loiinl c i ; , exuinming lb.. | boiler o« the port side l'orwand .t| lat . tl.v con.i: t.ifjtivii cl.aiii(l;er hind liuckJ.i l I'lfe'.'.t ill, tuii'j t'ha Ul.olo oil' the boiler stays had bven torn osit of jioaitiom. | M..U.S. J'aurajiya. a sister ship I was in company with the Wallaroo I at the time oi the accident, and sent a doctor and nursing stall a!'.A/ui\l ai.d stoud by till the Wallaroo resumed her voyage to Sydney .'.i a crippluj condition and at the ruduci.l .sjievd of six miles an hour. ADDITIONAL DETAILS. THRILLING EXPERIENCE OF THE INJURED. Received 8, 7.1.'i p.m. SYDNEY, Jan. 8. When the men who juiu|«.<J from the c!«k bolow ut tl'A. l first sign of the reachc.l the stake mile they l'olnnd tli. l In' ly of 11 j.- wti.fivr lying' in the bailing water on the floor. The worst of tlx 1 .steam bad escaped, but a single glar.ee sulliced to sluow that I'lve great boiler l,ad belciietl Its load of scalding ste.un and water outujv oil tij.; unroii'turiaies fwdiug the furrjices. Sea. bcots were til ./own down uwJ tb? refKuwH having 'dioimiifd these pU.IJ.4jJ into the l.ciiling water iioin which tliey qiiickly pulled Moore's Uu.ly. All t'l.j other stokers had lt.aiie their Ci/ai'pe or been I'escucd. Wlj.n it was oscei'tahiod tl.at all I.LiJ escupul or been taken out the t'iljinews stnt flushes of salt water lih.c.iyii tl'.o stokt-hole to cool it oil. Tijai a tl.'oroiig'li mfipeclioiv wus made and it was fouivJ the top of the coiiibiu.vion chancer liuid coilap:td, M>e contents of the boiler to r.,va)jo ii.'to the funiuve. Ti.e fjteam here actud as an injector, and forced the boiling water out into tit' stokehole, blowing the at.il pau with force up against u Ijjlki.'jad ,'x'venal feot away. It is yjrmisuJ the ash pan struck Moore, kiliii.' e ; him instantly. 'J'h« utoi.e----1.-oOJ was at once iilled with the oseuping steam ai.d bovHu-g water, and there was literully 110 escape lor t.!-.c lifcitt Wivo luipptiied to Us .nt that oiJ.l of the boiler. Tlivy were knocked down by tire steam into the water be-low, and only groat nerve and itardihuod permitted them to escape hy ways they knew so well from the imi'eritO'. The men at the other end of flie boiler were cnaiblod to scramble into comparative safety. Received 8, 7.50 p.m. A STOKER'S GRAPHIC NARRATIVE. SYDNEY, Jan. 8. Albert Darren, a stoker who escalxtJ with a staklul arm, in reply to g,ue.si;'iosis', ,'ilatvd : "There are four boilers in the sih'i.p, two lirtij at t1... fore Ci.iJ aul two at the after end.. 1 was working with live e.C.'.r.s alt, wihile foi'ward were tine mon who «vre killed aixl injuu-d. 1 cijn't tell how the iS-'ciik'nt hawxticU, as 1 heai'd no expk.'.vii.in. I'in ie was just a i.oik' a'i i/f steam blown oil ott the Uiilers, anid the next instutu a lush ot steain and lire along the l-aavge way. Stoker Pretty wasmore directly in the line of Are, and lie was blown from my side whale I was knocked backwards m.i I 'fell oror a bucket. 1 scrambled to' tive nearest bunker, ai.'d crcv'iiLi.y! inMide threw myself face downwards 011 live coal. It occurred to me that the steam would rise ajv.l by low down I WO.UIIJ escape, it was only a few secouds bvfore the steam was 'almost gone ; but after it came b-oilii'n'g wa-l»-r. I I-1../W from what had happened to us aft ti.'.it the iriifortiniiiate fellows in Li.. 1 lore stokohole were done fo'r. lly stepping on piece's oi coal I managed to get along the parage to the other stokehole, and !sjme of ti.v.' others managed to re'iU-'h cm deck ; but there were two who were lu.dly scakki.l. Forti.'i.'.iteIv pkiity 01' aid was available, amd they were rescued as soon as possible, though tl.vv were so bnlly injuro.l that tlvey dit-d r.'^ivt." lOxcept for t lie presence of the water, which was soon pumped out, Uve stokehole .'ihovvod 110 signs of the terrible tragedy. The Wallaroo was on her flret long steaming trial since her onwlraul, and the crew l.iui only recently arrived by the Diaidem. The Admiral at present is at Hobart, and was the recipient of a number of cables ami telegrams' oi condolence. The explosion occurred at ii o'clock 011 W1 thiesiday afternoon during a I'uU-iJpeed trial. A .MISREAD CODE SIGNAL. Roceivixl 9, 1.35 a.m. SYDNEY, Jan. 8. It is believed the mistake made over the Wallaroo's s-lg;nal was due to lack of acquuiii'tamce 011 the part of the lighthouse-keeper with a comparatively new code. THE NEWS IN ENGLAND. Received !), 1.1."> a.m. LONDON, .Tan. 8. There was intenso suspense felt nt Hevonport about the Wallaroo, until the nei.vs of .the miiiimi.std disaster arrived. The Premier, who is at Hokitika, has received the following message from the Governor :—"The Governor has teceivcd a cable from Iris Excellency the Admiral expressing his sincere thanks for the telegram of sympathy, which he will convey to "the officers and nisn of H.M.S. Watturoo. Tho q(final report is four killed ami three wounded,"