THE WRECK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 17 June 1907, Page 2

THE WRECK.

LATEST PARTICULARS

INTERESTING ACCOUNTS BY SURVIVORS. LOSS OF LIFE STILL USK?.OWH tluve ditvh —(lit' v"<"'k .if (!•• ili-l'al.',! Ki-t (Mm.' v,it!i. di-tics-■ii'i 1- .' I!''.'--If. ii:tit.: i.;t,ti(.l, t.liil .-.!.,-<.!..: ■ 'f, n.Vs-•J-:Y, IlliKO MS 10 (ho !!!» . Ihe I'lllamit,., mill lltf number o:' I'n alii its. it i:. iimnv years sitter such deep lei'iii'...,' in; biVl'l occasioned throughout Titr=)- I nt'-.i on accoma of :< caiamitv at M-ti, ; .if. vlv every (own ill the pruvinc,-huv-•t; Ih-.-i ri'j»i-i>vf.iloil amongst Hi., Impale onabletf tu publish (o-day will serve t.i allay the apprehension felt in many homes, but it is still impossible to procure an authentic list of the survivors and the lost. It would seem, judging from the narrative of Mr Lash, given below, that at. least thirty have now been accounted for. A mistake has been made somehow in the tally made by the survivors, for those taken off by the Rarawa were positive in their statements that onCy twenty-seven were Tirought ashore by the boat and raft. It can only be assumed that the party of four, of which Mr Lash was a member, and which left the beach encampment shortly after reaching the shore, hud not been taken into account by the second steward and others of the crew who were interviewed when rescued on Friday. We can only hope that the latest computation is the correct one, and that the reported 'loss of life has been correspondingly reduced. It would seem, however, that there are still five missing, inclusive of the captain, and the passengers, Forbes and Ross originally reported to have been drowned. Xo one seems (0 be able to state who the other missing passengers are, and there is still a possibility—(bough a remote one—that the number aboard may have been less than thirty-five.

FURTHER INTERVIEWS WITH THE SAILORS. Per Press Association. Auckland, June 10. Joseph Morris, A.8., whose station was at the raft, said, in an interview respecting the wreck of the Kin Ora, that the chief mate and himself were (lie last to lie picked up. "When the ship went down,'* he said, ''l went down with her, but the mate and 1 clung to a piece of wreckage. I heard the captain calling out 'Fetch the boat alongside.' Jle was (lien hanging on to the funnel, The boat went to him 1 think, but I did not see what they did. The raft came to our assistance, and we were taken oil. Everyone was more or less knocked about. When we gut on the raft.the ship had gone. Tile raft was afterwards taken in tow. There was no food or water on the raft. The chief engineer and myself were the last to be picked up. The settlers treated us very kindly. We had a hard job in getting to the Rarawa."

W. Dunning, a fireman, said, "We i were going full speed when she struck. I The shiii was rolling too heavily to get the boats out. It was pitch dark. There were four of us forward—a sailor named Forbes, a passenger of the same nam", another p'.ssmgor named Calvert, and myself. Forbes, liie passenger, had a life-belt. Tho captain and a pantry boy vvro hanging on to the funnel. When the funnel went over, the captain went with it. The screams of the boy were dreadful. Someone cried out, "She's going." Then one part of the ship went down, and we were all in the water. Forbes, the passenger, float"d about for a little time, then 1 heard him say, "tlnod-bvo, !'m done," ' euliM see file <:re'>o:ii.'a !.-.g we, < !V be. e ,; ,1,.. J,,,,] Oaf; fie' some tii.ie. ''Vro were \i o-'■o'-rd. Then we pi-ked up Seme" an! ■ liov liangiii!: to ihe fore and aft of the iniin hatch. Then we picked up lie bad a life-belt, but, could In! swv.i. If" was nearly dmi". Wo ! o.i" -ip with <ne rafl. and \,-M her in lov. 'I"-re weiv 11 on be,-. When daylight eiime. we picked a sandy spot anil about: ft.ls pulled over the surf. There were only men on the raft. We had no clothe- 1 , and it was very wet and cold. The chief engineer was on watch when the ship struck. He stood by the engines till the very last."

He added that it was too dangerous to bring the women and children off to the Rarawa. "Mr Baggstrom, the chief engineer, deserves great praise for the way he stood by the, women and children. He hurt his hack working to save others. He would not leave with us. preferring to stay behind till he had seen everyone taken away."

NEWS PROM KAWHIA. A PASSENGER'S NARRATIVE. On Saturday the Waitara MaiL icccived a special wire from KawM.i, which was issued in the form of an extra, as follows: A man just arrived from the scene of the wreck provides the following details:— There was a very heavy fog on Wednesday night, which did not clear, but got worse. The steamer went dead slow. De. Wolfe, first mate, was on duty on the bridge till midnight, and was relieved then by the second officer, Robinson, who was on watch when the vessel struck. One of the two lifeboats wag smashed' on the rock. Tiie captain showed greit coolness and ordered coffeeShortly after, Engineer Baggs,trom came on the bridge and announced that the vessel was making water. Everybody had been aroused by the impact and some wore thrown'out of their bunks. Lifebelts were handed round and the second boat was got ready for the women and children. It went on under the chief officer. '' Before the boat got far the Kia bra ■ shipped oIT the reef and went down | stern first. • The suction nearly drew, the boat in.

The male passengers and the crew jumped into the water and the raft previously lnt loose floated off. Miny got on it and the others clung to loose wreckage. The boat landed at Nukitlia!:ari, and the riL- floated six miles lower down and came ashore at Mvrnganiann stream.

Forbes, Ross and Blacklock were nc er seen again-

Passenger Kavnnngh was picked up two hours afterwards on a ling of chaff. This man. reported lame, vlisolayod more than ordinary courage am! coolness, and did "rent M'ork in gef.fbe women and children safely away. One man 'and hir. leg broken, and was picked ill> by the hoid. Kneinecr Baggsi rom was also hurt considerably, but set the fractured linih. The survivors of tiie boat sail:; " Home, Sweet Home" and other songs, the stewardess, Miss KelUtr, iiispirin.ir confidence liy asking them to sing. When she landed on <ihe beach she hrokdown completely. The hoat did not | ranch shore '■ill daylight. The nig)".. '. wv , was i-ent So M'-'rc: na. ami ■ | Mc.svs Shearer (settler), Wi'lisur. Lane j a iii' Roach, packed on six horses 1 h> ds of clo;!.i:ig and tucker. Mr Rose I Jl'., I'onvaidcd a special nicssoue.er to r-'awhia. The women and children receive: kind ii..toii(Urn at Shearer's. There will be some dillieuliy in gelting them to Kawhia. The trick Ik had, and a high hill must be crossed. It is not expected the survivors will reach here for some time. Some have walked to Marokapa on the way here. They are in a ilclapidated condition Willi hardly any clothes. The survivors speak highly of the conduct of all on hoard. It Is supposed the throe doomed men were caught in the rigging. The sea on' the rock is very deep, and there is no trace of the Kia Ora.

Magnus Forbes had large interests here. Flags nre (lying liulf-mnw and business is practically suspended. No bodies have been recovered. SURVIVOR, REACHES WAITA.IM. A CM API 11(! STORY. ACCOUNTS FOR THIRTY SAYEII. Tlie Ivolahi (Mr J. Williamson), which hailed the Rarawa at the scene of the wreck on Friday forenoon, with a survivor front the wreck aboard, arrived i

passenger proved to be Mr W. Lash, of j Uawera, and to the Wsitura Mail he supiilied the following narrative of the distiller:— Tilt; first intimation I had of auyilhing wrong was THE CRASH. 1 lcil been asleep in tiie saloon and the vi'.ivilion seat us from one side to the oi Iff. The steward came down and told in ii.it. to be alarmed, there was nothing COFFEE WAS MADE for the ladies, and no took our time in 1 iliv.v-iag. ,;iist as we -r rteil io ieave the saloon, the wafer commenced to tome in at the port hides :,nti we matte for the upper d-ck, where the captain w.s. We saw the stem of the vessel sink slowly, ami the captain tueii gave orders for the JiOATS ..VXD RAFT to be manned. Only one boat, in which .the ladies were placed, was got out, one lite-boat being stove in when the vessel struck. The male passengers and crew then gathered in the fore part of the vessel. The raft had been cut adrift, but did not float. Meanwhile the vessel was RAPIDLY SINKING. We all had lifebelts,, .which we obtained from our berths. We stood in tho fore part of the vessel for about a quarter of an hour, practically helpless, then all of a sudden the vessel slid off the rock and

WENT DOWN STERN FIRST. We were all precipitated into the water, and it was every man for himself. i saw the steward on the raft, and swam for it myself. I was the second one to reach it. We started picking up one or two round about, and presently we had eleven on board. We saw nothing of the captain, and our contingent consisted of the second mate, the chief engineer, the cook, other members of the crew, Messrs Partridge (Eftham), Barraclough and myself (Uawera). We kept in view of the boat with the ladies, they having a light to guide us, and with the assistance of oars we presently made our way to ,(hem. They gave us a line, and we hung together until daylight. The fog did not clear up till about 7 a.m., and when it jdid we made for the shore. There was a big swell, and it was a hard task for us on .i|!i» raft to hang on. Just before we got into the breakers, the line was cut, and the waves carried us to -shore. We were NUMBED WITH THE COLD, having been in wet clothes for five hours- Naturally we were very glad to reach terra iirma and were also glad to see the lifeboat ride the waves safely and reach the sanity .beach. The place we landed was in a bay, the wrecked vessel lying to the north and on the land side woro scrub-covered hills. When the boat landed we found it had MORE OCCUPANTS

than we thought. There were on hoard Mr and Mrs Oavanagh (Kawhia), Mr and Mrs Mcintosh and children (Inglewood), Mrs Cox, Maku, the Maori boy, the stewardess, chief ofliccr De Wolfe, four seamen, two firemen, and the pantry "boy. There were also two passengers whose names I did not know. This, with the eleven on our raft, accounts for 31. (Mr Lash's list only shows 30 alleged to have reached shore)'. Some of the party totted up the number anil the steward reckoned there were SIX DROWNED.

After discussing the situation for a little while, !the engineer and De Wolfe slnrted for assistance. We (that is, myself, Harraelongh and two other?) decided to follow them. We found a track up the hill-side, and after going part, of the distance we picked up the Iwo who had started before us. \A e walked together six miles on a bridle track. It was very rough, but at 11.15 a.m. (on Thursday') we struck Mr Malcolm Shearer's place. Wo found him bush-falling and we coo-ecd to him. He e.-iine, and havintr told our storv he offered us all Ihe hospitality possible, lie sent one of his hands with a nolo to

■ bi.'.i'v jia ,'ied iVoni there provisions on on iiae'.-Vir-e.. were sent to the survivthing to cat, four of us went on to Murakopi. Thin was seven miles from Mr Shearer's place, ami it was a very

HARD JOI'RNEY. We arrived at the end at 3.30 on Thursday. We got accommodation, and picked up M" Williamson, who offered us a passage U> Waitura, 1 was the only one who accepted the offer,, the others going to Kawhia by road. The Kotalii left Marakopa at 11.30 a.m. on Friday, and at 1 p.m. spoke the Rarawa. Wo saw the vessel's surf boat leaving for the shore, and also spoke the bigger vessel, but as we could do nothing we proceeded on our journey. We passed close to the scene of the wreck, but could see nothing of the

BOOMED KJA ORA. The sea last night (Friday) was very rough, and the little* Kotalii did not make the Breakwater, which we went for shelter, until 10.30 p.m. We let'l there for Waitara this morning ami landed at 10.30 a.m. 1 was very thankful to reach civilisation again. Supplementing the remarks relative to. the situation at the time of striking, Mr Lash says there was NO EXCITEMENT when the life-boat was launched. Tin* ladies ami children took their places under the direction of the captain. 1 believe (said Mr Lash) the men in the boat were picked up afterwards. Mr Kavanagh was picked up Moating on a bag of chali'. There is no doubt iiad the sea been rough almost all on board would have been drowned. Mr Partridge broke his leg through being thrown out of his bunk. We picked him up with Baggstroui and -iiioth-r hanging on lo a piece of wreckage. The stewardess wrapped her petticoat round k the injured man on reaching the >]v<r: j Mr Williamson, of the Kotalii, Hates tint he had word of the disaster on I Thursday night, and went down next morning. He hung about the scene of die wreck, but owing to the rough state of the sea was unable to render any assistance to those on the beach. The'spot where the. vessel struck stands six feet j out of high water, It in ncverthcles a dangerous place. > g i ..',£(*« | THE SURVIVORS. Mr Lush's story will relievo the anx- , lef.v felt in Eltliam for the safety of -Mr T. Partridge, who is a resident of that (own, and about whose safety there was some cause for doubt. Maku Rangihipoki, a native Ibov from Noriranby, is also now accounted for. His people had been grcaily distressed, as if, appears Maku went awav with Mr r-orbes without the consent of his miarui a ns. ° THE CAPTAIN'S EXD. I -aver accounts seem to ,how thai -he CiiMiam, after even-body had I'ft tin-ve.-scl, which sank under !iim, made a strong attempt to save his own life. N.inc of the sailors aver tliey heard him '■'"'■'•K loudly for l„. i|>; am , ,-,,, 1)0 ,, ( . «'.i- rowed in ;be direction whence the calls came- They suddenly ceased, how- '"■"•■ ami Captain Rlaeklock. who had |»'obalily abandoned his life-belt in order lo su-nn to the boat, either became exhausted and sank.or mayhap was caught m the sinking rigging and dragged down to Ins doom.

V: : 'am;i;es' dkatii. -Wireaian uame'd A\. 1>.,,„,i 1U? sup- ■'_;"•■' (lie following account of Mr I'i'rhes' death. Donning stales that after tie. vessel sank, he and Forbes, a seaman, Magnus |.\, r ;be;s (passenger) a n.l anotner were swimming about togcihor. All made, in the direction of :.■" llure showing the mate's boat, lorbes, tlie passenger, after swimming strongly for a time, became exhausted, said "Hood-bye" to his companions, and sank lo rise no more. Dunning' and Forbes (the seaman) continued to swim towards the boat, which they reached in an exhausted condition, having been an hour In the water.

Per Press Association. Auckland, June 15. The Knmwft arrived lit Onchunga this morning with nine of the survivors of the Kia Ora wreck.

Nothing dellnite was obtained as to the actual number drowned.

| The second steward says there were on board 1!) officers, and crew and 13 adult passengers and three children. The children anil the whole of the ship's company, except the captain, were saved. With the 27 saved and three known to be drowned, there are several adult, passengers still unaccounted for. One of thcsfirew said he heard Cnpt. Blarklock call out for a boat to come to him. This was aihout, a quarter of an hour after tlie wreck. Captain lllacklock was then swimming, and had evidently abandoned his lifebelt in an ef-

lor:- Co reach the 1.0. it. lie was not seen later.

SURVIVORS AT KAWUIA. Pur Press Association. Auckland, June 15. A telegram from Kawliia at 12.15 today stales that three survivors—Pratt, liirraclough ami Henderson—have just urriwd here in a sorry plight. With ilie exception of these and Che nine men taken aboard Che KaiMwa, th.' other survivors arc still on the beach. I lis Worship the Mayor has received the following telegram from Dunediu: "Shipwreck Relief Society willing to assist .survivors wreck Kin lira. Kind° ly wire me what assistance required."— Grace, secretary."