STARTLING EVENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 59, 27 July 1912, Page 5

STARTLING EVENT.

A SUBMARINE EXPLOSION. "BURST UP" OFF TERAWHITI. Christchureh, Thursday. A hitherto unrecorded but sensational experience of the Blackball Coal Company's collier Ngahcre last week may possibly throw some light on the phenomenon of the stranding of vast quantities of fish near Wellington. In conversation with a representative of the Christehurch Press, Captain D. H. Dillner, master of the Ngahere, stated that he had discharged a cargo of coal at Wellington, and sailed at 5 p.m. on July 17 for Greymouth. The collier was in ballast and "flying light," and Captain Dillner anchored in the harbor for the night.

She left next morning about noon, and when between Tom's Rock and Cape Terawhiti (the locality of the wreck of the Penguin), Captain Dillner and some of his officers and engineers were just about to sit down to dinner when they were considerably startled by a terrible report, the noise being like the firing of heavy artillery. The steamer reeled from the shock, and as she lurched over, Captain Dillner and his officers rushed on deck.

It was found that she had shipped a tremendous gea over her port quarter. A quantity of gear stowed on No. 4 hatch was washed away, and while the bulwarks appeared to be undamaged, four or five of the supporting stanchions had been bent with the force of the impact of tlie huge body of water. Captain Dillner said that he could onlv account for the remarkable occurrence by the idea that there had been some kind'of submarine explosion. Had the ship been deeply loaded he would not have taken any notice of her shipping a heavy sea, but at the time she was in light trim, and was running before the gale and the sea. The big wave, which bent the' stanchions, was the only one that came aboard, and after clearing Cook Strait the Ngahere had a «ood passage to Orevmouth. "

Captain Dillner added that he had had a somewhat similar experience near the same spot some years ago in the old Dingadee. On that occasion the vessel was steaming out of Wellington against a southerly gale, and bad just passed Sinclair Head, when she was suddenly lnleil high out of the water forward and came down again into the sea with tremendous violence. She was in light trim, and had only been taking heavy sprays on board, but her umisiiiiF experience resulted in considerable damage to the forward part of the ship, the repairs costing about £l5O.