WIMMERA TRAGEDY

Taranaki Daily News, 29 June 1918, Page 5

WIMMERA TRAGEDY

DEEDS OF HEROISM. A NONAGENARIAN'S UNSELFISHNESS. •MILITARY OFFICERS REFUSE SEATS; IN THE BOATS. A TRYING WALK FOR THE WOMEN SthiV IVORS .1

By Telegraph.—Press Association, Auckland, Last Night, The Star's Parenga correspondent states that the passengers and crew report many splendid instances of courage. Mrs. Robertson (a fully helped women and children with the scanty clothing available, and putting; on lifebelts. Then she walked to the upper deck and stood by, doing what she could till the steamer took its final plunge.

Mrs. Gould, aged 00, wished to stay on board to make room for some younger woman, saying Bhe had lived her life, and that younger women were more ÜBe. Later on she was taken off, tad throughout the hours on the water, and the trying tramp, over the hills to Wiahuehue with little clothing on and without boots, she and Mrs. Croft, wife of Captain Croft, of the Huddart Parker Co., did to keep up the spirits of the party. Colonel Graham and Captain Kells-re-fused to embark in the boats, and went down with the ship. The chief engineer walked off the Winunera as she sank, and was rescued by an already loaded boat. One lady, whose name is unknown, worked at the oars in the pull to the shore, her hands being badly blistered. The assistant purser had a trying time on the journey to Tahapua, over the rough country on horseback, with a Maori guide, to let us know of the disaster.

SURVIVORS' STATEMENTS. Auckland, June 28. The Star's Parenga correspondent wires: The Wimmera survivors state that the steamer was shattered by an explosion towards the stern, which completely wrecked the social hall and part of the bathing accommodation. The Wimmera settled quickly on an even keel.

The failure of the lights within two minutes made the work of leaving the, ship difficult. Within thirty minutes* she went down by the stern, carrying with her a considerable portion of the passengers and crew. Four boats were launched, one other being stove in and swamped. All the survivors at Parenga are well and in excellent spirits. Many instances of coolness and grit are told. The crew are enthusiastic about the splendid courage of the women and: children. A large number of the survivors will return to Auckland early tomorrow.

CENSORS' OBSTINACY. Wellington,. June,.2B- - -new of the fact that one paper was allowed to publish the logs-of theWimmera yesterday morning—the second time, it may be noted, that th&same paper has been permitted to publish news denied to anyone else—it is necessary to state that permission was positively refused by the censorship to the Press Association and various individual papers till, late yesterday. Although, repeated applications were made, and the facts' were known early the previous evening, permission was withheld till mid-day, and thea.it had to ba wrenched out of the censors.

LANDED AT MANGONUI. Auckland, Last Night. The Wimmera survivors landed at Mangonui are: T. N. Mole, Charles Hodder, T. G. Graham, F. Elliott, Alice Dunn, Ada Sayegh, L. Hennersen, J. Blockoro, W. J. Giblin, wife and two children, J. Forsyth, Mrs. and Miss Browning, T. Grimshaw, Miss Street, J. McCarthy, F. 0. Bond, Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Jones, E. Gamble, W. Brewis, R. Murdoch, B» Saville, H. Kennedy, J. Donaghy, P. M. Crewe, W. Roper, S. Yates, and one member of the crew whose name has not been ascertained.

OVER EIGHTY BAGS OF MAIL LOST. Auckland, Last Night. The steamer Clansman left Mangonui for Auckland with 125 survivors. She is due here at nine to-morrow. The steamer Waiotahi left Mangonui for Opua to coal and will make a further search. The Wimmera carried over eighty bags of mail for Australia, India, China, and South Africa. The mail included bags from centres outside Auckland. A meeting of citizens was held to-night to arrange for the reception of the survivors. A relief fund has been opened. It is believed that five of those whose names were published as passengers were not on the boat. So far as is ascertainable, twenty-nine are still missing. 27 STILL MISSING. Auckland, Last Night.

The additional names of the saved are: Hawkswood, assistant purser, and Miss J. Kenman. The name of the seaman included in the day message is S. Hawes. Included in the 125 on the Clansman are eight persona whose names aTe not known. The latest information is that twenty-seven are atill missing.

PASSENGERS FOR SYDNEY. Auckland, Yesterday. • Tha Wimmera, which left Auckland at l 6 a.m. on Tuesday, took the following ' passengers: ' Misses Greeiimoor, Sayegh, Browning, Whyte, Watson, Evans, Kinman; Mesdames Blencowp, Gould, Dunn, Wyllie, Browning, Tucker, S. Jones, Jones, Sedgheer, Croft; Messrs Kiernan, Bowerlng, Targuse, laddie, Hewitt, Hodder, Howson, Gordon, Mate, Graham, Jones, S. Jones, Tucker, Bradney, and 35 steerage. TOM BOWLINE BAY. Tom Bowline Bay lies six miles eastward of Hopper Point; it is the northern beach of the sandy neck which connects North Cape with the mainland. Whaler* have found a temporary anchorage hei'e, but it is very open and exposed. North Cape, which is hold, cliffy tableland, trends E.SE. 24 miles from one mile and. a quarter north-east of Tom Bowline Bay, and terminates in the highest part, over the pitch of the cape, at a height of 702 feet. A small islet; 240 feet high,

a ledge of voclcs, and /oul tends N.E. by E. from the islet hsfluHH mile, with a rock, only uncovered At water at its extremity. This extreme of the North lUantl is a sula, connected with the southern poraraMHH by a Bandy neck, 30 miles long, find six miles wide; a range of white hills, from 100 ft to 300 ft high, extefi&QlH nearly the whole length of the neck. The bays Within or south of the Northu|H Cape offer, anchorage in five to fathoms, in moderate westerly winds, the back swell rounding the North CftprHH would make thenj bad anchorage# strong breezes. |9|