AFTER THE WRECK.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 June 1922, Page 6

AFTER THE WRECK.

A SCENE OF DESOLATION. RAVAGES OF THE WAVES. HULL TORN AND TWISTED. The hopeless position of the wrecked, steamer Wiltshire was revealed when a party visited the vessel this week. The trip was made specially with a view’ to recovering the effects of the officers and crew of the wrecked vessel. The sea was perfectly calm on the eastern side of the vessel, with practically no swell, and no difficulty was experienced in boarding the wreck. It was found that the -forecastle head, where the crew huddled when awaiting their turn to be pulled ashore, was as they had left it. Lifebelts, which had been issued when the vessel struck, were strewn about the deck, and the rope stretching to the shore was still in position, the boatswain’s chair hanging over the point where the last man to cross stepped to safety. In the galley were the remains of the biscuits which the rescuers had sent out to the wreck, and the oven contained several joints which had been secured from the freezer toward the end, but which there had not been time to cook. The rigging of the lifesaving tackle at the ship's end had been carried out with all the sailors’ thoroughness and erected in such a way that the crew were able to lend a hand in hauling their fellows to safety. EVIDENCE OF HURRIED EXIT. A visit to the quarters showed the haste with which the occupants made their exit when the steamer struck, clothes being thrown in all directions and chests and cabinets showed signs of having been ransacked for the mostsuitable wearing apparel for such an occasion. Viewed from the sea, the once great vessel presented a most pathetic sight, and her hopeless condition seemed strangely out of place with the peaceful surroundings. However, viewed from the foredeck the frowning cliff overhead gave some impression at least of what the first thoughts of the crew must have been when they saw this formidable face of rock in front of them and the surging, angry sea between. Viewed at close quarters, the wreck proved most interesting, and an inspection of the interior revealed a most amazing confusion at the point where the sea had found a weak section. The fore part of the hull, embedded firmly on the rocks and canted to starboard at an agie of about 45 degrees, lay at right angles to the shore, while the remainder, from the bridge aft, sat upright, but sloped in a broken-backed curve into the sea. As far as could be seen, the forepart was intact above the waterline, but as those of the holds which it was possible to examine appear to be full of water, there is no doubt that the vessel has been badly damaged below. Amidships, however, the scene was entirely different, for it was here, immediately beneath the bridge, that the back of the great ship had been broken. I-Vhat could be seen of the after part lay at an angle of about 10 degrees from the forepart, and the break at the bridge had been so complete that the whole after structure had been moved sideways by the sea, and projected about 20ft. beyond the rigid forepart. GREAT STRUCTURE WRENCHED IN TWO. Aft of the fourth hatch, which had been immediately in front of the bridge, was a most amazing sight, giving some idea of the tremendous power of sea. It was believed, when viewed from the shore, that the stern half of the fractured hull had telescoped the forepart, but a closer inspection revealed that this was not so. The whole stern part of the huge vessel has sagged down into deep water, leaving only a short midship section above the surface, and the great force exerted by this subsidence has wrenched the huge structure, with its tier of decks which culminates in the navigating bridge, away from the main deck and lifted it high in the air as though the ship had been hinged at this point. Beneath had been the ornate dining saloon, with its attractive parquet floor, and m the gaping chasm thus revealed could be seen steel girders crumpled like wire, shattered panelling and furniture, and in the great rent extending below to the water, an indescribable mass of twisted steel framework and bent and buckled plates, through which the sea, although now calm, soughed with depressing effect, producing creakings and strange ominous groanings.

ALL THE DECKS DISTORTED. From the main peak the whole tier of decks begins a slope toward the sea, the first 30ft. dropping about 6ft., and the remainder, which would perhaps represent another 50ft., falling in a steep incline -until the lower decks are awash. This section contains ’ the funnel, w'hich rises through the mass of top hamper, the huge deckhouse, which begins at the bridge forward, ending just where the vessel sags into the sea. The incessant pounding of the sea against the wall at the after end of this huge structure has torn great holes in the steel plates, and so thoroughly undermined the structure that all the decks are distorted, state-rooms and lounges are in a hopeless state of confusion, and the teak decking of the promenades is burst and contorted to_ such an extent that it undulates in all" directions. —Auckland Herald.