TWO ENGLISH VESSELS WRECKED IN TIMARU.

Temuka Leader, Issue 9416, 16 May 1882, Page 3

TWO ENGLISH VESSELS WRECKED IN TIMARU.

LOSS OF SEVEN LIVES [Abridged from the Timaru Herald,] Another fearful disaster has to be added to the many casualties which have given notoriety to the port of Timaru. About midnight on Saturday the sea began to rise without any previous

warning. There was no wind, and no one; exnei ted it. At daylight Captain Mills, who kept watch all the night, hied the signal gun, and soon after the Pocket Brigade w:is in attendance, hut as the vessels in port were still riding at their anchors their services were not called into immediate requisition. About 8.30 o'clock the Benvenue parted one of her cables, and; a signal of distress was flying from her: About 9 o’clock a fresh draught of wind came away from the north-west, and Captain Mills ran np various signals, including special instructions to the Bcnvenue to trim her cargo (to which she answered that her rudder was out of order), and general instructions to the various vessels to get ready to go to sea_ ■ He,; in fact took every—precaution to enspre their safety. The City of Perth at once loosened her and as the sea showed every sign'Of"gbujfg fioivn, if, was hoped that all : over: The Bcnyenue ran up the signal ‘ sailing,’ and as i( was known she was all but ready to proceed to Port Chalmers it was thought, after trimming her ballast; sh« would go right away. The City of Perth, which had,also swung round head to the northwest, answered the signal—‘ Is, anything wrong !’ with ‘ All right,’ and sO the minds of those on shore were to a certain extent eased. The Benvenne about 11 o’clock, : much to the astonishment of the Rocket Brigade, hoisted the signal ‘Drifting,’ and; steadily and calmly she drifted towards the shore. Her master, Captain McGowan, has supplied the following information : About one o’clock on Sunday morning the sea became very heavy. Several blind rollers came on board, breaking in some of tire stern windows, and sweeping the poop.. Soon afterwards a very heayy. sea struck hri, and it was thought she had hit the ground, but on examination it was discovered her rudder had been broken and the rest of her stern ' ports smashed. The. second anchor was let go, and the ship fell off into the trough of the sea, and the coals in the hold, although held by shifting boards,"were thrown over to starboard, giving her a heavy list. Daylight was anxiouslyVaited for, the time being occupied in getting the boats ready for lowering. About 9 a.in. the starboard cable parted, with 135 fathoms of chain. Got the third anchor up and a steel wire hawser bent on, at the same time trying to trim the coala, but as fast as they were ■shovelled on one side the roll of the vessel sent them back again. About 12.30 p.m. the third anchor was all ready, but owing to the lurching of the vessel the task of getting it over the side was' attended with difficulty and danger, Shortly before 1 o’clock the second anchor parted; and as - it was found that the ship was drifting, and gradually settling over, the crew, who were trimming the cargo at the time, were called on deck and got into one of the boats. The vessel, Captain McGowan says, was stuck to until she got into broken water, when he abandoned her and made for the City of Perth. She was an iron ship of 999 tons register, and classed Aal at Lloyds. She was built by Barclay, of Glasgow, in 1867, and was owned by Watson Bros,, of the same port. Her bull and freight were insured for £13,500 in Home offices. At the time she 1 was wrecked she had on board between 400 and 500 tone of coal, fully insured by Mr Ebenezer Smith in the Standard Company. It was expected ,she would be in readiness to-night or to-mor-row morning to proceed to Port Chalmers to fill up for Home. The Benvenne had scarcely reached her destruction when the City of Perth began to drift, and four boats were seen leaving her. Amongst, their crews was the first officer,Mr Blacklock, who had his leg broken in two places while trying to clear the cables, and as soon as he reached shore •he Avas conveyed to the hospital, where his injuries were attended to. 'The abandoned vessel then continued to drift till about 3.15 when she grounded, where she remained till the tide rose, and brought her on shore beside the Benvenne, The ship City of Perth was an iron vessel of 1189 tons register, bhassed Aal, and was a sister ship to Hie City of Cashmere. She Avas built in 1868, and is OAvned by G. Smith and Sons, of Glasgow, She is so far as we can learn, uninsured. She Avas loading for Home on account of the New Zealand Grain Agency and Mercantile Company (Limited), and the cargo , she had on board —some 6000 sacks of grain— was fully insured in the Union Insurance Company. The vessel herself is valued at about £IO,OOO. The crew of the vessel brought the report on shore that she was hanging to a stout hawser only, her cables having parted, and that this was a fact Avas plainly visible from the shore, the rope standing out at times taut and rigid as an iron rod, and it Avas felt to bo a,question of time only for the vessel’s fate to be determined. Captain Mills,ever ready to risk his oAvn life Avhere duty was concerned, at once resolved to make an effort to save her and set out in the landing service whaleboat with the following crew W. Collis, coxswain, and J. Read, Martin Beach (or Beattie), Emanuel Neilson, Robert Collins, George Davis, and Charles Moore. The ship’s gig also put to sea and had on board Captain McDonald, of the City of Perth, Robert Gardener, his second mate, with Phillip Bradley, coxswain, and Michael Thompson, Isaac Bradley, \V- McLaren, mid Walter Stanley, oarsmen, in all

fifteen men. A surf boat was loosed from its mooring in the harbor, taken to the wharf, where a quantity of rope was placed in it and an attempt was made with oars and surf line , to, reach the; doomed vessel.' The ; two firstnamed boats reached the derelict vessel in safety, and from this point began one those series of catastrophes which ttre seen but once in a lifc:i nC, and which make strong men wring their 1 andsin impotent dispair. Between twojand three the cry went up, ‘ She's gone,’ and three boats were seen coming a>vay from her —the th'Td one being one of the ship’s boats, into which some of the crews of the boats went. The boats came brave'y on, and anxious hearts onyshore beat; high. The two leading boats had either gained, or nearly so,'the shelter of the mole, when the other, wlr’ch was the ship's b'feboat, was observed to be swamped by a tremendous white-headed sea. Sand the coxswains of the leading boat's, having evidently seen.the accident, at once tamed their boats and went to the fescue. In the swamped boat were Captain McDonald, bis second mate, and one or two others, who had taken it in order, apparently, to .lighten the other txvb boats, and' they cOuVl be seen from the shore standing up in the boat after they had succeeded in regaining herd Caut : ously and,bravely the two boats approached the drowning men, trerriendous 1 seas : heaving them sky high at ' times, until, when a 1 most within grasp of those they went to saved a fatal sea reared itself a mass of white seething foam; 1 and swamped them, and in the rush of white seas that follo wed, it was feared , (hat every soul would be lost. By degrees tlje . true position of (be boats was revealed, and they were seen to be floating gunwale under, with men standing up in them while others were struggling in (ho water,' and the sun shining,on them, showed that, those in the boats who could, were rapidly divesting themselves of their clothing. Now the exchnient. on shore was intense,and men bit their lips in the 'knowledge that they were powerless to render the sma’lest particle • of help to the' fifteen brave fellows struggling for life: The only boat avai’able was the lifeboat, which had not been -called in requisition since that fatal time, thirteen years ago, when she capsized and drowned one of her crew, Duncan Cameron. Sh'e was speedily launched, and manned by D, Bradley, A J Mclntosh and Andrew Shab, shore men, and four of the City of Perth’s seamen, named Alexander Petersen, Mclntyre, John Smith, and George DeMantac. Hearts beat h’gh and hot tears were hastily brushed away as the gallant heroes pulled steadily out} the boat now hidden from view, and again, her bow high in the air, breasting green mountains of water. Grandly handled, and kept well to the sea, she worked down to the helpless men, and one by one they were hauled on board. But the white-headed, roaring seas came in again, and up one of these the lifeboat rushed) firmly held by the steersmen until lost to view in its boiling crest, and as the wave passed onward, relentless, she too was seen floating bottom upwards in a mass of heads and upthrown arras. She soon righted, and her h alf-drowned occupants, or most of them, somehow managed to get. on hoard her again. How, no one can say, the bare fact alone remains, and also that as soon as they had recovered’ themsevles, the same thing;) happened a second and a third time, until those who had nerve enough to watch sickened in the watching. Bravely.her crew stuck to their work, however, until all were picked up who could be found, and then began a slow and anxious return to the shore. When they reached the shelter of the Breakwater, from the wharf, thronged with people, rose such cheers as had never been heard in Timaru. Some of the men were naked and half dead, some were lying prostrate in the bottom, whilst others, dazed and bleeding sat like men who did not comprehend that, somehow, they had escaped death. Then willing hands were at work and blankets were handed down to wrap those in who were unable to walk, and three hearty cheers, went up for Captain Mills and those who came back with him. The dead—those who did not come back—were forgotten for a moment in the outburst of joy that any came. But ‘ Who’s missing V soon passed round with bated breath, and one by one the names of those who had gone were told. The surf boat already had succeeded in saving three men who swam towards her. But such a boat was unwieldy in’theheavy sea running, and those on board were obliged to anchor her. To rescue her occupants was the next thing to be done, and the lifeboat was' speefiily manned with a fresh volunteer crew, whose names were—George Finlay, coxswain, and Chris. Grimm, George Sunaway, James Cracknel!, Harry McDonald, J. Yogeler, and A. Hay lock, oarsmen, the two latter being members of the Rocket Brigade. They pulled out to the surf boat, and while getting the men out of the surf boat, once more she capsized, five of her occupants being swept out of her, of whom hut four got back. She then cama ashore and a fresh crew went out and brought the remainder of the surf boat’s men Back without mishap, The names of this crew, so far as we can learn, were Francis McKenzie, coxswain ; M. Roy (late mate of the Gampsie Glen), George Sunaway, William H, Wall and Harry Trusselot. As each lot

of men came ashore they were carded to the Royal Hotel where every provision was made for them.

The following are the names of those ;who were drowned ; Robert Gardner, of Alloa, second mate of the City of Pm-th, single, aged- 25 ; D. McLean, .of Prince Edward’s Ishand, carpenter on the same vesse 1 , married ; Wm, McLaren, waterman, Timaru ; Emanuel Neflson, ho r,man) Timaru ; Martin Beach (or Beattie), boatman, Timaru ; Harry . McDonald, boatman, Timaru ; and Alexander Mills, Harbor Master, Timaru, who was brought ashore alive, but expired soon afterwards. The gig in which McLaren was lost, ■ is reported to have split open and then some, how to have jammed . him. When the lifeboat went off he was seen to be caught, and with n terrible wound on his temple, from which the blcod was streaming, but the capsizing of the lifeboat prevented any hebpbeinggivon him. D. Bradley, who was working one of the steer oars of the lifeboat, saw his two brothers in the water, and he jimmied overboard|"and saved one, the other being saved by the boat’s crew.

Two tug. boats came to Timaru yesterday, and it is expected the City of Perth will be,floated ,again, bn,t, there is up hope of the Benvenue as she... is.,, breaking up. Efforts are being made in Timaru to get up funds in aid of the shipwrecked sailors, and a Coinmittee for that, purpose is about being formed. m • ,