WRECK AT AKAROA HEADS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1263, 8 November 1884, Page 3

WRECK AT AKAROA HEADS.

The barque Clyde, 552 tons register, with 19 souls on hoard, was wrecked at , Akaroa Heads last Thursday morning. The following is the account of the only survivor, a lad named Gibson. The boy George Gibson states We left Dunedin on Thursday, had fine weather till midnight, when it came on to blow hard from the south-west. Went below at four o’clock, and soon after the man on the look-out cried, “ Land on lee bow.” All hands were called 5 tried to bring the ship about, but missed stays ; tried to wear the ship, when she struck amidships. The Captain ordered the boat to be lowered. We managed to lower the boat that was on deck over the lee side. 1 got in, then the three children, and was in the act of helping the captain’s wife in when the boat got under the lee rail and went down. We then saw the mast was falling. 1 dived and swam to the rocks, but was washed off again. I then swam to the spanker boom and crawled aboard again. The sea was now breaking over her. The lee rail was under water. I saw the Captain floating about amongst the wreckage, and covered with blood, having evidently bean struck by the falling mast. I saw the two girls floating about, and dragged them out. The reat of the crew were now on the weather rail, I did not sob the captain’s wife again. We got another boat into the water, and the mates, two able seamen and myself were no sooner in than she capsized. The seamen had a life buoy between them but the whole of the water on the lee side by this time was covered with wreckage, and it waa difficult to keep from being struck by it. I managed to get to the spanker boom again. Saw the eldest daughter floating past still alive, I caught hold of her dross, hut a sea came and I lost my hold. I then dropped on to a plank, and climbed on to the deckhouse, which had been washed away. I was no sooner on than I was washed off again. 1 got on to a spar and again tn the deckrhonss, and w*S aflle to hold on till it went ashore }n a small bight ; being numbed I lay down for about half an hour. Got up, but saw nothing hut wreckage and bags of sugar floating about, I saw no bodies, alive or dead. I then went up to a house and asked the owner, Mr McPhail, to wire for assistance. Wa went to the beach again, but saw no signs of life. During the day the body of D. Boyle came ashore. On news reaching Akaroa the s,s, Akaroa was at once patched with a crew oftvolqnteprs, biqt o,f course could dq nqtfling as tflere was nothing hot wreckage to he seen (m the ground, Tlwe were Ifl souls on board, including Captain Ouiraer, his wife, and 3 children aged 11 years, 5 years, and 9 months, and the only one who was saved was the apprentice Gibson whose narrative is given above.