The State of the Austral.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4442, 31 March 1883, Page 3

The State of the Austral.

The following account of the- state of the steamer Austral as; now lying in Neutral Bay, Sydney, will be received with a considerable amount of interest: — On decending into the music saloon or drawingroom. a scene of perfect desolation was witnessed. The walls of this spacious apartment were formerly covered with enamel and gold, and the dome and windows were filled with opaque glass, ornamented with graceful scroll work, j The furniture was cushioned with pnle blue relvet, the floors were covered . with I thick Indian carpets, and the windows curtained with fabrics of white silk with

gold threads. Now the, walls are black and stained, the-windows are broken, the . curtains torn down, and the velvet cover . ings and costly carpets rotted to a pulp. , -Passing down the massive staircase in the principal or dining saloon, which was built to accommodate 120 diners, the . same scene of destruction is witnessed on a larger settle. Formerly the ceiling of this magnificent apartment was decorated with white and gold, the ends . being richly panelled in walnut and ornamented with carved and emblazoned coais of arms of the European nations and British colonies. The revolving chairs were cushioned with ruby velvet, and the' saloon was lighted by painted glass panels on each side. Now the decorations are obliterated, the velvet is completely rottrd and stripped off the chairs, the coats of arms are partly destroyed, the windows smashed, and the handsome veneering of the end panels so saturated with water that it strips off like paper. In (he state rooms, which were better fitted up than those of any . other steamship in the Australian trade, the same process of destruction is to be seen, boobs, wardrobes, settees, spring mattresses, electric lamps, &c., all being ' hopelessly ruined. In passing through the second-class saloon and cabins, the intermediate cabins, and the firemen's quarters, ample indications of the force of the terrific inrush of water were to be seen. These aparments are situated in the afterpart of the ship, where the water first poured in as the vessel began to sink, stern first. An appalicg volume of water must have surged over the deck, down the stairways, and through the cabins, for the doors have been torn off their „,hinges, the walls smashed in, and the furniture and bedding huddled together in a confused mass. Most of the cabins which thus suffered were occupied, and it is easy to see that a few minutes delay in getting out and up on deck would have meant certain death to tbe occupants. It was in this part of the ship that the refrigerating engineer, Mr Thos. Alexander, perished. He and the electrician occupied the same cabin. rihe latter was the first to awake after the alarm had been given, and springing out of the bed he managed to get the cabin door open and make his escape along the passages, but Mr Alexander, who does not appear to hare awoke at tbe same time was hemmed in by the flood and drowned. The position : of the cabin on tbe main deck .in which the purser, Mr James Perkins, was, is such that one would suppose its cccupant would have been among the first to escape, as he had merely to step out to tbe main deck and jump of tbe ship. According to information which has been obtained since the disaster, the purser's death appears to hare been a peculiarly sad one. The doctor, who occupied the adjoining cabin, was among the first to hear the alarm. He immediately ran into the purser's cabin and dragged him out of bed. They were on the starboard bide, in which direction the ship was heeling over, and one glance over the side told the doctor roat not a moment was to be lost, lie warned his companion to hasten with him but ,the latter—who was in his night clothes—replied that he would just have time to snatch upecme additional clothing. As the purser rushed back into the cabin the doctor made his escape. The body of the purser, when recovered next day, was. found to be fully dressed, and sitting in a chair in his cabin. What occurred after the doctor left him is a matter of conjecture. Tbe generally accepted rersion is that after he went back to the cabin and closed tbe door after him while he hurriedly dressed himself the water came over the ship's side and dam* mcd up the door, and that when he made an effort to crime out agein he found it impossible to move the door (which opened outwards) owing to the tremendous flood. ' The oabin was watertight up to the top of the door, where there was a small iron grating for ventilation purposes. The apartment would therefore be free from toe flood until the ship sank to the level of this iron grating, when the water would force itself gradually in. There, probably, the unfortunate man, as he sat in his chair, hemmed in by,the seething flood, which was rapidly sinking the ship, saw the water stream in at the grating, and rise inch by inch in the cabin, until he was overwhelmed in a living tomb. The three Arabs who/ besides Mr Alexander and.Mr Perkins, were the only persons lost, also slept in apartments on . the main deck. They, too, were probably similarly hemmed in, and unable to force open the doors. When the ship settled down to the level of the ventilators tbe water would pour into the apartments, and tbe occupants would perish like rats in a hole. Some of the men connected with the ship, who slept below the mam • deck, owed their lives in all probability to the fact that, it being a warm night, they had left their portholes open. They : . were thus aroused at the first alarm, and

were able to escape before the inrushing ' water flooded the passages and stairways. - The general supposition that the mag nifieent machinery of the vessel would be destroyed is fortunately not born out by :an actual examination. Much of the machinery may be somewhat injured, but - go far as it is possible to judge it will only be necessary to give it a thorough cleaning and overhauling, and take some portions of it to pieces.