The Stranding of the Triumph.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4652, 1 December 1883, Page 2

The Stranding of the Triumph.

FORTHEE PARTICULARS. (Per Pbebs Association.) Auckland, Yesterday. Only one passenger, a Mr Thompson, was on board the Triumph when she struck on the Shearer rook, Tiritiri. He says he was asleep at the time of the occurrence. The steamer left the wharf about 8 o'clock, and soon after 10 o'clock he was awakened by her striking heavily. The shock created a great deal of excitement on board, especially when it was found that water was making fast. Blue lights and rockets were burned during the night for assistance, and this morning guns were fired, Capt. Burgess, Harbormaster, who went out to the Triumph in the Victoria, con- | siders her to be in a bad position, more especially if it were to blow from the j north-west. She is lying about 150 ft from the cliffs, and close on the southeast end of Tiritiri. on rocks. Her fore compartment is full of water. He made an inspection, but could not discover if any of the other compartments were in* jured. Soundings which were made showed nine feet of water under the forehatch, gradually deepening to 77 feet at the stern of the vessel. The Captain in- j formed the Harbormaster that he could give no explanation regarding the cause of the* casualty. j The steamer Blanche arrived at Orewa to»day. The captain states that seeing signals of distress flying at the Triumph's mast-heads', and hearing the reports of j the guns fired, he went three miles out of his way in order to offer assistance, but Capt. Brotherton declined bis offers, ! as the Victoria, with the Harbor-master on board, was then in sight. The Waitakij too, comiDg from Wangarei, stood in to Tiritiri and offered assistance; but Captain Brotherton declined it. He offered no explanation of the. case of the casuality, probably reserting his evidence for the Court of Inquiry. , Lateb. The steamers Stella and MacGregor have returned from the stranded steamer Triumph, at Tiritiri. They report that a jutting point'of reef is piercing through the bottom of the vessel, just 8t the foremast, and that the vessel is swinging on the rock with her forehold full of water but the after compartments are uninjured, as she is afloat aft./ The railway material is being shifted'M'rom the forehold to lighten her forward and deepen her astern; and that the cargo is being lightened as speedily as possible, Fears are entertained that she will not be got off. Fortunately the weather remains fine. The Steamers Roue Cjigey and Argyle, and tbe

schooners Vixen and Golden Isle leave for the island to lighten her cargo. The second mate of the Triumph was only shipped yesterday. Capt. Brotherton seems completely dazed with his misfortune. He is reported to have said that after discharging the pilot off Kangitoto reef he stood down towards Tiritiri lighthouse to get a good offing, and then lay his course for Cape Colviile. He was some fire miles out of the usual course, and the vessel '13 lying within some 300 yards of the lighthouse. At low water people can walk from the Triumph on to the reef and go ashore. This day, 11 a.m.

There is very little hope of getting the Triumph off; she is expected to break in two, and the officers are very reticent as to the cat^se of the disaster. Captain Brotherton says they went ashore at fifteen minutes past ten p.m.; the pilot had been discharged an hour previously, having given the course; it must have been through some error or misunderstanding that the bungle occurred, for the captain states that he kept up to the island (lighthouse at Tiritiri) for a straight run to Cape Colville. How it occurred may be explained in the future, or may never be explained, but at all events the Triumph got ashore across the rocky reef, stretching a short distance from the south-east of Tiritiri, and immediately under the lights of the lighthouse, At a quarter past ten, immediately after she struck, an attempt was made to back the ship off from her position'; as to who gave orders for this, there are conflicting ; statements; the engineer says that he felt the vessel graze and reversed without waiting for orders; the second mate states that she was being backed astern when she struck ; and the captain says she was going full speed ahead, that is, eleven knots an hour, and this seems the most likely story, from the fact of the vessel haying got as far on the reef as to remain swinging just under her foremast, or probably more than sixty feet from the bows. The captain took prompt action to get the ship off, some 3CD tons of ballast were pumped out of her forward compartments, and an anchor got out aft. When it was found that the ship was in danger, rockets were sent up at frequent intervals, and guns were fired, but the former were not seen, and the latter not heard until daybreak; meanwhile it had been found that the ship was making water in the forehold, and the crew was set to work to shift the cargo, and worked energetically until worn out. A large quantity wassaved, but the water rose to a height of 11 feet in this compartment, and although the engines were kept working, the men were manifestly fagged out when the Stella arrived. The Herald today saysthat Mr Elliott, TJuder»Secretary for Immigration, came to Auckland some weeks before the arrival of the Triumph for the purpose of making some new arrangements in respect to the Immigration Department in Auckland, and he decided to remain in Auckland till the arrival of the Triumph. When that long expected steamer came in, Messrs Elliott and Mays, the latter being the newly appointed Immigration Officer at this port, went on Board to receive the immigrants, and to see if ! the regulations had been carried out. They were dissatisfied with much that ! they saw, and on making inquiry found out not a little to make them think that i the conduct of some of the officers had been—not to put too fine a point on it—no better.than it should have been. It is the custom to give gratuities to officers'of the vessel, and to several of those who have been in charge of immigrants, when it is considered that they have faithfully done their duty. In this case smaller amounts were paid to subordinates, but we believe that £25 each, which it is customary to pay to captains, chief officers, and doctors, were withheld. Ini quiry wag made by Messrs Elliott and Mays, and the result was they declined to pay the amounts, pending further investigations. This fact is somewhat significant, and will lead people to conclude that the government and management of the Triumph were not such as should have been the case on board of such a-vessel.

Excursions to the scene of the wreck to day are being.run. The Triumph was built in 1880, by Clayton, Dixon and Co., Middlesborough, on the river Tees. Her dimensions are—length 350 feet, beam 35 feet 2 inches ; the depth of hold is 27 feet, and the cegi9tered tonnage 1797 tons; but, she is capable of carrying 2997 tons. Her engines were manufactured at the workshop of Blair, of Stockton-on-the« Tees, and are on the compound direct acting vertical inverted principle. The nominal horse-power is 400, and the actual 2,000. Her hull has a full heavy appearance ; she having been built with the main object of being a large cargo carrying vessel. Her saloon accommodation is small, she is schooner ringed with double topsail yards ; is fitted with both hand and steam steering apparatus ; is divided into six watertight compartments, and provision is made for 603 tons of water ballast. There is a large refrigerator on board. She came out to the colonies under charter "to Shaw, Saville and Co.. and the Albion Company. She finished discharging the Auckland portion of her cargo on Thursday afternoon, and proceeded on a voyage to Wellington shortly after eight o'clock on Thursday night with 1,200 tons of cargo aboard. 3 p.m. Latest from the Triumph. An attempt made to get the Triumph off to-day was unsuccessful, although it is believed that more power would have been successful. The vessel is watertight in every part except in the fore-hold. Four steamers have been .engaged to make another attempt to tow her off lo morrow morning. The Capfc, says that the pilot told him to give the island a wide berth, but he stood up fo the light for the purpose of making a straight course thence to Cape Colville, but unfortunately he kept too close in. They saw the light all fclie time, and knew itwas Tiritiri, but did not think he was so close in. When the man on the lookout gave the alarm, land was only 150 yards distant; he gave the order " full speed astern," and kept the engies going all night, but without moving the vessel.