THE OBAN WRECK.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7934, 6 January 1906, Page 5

THE OBAN WRECK.

MARTIN NOT ABOARD. A PROBABLE EXPLANATION. WELLINGTON, Jan; 5. The man Martin, ono of the seamen supposed to liavo perished when tho Oban foundered ft'biie being into Wellingtoa Heads during the gale last Sunday night, reported himself to the port shippingmaster to-day. Though he had signed on the articles of the Oban when she was previously in port he did not join the craft. It is now believed that'jfa sou of Captain Macdonald, harbour-master at the Bluff, was shipped on the Oban in place of Martin, and that ho went down with her. A double photograph, fouud by a diver in the Oban's cabin, has been identified as that of Captain Maodonald and his son. The diver to-day discovered th at the Oban's anchor and chain were missing, and it is believed by seafaring men that this supplies a clue to the cause of the vessel coming to grief, particularly as the bring stopper had been carried away. It is believed that when the anchor gripped the bottom it dragged tbe ship's bows down aud as the strain un tbe tow iope increased she was gradually forced under until the chain was dragged away. An axe lying on tbe deck for ward is thought to indicate that tbe crew bad made a futile effort to cut away the tow line before being washed overboard.