SHOWER OF BULLETS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8101, 22 March 1906, Page 3

SHOWER OF BULLETS.

strike a Coasting steamer. A MATE'S NARROW ESCAPE. The crew of the steamer Dunmore had exciting experience on the afternoon of Saturday, March 10, when off Long Bay, Sydney, their vessel being struck by a fudlade of kullets. The missiles came from tbe rifles of the First Australian Infantry Regiment, which was engaged in Held Bring on tbe Long Bay-Mar-oabra range. Fortunately nobody was injured, the only damage done being confined to a lifebuoy and lifebelt, which were penetrated by a bullet. At the time of the occurrence the Dunmore, which left Sheliharbour early in the morning with a cargo of blue-metal for Sydney, was half-a-mile off the coast, coming up under easy steam. Everything was quiet on board. The decks had been washed early in the day and all hands who were not on duty were either lounging in her bunks or on deck, or were getting cleaned up so as to be able to leave the vessel directly she was moored. On tbe bridge was the first mate, Frank Kennedy, while an A.B. named A. Freeburgwas at the wheel. The officer was readirjg a paper, while the helmsman directed his attention to tbe course of the steamer. Suddenly the monotonous clank of the engines was broken by a sharp metallic ring, which appeared to emanate from tbe funnel or one of the ventilators amidships. The mate, who was in the act of lighting his pipe, paused iu the operation and looked round the obartbouso to see if any of the stays had carried away. The next instant the noise whioh had attracted his attention was repeated several times with marked rapidity. One of the crew described it as being like that caused by n quantity of small glass falling on an iron-palte. While looking amidships to ascertain tbe cause of tbe disturbance. tbe mate was startled to hear a dull thud almost immediately behind him. Looking for something to indicate the cause of the noise, he found a small hole in one of the top planks of tbe starboard lifeboats. It then dawned on him that tbe noise be beard was caused by bullets striking the ironwork, of the vessel. This theory was confirmed when he looked ahead and saw the danger flag flying from the hill outside Long Bay range. Word was immediately passed to take cover, and all bands, including the helmsman, hurried down below and took shelter behind the iron hatch oombing. The fusilade, however, ceased as quickly as it started, and the run to Sydney was made without further adventure. There were several narrow escapes on thejvessel. Nearly all bands who were on deck olaim to have heard bullets whistle past their ears. The first mate, however, had a miraculous escape. A few seconds beforß .the missile struck the lifeboat he was standing against tbe lifebuoy

that was pierced by the ballet. S Lieutenant-Colonel Holmes,D.S.O. who was in oommand of the regiment at the time of the incident, when seen next day, declined to make any statement, saying that he would prefer to wait until his report on the matter had been forwarded to the district commandant. It is understood, however, that four com paaies of the regiment were engaged in field-firing.