THE KAWATIRI.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8512, 17 August 1907, Page 5

THE KAWATIRI.

lEfiQeswed August 16, .9.45 a.m,

HOBART, August 16. Further news of the wreck of the Kawaliiri :is to hand.

various passengers give thrilling narratives " of the terrible ordeal through which they went.

That.supplied by 'Constable Wardley gives datiils of the experiences of the men. The crew, he says, were huddled upon, the bridge of the sunken steamer the long night ■ through. All-.Were more or less scantily clad,'•'with .simply appalling seas braaking aver then. At 2.30 in the morning all the. lighio went out, and the men were penned in what looked like : a certain death trap. They could.not see each other, but to one another spoke words .-cf encouragement, which only rarely could be heard through ; the awful gale. Before the ship settled down the men on the bridge ".ould hear a knocking forward. One sailor managed to work his way along, and found toleven steerage passengers locked k;, the door ibeing jambed. The door was broken open, wfeen the passengers inside were found to be standing in four feet,of water.' Their escape' svas a very ©arrow one, for they had not long been released .when the ship became almost totally submerged. Several pssseng.ct-s <w«re battered anil I bruised through being swept against jj the rocfcs,£and struck iby wreckage. |j

Further details ,of the disaster to the women's boat shaw that for over an hour after jeaving th?. ship it was in imminent danger, beieg swamped when being .carried .pa#t the entrance. The ivomen shrieked in agonising tones, ''Help! Efelp! can't you come out and help usf hoping that the lighthouse-keeper would hear, but there was no visible or audible response. The wife of the keeper, yy'k? was in the boat, called, "Jack, help me," a cry which was heard by her husband on the bridge of the Hgbt--Ikuse. He was powerless to give help, but shouted back to the occupants of tha boat. However, they did not hear him, and the craft was cstxied swiftly by the tide to the breakwater.

Aefcing-Chief Officer Hautive, who wsi in charge, threw a painter to two of the crew, who jumped on to ths breakwater. They missed the lope and the boatswain and Mr Hautive sprang out and made it fast.

Several passengers jumped out of the heavily bumping boat and endeavoured to climb the steep side of the breakwater.

Grundy, a passenger, who was on board with his wife and child, was knocked down, and lost his hold of the child, which he never saw again. However, he saved his wife and another woman.

Mr Hautive saved Miss Finch, and the lighthouse-keeper arrived in time to rescue ano:her woman and two children.

Mrs Hooper and her ohilcl were seen to be in the water drifting away with the tide, and no help could be given.