FOUND AT LAST.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9179, 31 August 1908, Page 5

FOUND AT LAST.

THE HAWEA PICKED UP BY RAKANOA. SYDNEY, August 29. The Union Steamship Company's s earner Rakanoa, with the Hawea in tow, was signalled off Crowdy Heads, about midway between Port Macquarie and Newcastle. The Rakanoa reported "All well." The vessels are proceeding to Sydney. Received August 29, 8.7 p.m. SYDNEY, August 29. It is expected that the Hawea will reach Sydney to-morrow loronoon.

THE HAWEA HAS ARRIVED HERE. Received August 31, 11.4 a.m. SYDNEY, August 30. After the serotid vessel left the Hawea continued to drift. On August 12tn the wind increased to a gale and the ship rode it out broadside on. All available sail was set to get westward, but the vessel began driving eastward. On thu 16th the wind was from the north-west, and the sails were stowed to prevent the vessel going further east. A spell of fine weather set in. Trie engineers set to work to try and place a coupling on the broken shaft. They had to work waist deep in water. By moan* of steel hawsers the propellor was worked into position. Tf'e engineers were called upon to do dangerous work to the after tank, but stuck mai?fu!ly to their work. The coupling was tested,,and found to work well, but they had to stop occasionally to tighten it up. By the 26th they had the engines going, and the vessel made three to four knots till picked up two days later by the Rakanoa.

Received August 31, 12 a.m SYDNEY, August 30. Even if the Rakanoa had not picked up the Hawea she would have reached Sydney to-night under her own steam Chief Engineer McLean and his assistants, after nine clays' strenuous work, wers able to inform the captain that the ship could reach Sydney unaided. McLean states that the shaft snapped in fine weather. There was a couple of bumps, and then the engines raced like sewing machines. The smash was right at the forward end of the stern tube. It was believed at first that they would be unable to repair it. During the first 16 days they had a lot of bad weather and could not get near the propeller. When the weather got fine they had,a go at it. First they had to cut away tha after cross-plate, and had to do it with such tools as they had on board. Then they had to cut away the angle irons on each side of the ship. After that they had to cut away eighteen inches of stern tube which was of iron and an inch and a-half through. All this had to be done to carry the patent coupling. After snapping the propeller hod slipped back as far as the rudder would let it, and the shaft hfcd to be got back from the outside. This job took two days, and had the break been a little more aft the propeller would have gone to the bottom. At length the coupling was adjusted, and the vessel steamed 167 miles towards Sydney, when the Rakanoa picked her up. They had had a four days' job stopping a leak in the main condenser. In repairing the shaft the men had to work in three or four feat of water. The chief steward states that they had a sufficiency of provisions, but they cut down supplies until they got under their own steam. They never saw a sign of a vessel till August 26th, when an American ship spoke them. The night before they fell in with the tug Advance, which had bven looking for the Hawea. Apart from drifting all on board were comfortable.