A BARQUE WRECKED.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9543, 15 July 1909, Page 5

A BARQUE WRECKED.

SEVENTEEN LIVES LOST, TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS. MANY DEATHS FROM STARVATION. United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph Copyright. Received July 14, 2 p.m. SYDNEY, July 14. A dreadful shipwrack occurred on the Middleton Reef at midnight on June 18th. The Norwegian barque Erro 1, bound from the west coast ports of America, was totally lost. The steamer Tofua, which has arrived here from the Islands, five survivors, who were found at the reef on the 12th instant, in ths last stages of exhaustion. The captain's wife and four children died four days prior to the Tofua's arrival. There were twenty-two souls on board the Errol. Most of them perished from starvation. STORY OF THE TRAGEDY. HORRIFYING EXPERIENCE. Received July 14, 5.5 p.m. SYDNEY, July 14. It is difficult to gain a connected story of the tragedy from the survivors.

It appears that the Eriol struck a reef on fair weather, and went to pieces amidship, only the forecastle being left on the reef. A raft was built, and five men went off to the reef in search of water. During the building of the raft, whieh was constructed with great difficulty, the captain and second mate were drowned. The captain perished within sight of his wife and children.

.When the raft reached the reef, the occupants found the wreck of the Annasona. They could find no food, but got a little water. The men on the reef set about building a punt, living on shellfish. Rain fell, and they caught 80 gallons of water.

Fourteen days elapsed before they could board the wreck in their frai! craft:, taking the water with them. When they at last reached the wreck they only found one man alive. His name was Lawretfce, and his experience was horrifying. He saw nine of his comrades die. The first to go were the youngest children of the captain, a boy and girl. Then the captain's wife died, leaving his two eldest girls. These did not live long, and were followed by the sailmaker and an ordinary seaman. Lawrence kept himself alive by eating shellfish, which he dived for. He also brought up two or three tins of condensed milk. These kept the children alive for a time. Some of the men wanted to drink the blood of the children, but Jensen stopped thim, and the bodies were put into theses. Shortly after the wreck a steamer from Suva passed, but did not see them. Had she done so the women and children would have been saved, and also seven others.

Captain Halford states that when he sighted the wreck it was beautifully calm. He was surpriped to see tl at what he took to be the Annasona had shifted her position, and he thought a great gale must have swept the raef. As he got nearer ho saw the Annasona in the old place. He then steamed close up to the Errol, saw a signal consisting of a pair'of underpants and a piece of red flannel flying. He lowered a boat and took the five starving men off the wreck. The names'of the survivors are:— Oftlale. Jensen. Johansen. Palmer. Lawrence.

The passengers and crew of the Tofua raised £lO5 for the survivors. SURVIVORS' NARRATIVES. Received Ju[y 14, 7.50 p.m. SYDNEY, July 14. The Errol was commanded by Cap- | tain and was bound to Newcastle for orders. Piecing together the survivors' narratives, it was gathered that the and made a good run to th a vicinity of Lord Howe Island. Here boisErrol left Champote on March 15th, terous weather set in, and the'barque i was buffeted by severe squalls and swept out of her course. The captain believed that they were hundreds of miles from the Mictdleton reef. The barque struck at night, and though ths weather was fair a big sea was soon breaking over her, and she quickly commenced to go to pieces amidships. The chief mate was washed overboard' and drowned. Shortly after the vessel struck two more of the crew disappeared, and three others succumbed aboard before the morn-

When the midship section collapsed some of the castaways were imprisoned in the foreparf. The others, including the captain, his wife and children, were in the other end. Two days later men in the forepart managed to get on to the afterpart. There was no water or food aboard, the storeroom being submerged. Some days elapsed before they were able to get the raft constructed. Tha survivors in the meantime endured great priva'ions from lack of food aiid water, and exposure to the

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Two days after the death of the captain the raft left the wreck for the reef, carrying five men. Before proceeding far one of the men was driven crazy by drinking sea water, and jumped overboard and perished.

SURVIVORS IN A PITIFUL CONDITION.

Received July 14, 10.45 p.m. SYDNEY, July 14

The survivors are badly cut about and cohered with sores. Their feet are terribly swollen. Lawrence was severely cut about the head, the injuries being sustained through diving into the hold to obtain food for those in the wreck. It will probably bs some days before the men have sufficiently recovered to clearly detail their experiences. LAWRENCE'S STORY. Lawrence is a Sydney native, and told an interviewer that if he lived a century he would be unable to erase the memory of those awful fourteen days between the departure and return of Palmer's party. "It was pitiful to see the poor little children, whose ages ranged from one to eight years, fade away before our eyes," said Lawrence, "and know we were powerless to do anything to save them. Before the children ditd one or two men who had lost their reason proposed to krill therii and drink their blood. I took fine care that nothing like that happened."

"As each person died we threw the bodies overboard. There was a cat on board. One of the children offered it a tiny drop of water to drink. It refused, looking pitifully up into the child's face, as if it knew the babe should have it. One of the men picked up the cat and knocked its head against the rail, and cut its body with the intention of drinking the blood. I was afraid the man was going mad, and so I snatched it and threw it overboard. "When all the others were dead I gave up hope, but at the eleventh j hour Palmer returned." THE RESCUE. j Captain Holfurd, describing the j rescue, said that on entering the la- j goon at Middleton Beef a strange sight met *he eyes of the Tofua boat's crew. In a roughly made punt were the five survivors, all showing signs of the terrible ordeal. The punt* was propelled by an old tarpaulin hoisted as a sail, and two large roughly-fashioned paddles. The survivors eagerly swallowed beef tea and brandy water. They were carefully lifted .into the ; Tofna's boat. On the boat ranging j alongside tne steamer the passen- j gers greeted them with ringing cheers. So exhausted were three of the castaways that they had to be carried up the gangway. THE JOURNEY TO THE REEF. FAILURE TO FIND FOOD. The Errol's"~raft consisted of planks lashed to barrels. This frail craft was two days battling about the waves before it landed on the reef, where at low tide there was plenty of room. Palmer, who was in charge of the party, told of the bitter disappointment when they failed to find food, and only a scanty supply of water. Luckily rain fell for three days, otherwise the party must have perished. Their hopes were raised !on the fourth day on the reef when ! the smoke of a steamer was seen, | but the vessel passed without noticing the signal hoisted to one of the spars of the Aonason ia wreck. Returning to the Errol at the end of fourteen days' sojourn on the reef—it having taken that time to construct the punt from the wreckage of the Annasonia—Lawrence greeted them with agonising criea for water. In response to signals Lawrence jumped overboard. On learning that all on board but he were dead those on the pant returned to the Annasonia wreck.

When the raft first left the Errol, Palmer tried to induce Lawrence to accompany the party, but be declined, saying that he would stick to the captain's wife and children.

ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.

CONFLICTING STATEMENTS.

Received July 15, 12.55 a.m. SYDNEY, July 14. The following ia the list of the drowned: — Captain Andreasen. Mrs Andreasen and four children. Olsen, chief mate. Elricksen, nephew of the owner." Edvardsen. Andersen. Olsen. t Williams. Dettman.

Three seamen known as John., German and Scotty.

PALMER'S STATEMENT,

Palmer, one of the survivors, in a statement said that for three days there was no sun, and the weathei was foggy. The captain was cut of his reckoning, and told the men the tocks were not far away After the vessel struck for the first ten days no water was drunk. Salt water boils came out all over them, and their mouths were so dry and haid that they had to prize their lips open. When the party made their journey io the Annasonia wreck, hundreds of bhurks wcvj all round the raft. They

had to last 40 yards up to their necks in water. One seaman called German was so weak that he dropped. The others were too weak to help him, and lie was drowned. This was the man who it was previously stated went mad and jumped off the raft. When on the reef they saw lots of human bones. Describing the death of the captain, Palmer said:— "We saw his legs washed up after he fell into the water, and also his severed head. There were lots of sharks abo"t, and they had eaten him." I Lawrence was partially delirious, and gives varying versions of the events, and has apparently lost all idea of the time. In opposition to Palmer's account he declares ihat the captain's wife and children were a/ivc when Palmer's party returned from the reef and thinks that the mother went mad. Lawrence added: "1 think the children were drowned by the mother as she was afraid they would be eaten by the survivor?. One night I tucked them in the blankets. Next morning they were all gone. They were wonderfully brave kiddies, especially the baby. The mother saw it all. She saw her husband drowned, and the children die, and took it just as if it wes nothiig."