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PORT KEMBLA SUNK OFF FAREWELL SPIT
BOMB EXPLODES IN NOLO ' CREW REBCOEO AND BROUGHT TO NELSON VALIMBU CARGO GOES TO THE BOTTOM .C LOBS OF HEW ZEALAND MAILS
The; news that the .Company*s steamer Retgnlus Was returnipg to Nelson, Having, iit tow tppro lifSbpats and a steamer's rescued crew of 60 spread like-.wildfire, throughout the city yesterday .afternoon. " Immediatelv specu-lation-became rife a» to -yhat cad happened/ and «fche identity of'the steamer concerned.-.- Not -a few opined that it was '•«?' case of« vessel -being lost through an internal explosion. Some entertained—momentarily only—a hope that the Wairimai mystery was about to be cleared up. . The' brief communication from Fare well Spit" gave no indication of what had occurred, but in order to be pre ' pared'for. any emergency, the Mayor. (Mr \v. W. Snodgrvsl called a meeting o' citizens, at which - arrangements wer# made "for the reception, accommodation and Jiopply of immediate necessities to the'-ofew;"". - JL -committee -was appointed .to proceed \sjth Caßfc. Collins. Harbourmaster, to meet ihe Regulus'outside tbe harbour entrance;* Anoffer was received from the licensed " drivers to oonvey members of the rescued crew- without charge to any. place ;desired. Offers of motor cars for a "riipilar "ppS-pOse were also "received in taERe;- numbers. Accommodation, was arranged for at ircriohs -hotels, "alnd . steps taken to se-cure:-the attendance at the port of nurses and the ambulance, in case there were injured- men to be cared for. All thes<* arrangements were carried ont in' good time." It had been announced -that the Regulu> \routd P?rt between 4 and 5 o'clock. A» afternoon wore on people inade their way to fche port in" hundreds "to await the arrival of the crew. ißy' the ' time" the; Begnlus was Berthed there were thousands of .people on the wharf. TJie ed as the vessel approached t-lie wharf. aH being keenly anxious to know what had" occurred.*, , v " -• MEETING THE REGULHS. In accordance with the decision arrived at-at the meeting of citizens, representatives met -Capt.' Collins and brairded -the Harbour Board's * launch. These included the Mayor, Cr. Baigent, Messrs R. B. Jackson, T. Keale, J), Cr. Robertson.. .Ther# were also on the Saoncb: iDr. JBett (Health Offiter); Mr W. - Devebub of . -Customs); !Mr R. - Walter' (Tending Waiter); Sir Si J l . -Sherwood the (Port Antfaority); Mr C. SVI. "'iWhelajn {representing the Telegraph Department) ; and press representatives. There was -a teavy swell on, and. the intention to toard; the' Regains at the* outer aiichorige had lo' be abandoned, but she was boarded in the ,aud it was at coce -ascertained that the name of the '▼esiel to. which the crew belonged was the ; Port ; Kembla; that there had been an internal explosion, and that the whole' of' the crew was safe. ARRIVAL AT THE WiHAEF. -It-had been-arranged for the Regulus to 'berth- afc the/main -wtarf, on which * • barricade iai been erected. ' Oiling to a misunderstanding' the "Regulus" "went to the breastwork, and there -was a great rush of- people' from the main wharf. Jtist r "brfore the Aegiilus made fas;t' the > Mayor "announced to tne crowd that there 'had : T>een" no loss of life. This Was "the signal. great cheering, the rescued arew respondihg with cheers and the slogan "Are" we downheartedV ■which called forth- a hearty "No !*' ' Stembers •of the Committee told off the crew to -various 'hotels, and the men; left in motor cars for their destinations..
• JLYIMG "?HE 'MESf'S NEEDS, fc evening the men were provided j with complete new outfits. The Citi- j zens\ Committee arranged with the van ! era* outfitters to supply all requirement* • —suits, - praces, -boots, etc., . which was oone at greatly reduced pri I ccs- ■ r ''"-■" ' ( The of Customs (Olr ,W. De > venish) ; advised the secretary of the Shipwreek%i "Sailots r Society of iJhefacte. And received" a reply authorisinghim *to draw upon the society up to £9 per -man ' in the meantime if required, and advising that if further relief was. necessary particulars should be supplied This - telegram was (handed to the Mayor, who replied that the. men had . landed, destitute, that steps had been taken to billet then* and make up deficiencies m clothing, arid that lie expect«d/- that more 'than £2 per man would tie. reouiredl ' . To-day ■ the Mayor received authority to expend-up to" : £\ per man. ; j A BOMB IN THE FOKEHOLD . ?;FTom Members of the crew it was gathered .that the 'name of the vessel to.which they belonged was the Port Kembla, a food transport, of 8500 tonsj - ■wfoich. was proceeding "Home* from Aus- i tralia and was calling at Wellington for bunker icoal. " At 1 o'clock yesterday morning, vwhen the vessel -'was about 16 miles off' Jarewell Spit, an explosion occurred r in the A large hole waf blown in the starboard iide and the steamer cbmmencedto settle. ~ Captain John N Jack-"ordered-" the four boat* to launched, but only two were got away. The Port Kembla sank quickly, disappearing in about twenty minutes after tlje Explosion. There was i no-time to save anything. The crew j snatched up some of their clothes, and many "of the men entered the boats scantily, clad. Captain Jack, /Chief-Officer Fletcher and 3rd bfficer Samms remained on the %-eseel ,till. it was appaVelit she was about to; sink, when they dived into the water. -They were in the water for , three-quarters of an tour before the f cruising'boats jpicked them up. | ; "The 1 explosion blew off the hatch, cargo being blown into the air, and falling hack, gome on the deck, and some inio' the ; water. Later the sea in the - "vicinity -'-of the vessel was strewn with cargo.V ; A seaman named Hoi* ford was sit-ting-oh-:the hatch at the time of the ' .explosion and was thrown into th» - ikupper, where he was struck on the leg &y a C9«e o* jam. <bnt not seriously in* ' * . THE SHIP'S COMPANiY. , . '-i.- ■ ■ -The-tihip's company - comprised ih» \ f oUowing'-persons — > • Captain John Jaolr. ■ T": .{Batcher, chiet officer. - ->X. <C«urton, second officer, ■r third officer. " -rr ilratt, dhief engineer. _ ~-W. second engihe«r. CL"- -Newton, - third- engineer., | / '* 1 . J
"Bailey, fourth engineer. Fitzpatrick, fifth engineer. Stewart, first refrigerating engineer Taylor, 2nd refrigerating" engineer Wireless operators, Has lam. and C. Gard. Aprentices: Sender, Lovegrove, Roswell, and Pattinson. Gunners: Rennberg and Kane. Stewards: «bt>eele (chief), Palmer (2nd* Jones, Hoyle, Everest, Duffin. Boatswain : A. L. Fowler, AJ.'s: Woodward, Lawson, Pettex son, friese, "Windle, Challies, Rodger*, L[>onal, A. Hall, Jj'. Hursford, A. Wiseman. Firemen and trimmers: Minifcas, Kiater, Vogle, Ausing, Va ug h an, Burley, Currin, Hyde, Anderson, Teterse, Koetze, Fitzpatrick, Septon, Vaumuers, M. Kogat, A. Smith, G. Smith, FKruze, M. Rubina, Hall, Hansen, and Shephard. CAPTAIN JACK INTERVIEWED A representative of The Mail met Captain - this afternoon and found him completely recovered . from tKe ef fects of his lengthy immersion. In a genojal conversation regarding tfae loss of. tne. Port xvembla. Captain Jack- said he had just left the bridge and gone into his caibin when the explosion occurred. 'He emerged from his cabin, and met strong fumes along the passage. Meeting the second officer he remarked, ■ j-v seems like a bomb," the officer replying, Yesj it looks like it." The ; captain gave. the order for the "engines to stop and for t ; he boats to be got - He also instructed the wireles# l operator to- send out a message, 'but the explosion had wrecked the wireless gear, making it impossible to send out a message. . The vessel had a^list, but not. sufficient to interfere "with 'tKe launching of .the boats. .Captain, Jacic and Vvvo officers remained on the steadier till the "very last, and, then dived! A roundi of the ship-was made to'seetfhat everyone •was away. The light lasted almost "to the last, and the ?Por.t Kembla went down with hex* whistle blowing. The behaviour of the crew, Captain Jack states, was excellent, 'there being no trouble at all. The men accepted; the position in the best of spirits. The officers, Captain Jack added, sav ed very little. He secured some paper*, and placed "them", in the .pocket of his overcoat, but in the "water he had to discard -the overcoat, and lost his paper* after all; One or two officers'managed to get their papers, but the rest lost: ''everything. j . Captain Jack specially asked the reporter to thank tJhe Qtay r or and citizens <ff> Nelson for the kindness extended to the "officers and crew. 'He could not speak too highly of the treatment they had received here —in fact, they were being treated so well, they scarcely wanted to go away. - A STEWARD'S STORY. Speaking to a Mail reporter Mr J. iE. Palmer, second steward, said: "X was only half awakened fbv the explosion. My impression seemea to be that : the wind had changed round during the . ni&ht and that a big. sea had struck, the * vessel "for'ard. I bad turned over" r and' Vas going off to sleep-again when I heard tie captain calling ou-t "She's going, call all hands." I can tell yo'y - not many minutes elapsed before T -was on deck. The night was Very dark", but the vessel's lights, held oat till the end. Our task was. tq -provision the boats as best we could, and then take "-up' our stations. The captain, -mate and third mate stopped -aboard. The. second mate whose watch it was," was "in charge of the first; boat. The "vessel was - listing I heavily to .starboard, so much, so that. | towards the end the gunwale was in i the water. It was therefore impossible !. to work the port boats,. and one that had been launched "in the "'early stage's of the "sinking had to-be rowed round to* the starboard side to receive its occupants. There was a heavy swell, and getting into the boats" was not an easy task, but with a few sudden surprises for some, all except the officers who remained, were safely in the lifeboats. The captain and officers, who dived from the sinking vessel, were in - fch» water a ' -considerable on for in "hour—before' they' wf*re all picked up. The sea was strewn witfh wreckage, and in the darkness the task was not. an easy one. The ship, as I said" before, listed to starboard" until the guhwhales were under water. Then she rightea. for a few moments and plunged Ibow _»rst to the bottom. "Yes, it was an- experience, all will rem ember/ We all kijow what may happen when we si<jn on in London... We are ready to take what comes to v us. We will oe at sea again as soon as we receive orders." T ' The fumes from -the bomb affected
some of t/he men, causing nausea. \vhen the captain had" picked up, and it had been ifound- that all hands were aboard the 'boats, the scene of the disaster was left to the strains of "Tipperary" and "Pack up your Troubles in your Old Kit Bag, and Get." These .good spirits continued, the men being quite cheerful on arrival at port, and apparently none the worse for their experience. The boats were off West Wangamii when their signals were observed by the H-egulus, which immediately bore down on them, " This was! about 6-30 a.m., and the outline of the coast wa* just discernible.
| ON THE REGUIiUS. The crew "were treated -with the greatest hospitality on the Regulus. They : -were provided "with, clothing and food and everything possible done for the men. • Captain Jack expressed his appreciation of the manner in which the ship's company was treated. I THE CARGO. I As stated above, the Port Ivernbla was a full ship. Her cargo comprised meat, rabbits, wool, hides, preserves, packages for soldiers from the of Melbourne, and supplies from the (Melbourne Redl Cross. The Port Kwnbla was formerly owned "by the Commonwealth and (Dominion X»ine, -which was recently- acquired by the Cunard ILine. She -was built at Newcastle-oi>-Tyne, and was launched, six or seven years ago. The Port Keiribla was loaded in Australia by free labour. She was" full chip, and- in thes hold where the explosion. occurred were stowed rabbits, preserves and- wool. The explosion wrecked the, wireless plant, and. it. thus 'became impossible to, send out any "word. - . ' NOTES. The Port Kembla was on her thirteenth -voyage between Britain and Aus- | tralia.
One of th© ship's crew deserted at Sydney, taking witn him the ship's only "black cat. •Some of the crew express deep regret at the loss of the six One -cat. was swimming about "with a kitten J n its month. Efforts were made, to seize pussy, but owing to the . swell these were unsuccessful. Most of the crew, it is. stated., have had submarine experiences- One. man has been .torpedoed no fewer than six, times! _ Had the steamer not 'been diverted to JJjTew"Zealand the explosion would feaye occuTred in mids-ocean, and; there would-not have been a singly survivor. The crew' may well -feel thankful 6n the. txfrn of events which sent them to New Zealand waters. r The Port Kembla shipped a gun at Sydney, and' there were two gunners aboard.
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Bibliographic details
Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LI, Issue 175, 19 September 1917, Page 5
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2,163PORT KEMBLA SUNK OFF FAREWELL SPIT Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LI, Issue 175, 19 September 1917, Page 5
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Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Nelson Evening Mail. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
PORT KEMBLA SUNK OFF FAREWELL SPIT Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LI, Issue 175, 19 September 1917, Page 5
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Nelson Evening Mail. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.