Steamship Collision.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XII, Issue 2447, 29 August 1891, Page 3

Steamship Collision.

<Srea.t ]L.os»sj of Life.

[per press association.

Melbourne, August 28. The steamer Gambler, which left Sydney on Tuesday last for this pott, came into collision about one o'clock this morning with the steam collier Easby in, Hobson's Bay, as the latter was leaving for Newcastle. The Gambier sank in a few minutes, and about 20 lives were lost. The Easby had her bows stove in, and. put back to port. The news of the collision between the steamers Gambier and Easby created intense excitement in the city. The collision occurred at the Heads, and the Gambier had just entered abreast of Pope's Eye Fort, when the Easby struck her amidships near the bridge. The ettect of the contact was terrible, and the water poured into the Gambier in immense bodies, and she disappeared in seven minutes, Immediately after the collision a heartTending scene was enacted. The passengers, who were in the cabins at the time Milted on deck in their night dresses. Women huddled together on the deck, while men rushed hither and thither seeking safety, either in attempts to launch the boats or by clambering aboard the lasby^ There was, however, little or no time to launch boats, The Easby, after standing by the scene of the accident, steanied back to Melbourne, wlfftpe she arrived early this morning. r Mr McMillan, one of the passengers saved from the Gambier, has been interviewed. He states that after the collision everything on board' the ill-fated steamer was most orderly, and that Captain Bell was perfectly cool. The survivors, he asserts, feel that it is o»ing to the coolness and bravery of the Captain that the loss of. life was not greater. The collision occurred at 1:30 a.m. exactly. MrMcMillan states that both he and the Captain ko4 fco swim until they found a piece of wreckage, and subsequently they were picked up by a boat from the* Easby. Although the Easby sent up rockets, np lifeboat came, nor was any notiqe taken of her signals of distress. °! Mi- McMillan adds that a terrible ertrrerit was running at the time, and probably some of the passenger* womlQßt' owing to that. ■Mr Hughes, another of the passengers, itfttes that there was a great rush when the r passengers were called, but the ladies were pl#.cod |n the boats first, and everything was done quietl'' and orderly, considering the circumstances. ! Nothing but the spars and the top of the Gambier's funnels is visible above water. The Easby's bows are terribly damaged. The night was dark, but fortunately the weather was line. Captain Prideaux, of the Easby, states that the movements of the Qambier ■were erratic, and when she ported her helm he blew the whistle and went full speed astern, seeing that a collision was inevitable. The Easby, however, struck the Gambier on the port side, toft of the funnel. Had the latter kept her course, she had plenty of room to pass on the starboard side, because he was well to the jjtouth, and she was blose into the Oue'ensclift'e shore when lie first saw her. After the vessels Struck he immediately got the boats !out and, succeeding in taking up a number of people, waited two hours more, keeping » sharp look out, and 'then, hearing no more cries, want on to Melbourne. Captain Bell, of the Gambler, has •made the following statement • ~"We jgot through jbhe B4p at 1.15 this mornling and when between Queenscliff ans 'Swan Pit lightship I saw the lights of ;a steamer on the|)or| sjcta -..JVe were priming arid proceeding at a very slow rate, scarcely half the maximum speed. I saw: that the other steamer was heading towards us, and wore; imyself away as much as possible until ■I perceived that we were getting too ;much inshore, The Easby loomed up : right alongside us,! and fearing a collision I ordered the engines to be immediately reversed, but apparently we s had too much way on. In a moment the approaching vessel was upon us land struck us with terrible force on the port side. Her bows cut half ithrough the Gambier, there was a terrific rush of water, and we began to founder. I called up the crew to arouse the passengers, and' when the; latter realised the awful nature of the -catastrophe there were some heartrending

scenes. At a moment ".'lien one requires to keep co:j1 ; n ! ••ollected, I must confess the .- n i i «? cries of the passengers, and esjecallyof the women disturbed me not a little. AH the faces seemed turned to me with a pleading I can never forget. I ordered the crew to lower the boats, and they responded like men. All four boats were in the water in a minute or two." (Received August 29, 10.20 a.m.) Memjoukjne, August 29. One of the lifeboats belonging to the ill fated steamer Gambier has been picked up three miles away from the scene of disaster. It contained three corpses—of an old man, a young man and a girl. Captain Prideaux, of the Easby, says—" I never dreamt that the Gambier would attempt to cross me as she did, for she was far on the Queenscliff side, and I had no occassion to go on the Queenscliff course when she crossed me." Mr Buckley, chief officer of the Eastby, stated it was his watch, and he was on the bridge, with the captain at the time of the collision. The Easby was on her proper course, and the way the Gambier attempted to run across her bows he considered to be most exj traordinary, and in his experience he had never known anything like it. The Easby being in ballast stood well above the Gambier, but the shock by the collision, he says, was not very great. He considers it was the strength of the collision bulkhead which saved the Easby; otherwise she too must have gone to the bottom. He helped to get out the boats and get the rescued people on. board the Easby. The scene he described as the most pitable onfc he has witnessed in the course of a long experience at sea. ; Mr Jackson, second officer of the Easby, states that he was below at the time of the accident, he rushed to the deck, lowered one of the boats, and taking charge of it rescued a boat load from the sinking vessel. His crew also manned one of the Gambier's boats, which reached the Easby and went back to the wreck. ; Captain Bell, of the Gambier, says: —" I directed the sailors first to launch the working boat, and filled it with women. When that was done two of the engineers were placed in charge of it, while I superintended the lowering of the port cutter. The starboard lifeboat was put out, but that capsized. At this time the water was up to the level of the,steamer's deck, and an instant afterwards she sank. I was drawn down with the suction, and washed beneath the ledge when the ship touched the bottom. I_ tried to rise'but found that the ledge obstructed me, but being an expert diver L managed to free myself, and rose to the surface. I then divested myself of my coat and vest, and struck out for the Easby, which had drawn • off from us after the collision. There was a strong ebb tide running, and presently I found myself half a mile from the Easby, Here I discovered a boat close to me, to which I swam. 'In it' were five or six others. They pulled me in just as the second engineer was sweeping out to sea on the sajqon box, We caught and saved him; also a woman who was lying oh a spar. Kegarding the cause of the accident all I have to say is that I steerc4 a correct course, and complied iin every way with the regulations."l Captain Bell complains that no boats put off from the Easby at &11, and that when he himself was aayed he had to implore the sailors of that vessel to man tjip boats and go to the assistance of. the persons then struggling in the water. Bell, donkey man of the Gambier, had a thrilling experience. After describing the launching of the starboard Jife boat he says—that as the Gambier sank the davits sinking with her caught the boat fore and aft and forced her and her occupants under the water, and when the boat got free she came up considerably lightened of her human load, but th.ere were still more on board than could be carried wijih safety. So the life boat capsized to rid herself of a few more, principally women and children, who were too feeble' to cling to the upturned keel. Bell, who was left behind on thp vessel, wag up to the waist in water for a time, and the steamer was going down under his feet before he left the ship. He looked over the side and watched the formed under her by the force of the suction. As he watched he saw a boy's face, upturned and white, staring gut, from the centie of the vortex", though alr.ea.dy far. below, the Surf'ice. Then a wave flowed over and the, maelstrom closed, The donkeynmn watched no longer, but plunged in and itruck out for the Easby, Before he had gone far some one clutched him round the neck and bore him under a fatho«n or so, He struggled to the top again with difficulty, but was again clutched and for the second time borne down, but came again to the surface. Finding h^ fpengfed felloe sufferer not j;o be reasonable he turned o,n his, back and for dear life sake let out a couple pt knocks, which finally got rid of his unfortunate shipmate. Swimmißj on he came to a woman floating With her back up and her head down under the wave?. She was dead. He got hold of a piece of hatchway ans was batf swimming and half drifting with the current which was setting out of the heads whou he paine across a woiuan who was evidently proving a considerable burden to a seaman who was supporting hep. |Bell placed his piece of hatch under her left arm, and passed his right round the woman, while the seaman changed a fish basket which he was 'using as a life buoy to hjs right hand, and put the left haiid ■ tiiidgr the 'woman's head. The seaman and idonkeyman then took turns to call for jhelp,%iH: dried tso cheer up their charge with promises that a boat would soon ireach them, but the woman'was speechless and foam oozing from her mouth, 'while they themselves were growing i 'weaker-, till a boat Hyith two men arrived and they were rescued. I A pathetic story was that of Mr a passenger, who had only been married five months, He stated that after patiently -waiting he found a boat was-being lowered. It was soon crowded with passengers, and as it boked as if it would be swamped every minute, his wife and himself decided not to go in#./ He adds—•"Knowing that toy wif<3 could swim, a,» 4 trying to comfort |*er, I said 'never itynd, Bertha, give me your hand. We will j jump overboard and swim to yonder'

I Loafc.' ;At that time I could see a boat some distance away. My wife gave i me her hand and we jumped clear from the ship into the water and struck out for the boat. As it was not far away ' we soon got"up to it, but found it nearly full of water. There were a lot of people- in it and others clinging to tlie sides, Avith their feet dangling in the wster. There must have been , fully twenty people either in the boat or -clinging to it. We were both taken in, but through some means the boat knocked up against a spar and capsized, and all the occu pants, who were in their night dresses, were pitched into the sea. The boat righted itself, and,both my wife and myself were among those who got into it again; Twice more the boat overturned, and for the third time I regained it. Each time it righted itself, however, the number who regained it was lessened. When I secured a seat a third time I saw a lady struggling in the water near me,' and close to the boat's side. She called to me 'save me 1 save me! Oh ! save me !' I pulled her in the boat. Thinking it was my wife whom I had rescued I said, {Bertha, thank God you are here again safe,' but on closer, inspection T found my wife was missing, and that the lady I had saved was a Salvation Army lass." The Gambier is insured for £15,000, of which £7500 is in the Southern Insurance Office, and a similar amount in the Commercial Assurance Company. Both Com panics are reinsured, and almost all the marine insurance offices in Melbourne are interested.