LOSS OF THE ALEXANDER NEWTON.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 148, 22 June 1894, Page 3

LOSS OF THE ALEXANDER NEWTON.

THREE LIVES LOST.

A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.

ASHORE AT PORTLAND ISLAND.

DEATH OF THE CAPTAIN.

SURVIVORS REACH AUCKLAND,

News of another disastrous shipwreck on the East Coast came to' band this morning, the wreck on this Occasion being a resulb of tho fierce gale which raged throughout the colony oa Sunday last. The Sydney barqne Alexander Newton was totally wrecked at Portland Island, on the Easb Cpaet, on Monday last, while bound from New South Wales to Napier, the captain and two of the crew being drowned. The survivors of the crew are at present in Auckland, having reached here this morn-' ing by the Union Company's ..a. Poberna from the South. RESCUING THE CREW. The steamer Poherua left Dunedin on the 14th inst. for Auckland, and after calling ab Lybtelton was, on Wednesday last, on her way past Portland Island, which lies ab tha extreme end of the Mahia Peninsula (north of Hawke's Bay) when the officers noticed a signal flying from the flagstaff of the lighthouse on the Island. The signal read as follows:— , , " Alexander Newton, barque, of Sydney, 1 complete wreck ; survivors on tho island." On making oub this sensational message Captain Shepherd, the master of the Poherua, ordered a boat ashore to take off the shipwrecked men. The Poherua steamed round to the west side of the i island, the more sheltered side, and one of the officers wenb ashore with a boat. On landing the officer was meb on bhe beach by tho lighthouse-keeper and six seaman, who, it appeared, were the survivors (if an illfated vessel, the Alexander Newton, which had gone to pieces on the island,'.wo days before. The shipwrecked mariners were taken en board the steamer, and this morning they were landed here and provided with accommodation at the Sailors' Home. STORY OF THE WRECK, It was assertained from the statements made by the shipwrecked men thab they were the survivors of the wreck of the Sydney-owned wooden barque Alexander Newton. The barqne, which was a vessel of 309 tons register, was well-known in the intercolonial trade, and had visited New. Zealand frequently. She was at first owned by tbe Newton family, of Sydney, who also own the three-masted schooner May Newton, well-known in this port. The Alexander Newton was built at ths Manning River, New South Wales, in 1876, her port of registry being Sydney, and ber last owner Mr Wm. Johnson. On the 31st of last month the Alexander Newton, laden with a cargo of wooden piles for Napier, sailed from Port Stephens, New South Wales, for Napier. Tbe trim little barque was in excellenb order,, and none anticipated anybhing bub a prosperous voyage for her. She was, however, destined to come to grief, and to bo ground to matchwood in the snrf on tbe New Zealand coast. Captain Harwood, who was well known in Auckland, having been formerly master of tbe brigantine Prosperity and other vessels, was in charge of the barque. He was a elderly man, and bore tbe reputation of being an excellent Beaman. The nnfortunate captain meb a sad death, aB bhe sequel will show. THE LAST VOYAGE. The barque carried all plain sail across the Tasman Sea, making the run from the New Sonth Wales coasb to .Cook-Straits in a fortnight. Once clear of the dreaded Straits, her ill luck began. Captain HarwOod rounded Capo Palliser ab midnight on Thursday, the 14th inst The barque then bore away for Hawke's Bay, close-hauled, the wind being strong from the north-east. She slowly beat up against the contrary wind until Saturday night last, when, the wind shifted to the S.S.E. Nexb morning at daylight, the officers found themselves aboub ten miles south-east of Bare Island, whioh lies south of Cape Kidnappers, the southern extremity of Hawke's Bay. A DISASTROUS GALB. The weather then came on very thick (says the first mato, Mr Potts, who is one of the survivors). The sky-was obscured, and there was every premonition of bad weather. The wind qui6kly. freshened to a violent gale from the south-east, and in a short time ib was blowing "great gunß." Canvas was reduced, and under close-reefed topsails and reefed foresail the vessel kept out to sea. In a few honrS a tremendous sea was running, and great bodies of waber now and then swept the vessel's decks. The weather became very thick, and the knowledge that the vessel was on a lee ■hore caused much anxiety to the unfortunate master. Wibh the very heavy sea running, and tbe gale increasing in fury every hour, the " skipper " deemed it unsafe to attempt to ran for Napier. Accordingly the barque was laid on a course oub to sea as much as possible, in order to ride out tbe gale. All Sunday tbe gale blew furiously, and the greatest care was needed to prevent the litble barque from broaching bo in the dangerous seas. SAILS BLOWN AWAY. Fierce ' squalls burst over ths doomed ship frequently, and the vessel's *%hole suit of sails was nearly all blown away or torn to tatters. One by one the reefed topsails, foresail, staysails, were torn asunder or blown clean out of the belt-ropes by the furions blasts. THE VESSEL LEAKY. To add to the dangers of the gale, the barque began to strain and labour heavily on the mountainous seas running. She probably started a butt or a plank somewhere, for she began to make water freely,, and all bands tool- their turns at the pumps. Theclankof the pumps, as may be imagined, made a more dismal music even than the howling of the gale. All throughout Sunday the tired crew were kept hard at work at pumping the vessel out, but they did not seem to gain particularly on the water in the hold. To add to the discomforts, the gale and the flooded decks made it impossible for anything to be done in the galley, and the luckless men were forced to work on without warm food to sustain them. All Sunday afternoon and evening the.gale raged, tbe vessel being kept head to sea with only rags of canvas on her. The captain and his mates hardly left the deck during this trying time. "BREAKERS AHEAD." The next morning, Monday, broke as thick as the previous day, and the officers had the greatest anxiety as to tbeir position.- The wind was still from tbe S.E., with a tremendous sea running. Shortly before noon the fog lifted. Then tbe crew saw their perilous predicament. Only a mile away were the breakers, mountains of water breaking on a jagged reef of rocks, while beyond the surf lay Portland Island—a flat-topped island about two miles long, of moderate height,- lying off tbe Soutbern extremity of Mabia Peninsula, tbe lighthouse on the island, 300 ft. ebove the sea level, was in lull view. All hands at once perceived their plight. The barque was sagging down helplessly on the lee-shore, the wind and the terribly heavy seas driving her irresistibly towards the rocks, on which the surf was breaking with a noise like thunder, The captain, as his last resource, decided to try and beach the barque to save the lives of-those on board, and a staysail was set Id order to get the vessel, ashore t what wa. supposed to be a sandy bedc b".

In the grip of the furious wind the staysail went the way of the other canvas, and the barque drifted rapidly on to the rocks, the reef laying several hundreds of yards to seaward of the island beach. THE BARQUE STRUCK on the reef shortly before noon on Monday, and her fate, with that of ber luckless captain, was scaled. The great seas astern of her drove the vessel upon the reef, and ib was only a question of a few minutes before she would be reduced to pieces in the surf. Accordingly the crew made such preparations as they could for saving tbeir lives/and the lifebelts on board were served out to all bauds. DEATH OF THE CAPTAIN. . " The old man was the first to go," said one of the.crew to-day. " The captain was at the wheel when tbe barque struck. He was an elderly man bub still he was pretty active. I was m the mizzen rigging when she struck, with a life-belb round me, when I saw a sea pome over bbc stern and sweep the captain and the wheel bobh over to the companionway. Tbe poor old fellow was lying across the companionway with bis face downwards, wben another sea came over, lifted him up, and dashed him down again, back downwards, on the deckhouse. We could see blood coming from where be lay, without a move in his body, but we were helpless to assist him. I and another man who were in the mizzen rigging would have gone to help him, only it meanb losing our own lives. Then another sea swepb Captain Harwood over bhe side, and 'we did nob see him any more." SURVIVORS REACH SHORE. The crew, as soon as was pracbicable, made for the fore part of the ship, which was on top of the rocks, pounding op and down with tremendous crashes, with each send of the sea, with the intention of dropping from the jib-boom into the sea and making for the shore. All but three succeeded in gaining the barque's bows safely. The three were the captain, the cook, a man named Baker, and an able seaman named Charles Hendrik, a foreigner. Tbecookand tbe seaman disappeared shortly after the captain, being washed overboard as they wore making for the bows. The men, who took to the rigging as the vessel struck all got on to the bowsprit and jibboom, and one by one they dropped from the jibbOom-end into the boiling surf. After buffeting with the Waves for their lives they were washed up on the rocks of Portland Island, in a bruised, and balf-dead , condition. The heavy work at the pumps had told on them severely, and the only wondor is that more of tbe crew did not lose their lives. Francis Edwards, the second mate, was badly cub and bruised by the rocks as he was struggling on shore. Mosb of the survivors could swim, and wibh their lifebelts under their arms they drifted ashore. SHELTERED AT THE LIGHTHOUSE. Three of the survivors walked to the lighthouse, some distance away, and were hospitably received by the keepers, who had been witnesses of the wreck. The otber men made their way to a deserted Maori tohare on the beach and waited, in a cold and half starved condition, till they got some clothing. The keepers then took them all to the lighthouse and made them very comfortable. All hands speak well of the kindnesses which tbey received from the lighthouse-men during their involuntary stay on the island. THI BARQUE BREAKS UP. Meanwhile tbe seas were pounding the unlucky little barque with terrific force on the savage rocks. The vessel was giving way under the men's feet as they left her deck, and shortly after they got ashore she broke np into several pieces, tbe ma_bs going by the board. The Sea quickly reduced the wreck to fragments, and literally ground her remains into matchwood. "We Went down to the beach an hour afterwards," said one of the survivors to a Stab reporter to-day, "and wo couldn't find a piece of wreckage as big as a toothpick. We wanbed bo see if we could get somo of our clothes and other things which might come ashore, but all we could Bee of the Newton were the windlass and cables lying on the rooks." When the barque went ashore the tops of the rocks on which she struck were showing when each, sea recoiled. The tide, when the vessel wenb ashore, was aboub three-quarters ebb. The shipwrecked mariners stayed at tbe lighthouse that night and tbe following day. On Wednesday, at aboub nine o'clock in tbe morning, the s.s. Poherua, passing from Lyttelton to Auckland, was sighted some distance off tbe island. The lightbouse keepers immediately hoisted signals informing the steamer of the wreck, and the Poherua then made for the west side of the island, lowered a boat and took the survivors on board, leaving at 2 p.no. for Auckland and arriving here this morning. THE SURVIVORS. The survivors who are in Auckland are : —Thomas Potts, mate; Francis Edwards, second mate; William Hodgson, Charles McDonald, Charles Suckstorff, and Alexander Olsen, A.B.'s. The first mate was recently in the Auckland brigantine Stanley. THE DROWNED. The men drowned were:— John Harwood, master. . Charles Hendrik, A.B. Baker, cook and steward. Captain Harwood had numerous acquaintances amongst the Auckland shipping community, and his sad death will be regretted by his old friends here. When the survivors left tho island none of the bodies had been recovered. The second mate is in tbe Auckland Hospital for treatment. THE WRECKAGE. News from Wairoa, Hawke's Bay, to-day states that a quantity of wreckage, including a portion of a hull, bearing the name •• Alexander Newton," also Bpars, planking, etc., was washed ashore on Tuesday on the Tahaenui Beach, near the Wairoa, opposite Portland Island. Further wreckage, painted blue, was washed ashore at the Mahia yesberday.