THE KAIPARA INQUIRY.D

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 32, 7 February 1910, Page 6

THE KAIPARA INQUIRY.D

NAUTICAL COTXRT RESUMES. CAPTAIN BUDEK'S WAHNTNGS. DIVER'S XNTEB.ESTING STOHY. ADsnaAixY orncEß gives tiV l IIKTCCE. The Nautical Court inquiring into the stranding of the s.s. Kaipara in RangiLoto Channel on January 14 resumed its sitting this morning, Mx. C. C. Kettle, S-il., presided, and with him sat Capi. Reed and Capt. Post, as nautical assessors. Mr. Ridings, assisted by Capt. Fleming, appeared for the Marine Department. .Mr. Cotter appeared on behalf of Capt. Corn-wall and the 2sJZ. Shipping Co., and Mr. McVeagh watched proceedings on behalf of the Harbour Board. J as. M. Brigham, Secretary of the Auckland Harbour Board, gave further evidence. The grounding of the Kaipara was, he said, reported on the 14th January, and that same afternoon the Chairman, the Harbourmaster, engineer, and the manager of the .N.Z. Shipping Co. visited the ship. The Chairman then instructed that all the Harbour BoaTd's grar and plant, and the services of it 3 officers should be placed at the disposal of the X.Z. Shipping Co. On January lilth the matter was dlacuased at a meeting of the Board, and again at a meeting of the Standing Committee on January "28. Another matter ■witness -wished to refer to >was the placing of soundings on Admiralty charts. Some doubt seemed to have arisen as to what he had stated. The statement made by witness had been fully borne out by the remarks of the Minister of Marine. Another point -witness wished to refer to "was the ■Harbourmaster's evidence as to the instructions he received in the matter oif searching for this rock. Capt. Duder's theory was that the vessel had struck inside the five fathom line, and then gone on to the position where she finally settled.

Mr. Kettle: Copt. Duder has stated that he was instructed not to look for the rock until the N.Z. Shipping Co. took action.

Witness: What did happen was that the Chairman said it would not be necessary ior any soundings to be made until the Captain of the Kaipaxa indicated ■where the ship had touched bottom.

When the existence of the rock was ascertained by Messrs. Bradney and Binns, the Harbourmaster immediately caused soundings to be made -without any instructions, and simply in the exercise of his dntv.

Mr. Kettle: I thought Copt. Cornwall discovered the rock.

Mr. Cotter: Yes, but Messrs Bradney and Binns' launches -were used in the search.

Captain Duder, the harbourmaster, recalled, said that he wanted to say in reply to Mr. Brig;ham'3 evidence that be got clear instructions not to make soundings until the Kaipara'e owners located the exact position. These instructions were issued "by the Chairiman in Mr. Brighain's presence. Mr. Kettle: Yes, it seems evident tbat you were told to stand aside and do Tiothins until the ship's people had first mcrvpd'in tbe matter. We are satisfied about thtrt.

Captain. Duder: Thanks, your Wor shin.

Mr. Kettle said the Court wanted to make a statement in regard to two letters included in the correspondence handed over by the Harbour Board. On October 21. 1901, Captain Duder wrote: "In view of the rather serious shoaling of the Channel, I would respectfully submit ■ihat the Board should endeavour to have the Channel surveyed by one of the Admiralty surveying vessels, of which there are now two working in New Zealand waters." On November 6, 1901, Captain Duder again wrote: "I would recommend the Board to arrange for the whole of the Rangitoto Channel to be resurveyed by one of the Admiralty surveying vessels at present working on the New Zealand coast. I may say that I have not the staff of assistants, or any of the best appliances, or instruments, or the experience in marine surveying to undertake so important a work." Mr. Cotter: That was nine years ago. Mr. Kettle: Ye 3. There are two distinct warnings the Channel needed resurveying. We wish to emphasise these statements by Captain Duder. It shows that he was fully alive to the absolute necessity for an early survey of the Channel ; and brought that necessity prominently before the Board. So that the insinuations made in the early stage of the proceedings against Captain Duder were without any ground whatever. SOUNDINGS AT RAILWAY WHARF. Thos. Alexander Dyke, a master mariner, and a surveyor of ships, said he had made soundings on Saturday last at the Railway wharf. It was then practically low water. He started then at the north end pf the wharf, working to the southward for a distance of 600 feet. He also worked from 70 feet to 100 feet outwards from the wharf. He worked at intervals of 10 feet. The soundings made by witness gave in some cases a deptli of seven feet more than the chart gave, but in no case did his soundings give a tess depth than the chart indicated" WHAT THE LTV~ER FOUND. Frank W. Walters, a diver, stated that fee went down off the Railway wharf on Saturday morning. He examined the berth where the Kaipara lay, and made «• thorough examination. Mr. Kettle: Tell us i n your own words what you found?— From a distance of 38 feet to 52 feet I found a large quantity of stone. These stones weighed from olbs to a cwt.

Captain Fleming: Were they on a hard or a soft bottom ?-They were on a sand stone bottom.

And would a vessel lying on -the bottom in that locality suffer damage, o r would the stones be crushed into the sandstone?— The metal was very hard stone, and the sandstone would <nve first. °

Did the metal in question appear to have been in contact with a ship's bottom?—lt did not appear to mc that it had been in contact with anvthin". Mr. Kettle: What was the size of the biggest stone you found there?—Aboui one and a-half cwt.

Captain FJeming: You examined 5 the shoal in Rangitoto Channel?— "Xos, I did What did you find?—l found 6tat it protruded to a height of 3ft or 4ft above the bottom.

Anything else!—On the western side of the shoal I saw grooves in the rock, and patches of red paint for a distance of 10ft or 12ft. The rock was flattened off.

Was the rock solid?—No, it was an isolated clump of boulders.

You secured samples of the rock? — Yes.

Did you find anything else?— Yes, about 30 yards to the southeast I found another rock—a separate rock alto

gether. It was standing about the same height as the first rock from the bottom.

■Did you get anything there?— Yes, I found a piece of copper sheathing from a ship's bottom. It was lying on the slope of the rock.

Mr. Kettle: It is not one solid rock? — No, I found several isolated peaks. Thb second rock that I found was protruding aft 6in from, the bottom. The rock on which 'the Kaipara struck, and: for which we were looking, stood at its highest pinnaclo about Oft high from the bottom.

Mr. Kettle: Did it appear to you that something had recently struck that rock?— Yes; on the other rocks there was marine growth, and shells, but on this rock it was clear, and there were shattered pieces. Captain Fleming: They were big boulders ?—Yes.

Too big to have been dumped overboard from any vessel?— Yes, they were substantial rocks. Some of them were as big as the table in this Court-room. Captain Fleming: My reason for asking the question was because there is a story to the effect that a vessel was blown up there. Mr. Kettle: You think they are natural rocks embedded in the sand? —Yes. The witness was congratulated by the Court on the manner in which he gave his evidence. • Captain Fleming stated that he had just been informed that the vessel he was alluding to had been loaded with boulders and blown up off Cheltenham beach. .. ~ . Mr Kettle: So that that c-iowe up that theory. , , , , Captain Fleming: Yee, that's exploded. PINNACLE SEVEN FEET HIGH. Cuthbert Dbcon LongstafT, navigation lieutenant on H.M.S. Challenger, said he had made an examination ot tne shoal in Bangitoto Channel, on whicn the Kaipara was supposed to have struck. Witness had surveyed the shoal under instruction from his commander. The Challenger's diver had gone down, and made an extensive examination. The diver informed witness that one side of the rock was broken. The other side was solid rock, covered ■with marine growth. The highest pinnacle of the rock was sta-nding seven feet from the bottom. Witness had taken soundings, and found the correct depth of water from the top of this peak was 24ft. 9in. The shoal was located 135 ft. outside the five-fathom line, or othorwise 135 ft. inside the channel.

Mr. Kettle: So that in your opinion the rock is in the fairway?— Yes, unquestionably. I also found the red luminous buoy was out 130 yds. to the north, and 40vds. to the west.

And that would have the effect of bringing the shoal still more into the fairway ? —Yes. Do you think Captain Cornwall worked a safe course according to the chart? —Yes; I should say I have been over the same conrse and the same shoal myself two or three times.

The luminous buoys should mark the channel?—ln my opinion, the buoys should be on the five-fathom line.

Mr. Ridings intimated that he had ■no fnrther evidence to submit to the Court.

Mr. Knttle asked Mr. Cotter bad he any additional evidence to offer.

Mr. Cotter replied that there was the evidence of Captain Forsdick, of the Orari, which was being taken at Wellington this morning, relative to the accident to tbe s.s. Waimate in Rangitoto Channel in July, 1904. He did not regard this evidence of so much importance now that the existence of this dangerous rock in the fairway had been so completely proved. It was for the Court to say whether it would be justified in delaying proceedings for another two days in order to secure Captain Forsdick - s statement.

Mr. Kettle said the Court thought it should wait for Captain Korsdick's affidavit, seeing that so much had been made during the inquiry of the Waimate incident.

The Court also intimated that it desired some evidence as to the value of the damage done, and this, Mr. Cotter said,/ would be procured. FOR THE COURT. The final and amended questions submitted to the Court by Mr. Ridings, on •behalf of the Marine Department, were as follows:— (1) Whether the stranding of the s.s. Kaipara was caused by any default, negligence, or error in judgment on the part of the master or other person on board the said steamer? (2) Did the master make sufficient endeavour to ascertain the cause of the list to starboard of the said vessel before leaving port, and did the list contribute to the casualty, and if so, to what extent?