AROUND THE WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 264, 7 November 1931, Page 4

AROUND THE WORLD.

GOSSIP OF THE PORTS.

THE WRECKS OF A CENTURY.

(By LEE FORE BRACE.)

The steamship Lady of the Lake, when steaming into Port Molyneux on December 20, 1575, rail ashore in a dense fog. With great difficulty all hands, with one lady passenger, managed to get into a lifeboat, and, after six hours' battling in the surf, managed to land on the leeward side of False Island. In a few hours the Lady of the Lake was burst open by the heavy swell and nothing whatsoever was saved from the wreck. Wrecks in IB7G. The schooner Kate Monaghan, on January 7, when making into Fox ton Harbour, got ashore and became a total wreck. The crew was saved.

The cutter Kate Young, on February 11, piled up on the Avarua iteef, Rarotonga, in. a strong northerly. Tne members of the crew were rescued with great difficulty by the natives, but the vessel and cargo were lost.

The schooner Florence, on March 19, when sailing north close to Banks Peninsula, was capsized in a terrific squall and drifted on to the rocks. The crew hurriedly took to the boat, but the cook, who was sleeping below, could not be got out of his cabin, the door being under water. The boat was driven out to sea and the oars were lost. In the morning the bottom boards were torn up and lashed together to form a mast, and with the shirts of the crew a rude sail was made. By wonderful seamanship Lyttelton Harbour was reached and the survivors safely landed. The hull of the schooner drifted up and down the coast for some weeks, but went to pieces in a great gale, parts coming ashore at Pencarrow. Epic of the Sea.

The ship Strathmore was wrecked on the Crozet Islands on July 2, when bound from London to Uunedin with passengers. The story of the wreck ot tiie fcjtratnmore ana the subsequent hardships and perils experithe survivors is an epic of the sea. The ship, of 1472 tons, was one of the best ships engaged in the emigrant trade and had made a reputation on previous voyages for seaworthiness. When easting down she ran into a heavy fog, which continued for live days before striking the Crozets, and at the time of the disaster her master was relying on dead reckoning in shaping his course. Despite 'the fact that a. course had been set to take her twenty miles to the southwards of the islands, she struck on Sugar Loaf Rock at 4 a.m. on the morning of July 1, her bows becoming wedged between two great boulders. There was little wind at the time, but the great southern swell, always experienced in the! high latitudes, swung the stern of the vessel round, exposing her broadside to tliel sea.

By daylight the hull of the vessel was

under water, only the forecastle head and jibbom offering shelter to her complement. Many of the passengers and crew took shelter in the fore rigging. At 9 a.m. the tide was at its highest, and the captain and mate, when trying to clear a lifeboat, were swept away and drowned. The second mate and bo'sun cleared the gig and dinghj', but the latter was too small to be of use in the great sea that was running. During the day three trips were made between the shore and the ship, but only 49 people were landed. When night came the second mate ordered everyone aloft to the fore rigging, where they were lashed safely. At midnight the vessel canted over to seaward and the 350 people who were clinging to the mast were drowned. Story Told by Survivor.

The marooned people were without clothing and food, but it is best to tell the subsequent story of the wreck in the words of a survivor. This is the. story as told by George Crombie, a passenger on the illfated ship :"We found ourselves in a most desolate place, boulders piled high on boulders, and very little vegetation. There

were large numbers of sea birds, principally albatrosses, but they took no notice whatsoever of us, and we killed large num-

, bers for food. We saved from the cargo which was washed up on the rocks several barrels of gunpowder, one cask of wine, two cases ot rum, one of brandy and gin, a large case of preserves, and eight tins of sweets. The tins were the best find of all, for they were used during our stay on the island as pots and pans, with which Ave cooked our meals.

"Three days after the wreck happened one of the passenger's chests, containing clothing, blankets, knives and spoons, was washed up, and, best of all, six dozen boxes i of matches, all perfectly dry. There was • no firewood to be had, so we used the : skins of birds for the cooking fires. We : constructed two rough huts, a small one for ■ Mrs. Wordsworth and her son, and the larger one for the other survivors. Later ' We divided ourselves into six watches, each watch taking a look-out throughout the day and night. Bv Decenibe.v our number * was reduced by death to 44, at which it remained until our rescue by the Young Phoenix on January 21. Four Vessels Sighted. "During our long and weary stay we sighteel four vessels passing close to our island, but despite the fact that we made fires which gave off huge clouds of smoke, they passed on to the east. One vessel came close in. not more than a mile from the beach. We could see her crew about the decks, and if any of them had been looking they must have seen us. (This supposition on the part of Mr. Crombie was afterwards found to be correct. The ship White Eagle on arrival at Auckland on November 11, 1875, reported that smoke had been seen on the Crozets, but it was supposed to be from a sealing camp which was established at the Crozets.) The boats were smashed on the rocks a few days after we landed, and no timber could be found suitable to repair them. Those who died were the weaker among us, the cause of their deaths being from frostbite and lack of nourishment. The conduct of the castaways right throughout their long stay on 'ithe island was exemplary, the stronger always helping the weaker, and several of the seamen were often seen giving their portion of the scanty fare to the vounger and weaker among our number. We had given up all hope when the Young Phoenix, an American whaler,, came close inshore in response to our smoke signal. Her master put out two boats, and when the welcome strangers came to us strong men cried as they shook their hands. It was too late in the day for the rescue to be made, so the boats returned to the whaler, taking Mrs. Wordsworth and her son with them. The next morning at daylight the boats returned, and before they took us.off they gave us a hot breakfast of fried bacon and beans, which they had thoughtfully brought with thenh After all were safely aboard the Young Phoenix, the mate and his crew returned to the island and erected crosses on the graves, a kindly action such as is thought of only by seamen. Aboard the whaler Ave were treated with every kindness, but there was insufficient room for our number and not too much so. meeting with the English ship Sierra Morena, bound for Karachi, twenty of us were transferred to her. We were landed at Point de Galle, Colombo, and the others were ' safely landed at Mauritius." i Heroic Woman Survivor.

Mrs. Wordsworth, the only woman survivor, showed a most heroic spirit while marooned on the island. "When rescued she had only one petticoat, but this had been supplemented by a pair of moleskin trousers, a pea jacket, and a sou'-wester. She was reduced to a skeleton when rescued, and had to be lifted to and from the rescuing boat.

The complete story or the loss of the Strathmore is one of the most poignant in the history of the sea. equalling in its tragedy and pathos the story of the Cospatrick holocaust. (To be continued.)