WORK ON WRECK

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 46, 24 February 1942, Page 3

WORK ON WRECK

MENACE OF MINES DIVER'S ADVENTURE (By R. J. DUNN. In collaboration with J. John•tone. chief diver of the Claymore) (World Copyright. Mot to be copied in whole or in part) Ever present in the life of the strenuous 12 months of salvage work by which the sunken Niagara's cargo of bullion, estimated to be worth £2,397,000, was dredged from the ooze of the ocean bed, was the special hazard of working in the midst of a minefield. This is emphasised by an experience of the chief diver.

With his life-line tangled round the horns of a mine which he was clutching desperately as it bobbed within a few feet of the Claymore's underplating, Diver J. Johnstone spent the two most uncomfortable hours of his life.

It was one of many brushes with the deadly sea eggs so freely sown by enemy sea marauders who had been on the route followed down the Northland coast by inter-colonial shipping. The incident was a thrilling climax to the second experimental descent made in the observation chamber, and preparatory to the finding of the Niagara.

As the bell was in process of being hoisted ,a wire rope scraped its side. Although actually foul, the bell swung clear at about 15 fathoms, leaving a big query mark in the mind of the diver who, peering through his window, had seen the foreign wire. The mystery was solved after lunch when, on the anchor being hauled up prior to recommencing sweeping operations, a mass of green sea growth was brought to the surface. Upon a few more yards of cable being hoisted aboard a mine, complete with holding shackle and horns protruding sin, was revealed. Tangled with the cable chain it scraped the Claymore's side. Faced with such deadly peril Skipper J. P. Williams gave instructions to lower away slowly, and after a diver had been sent down to investigate the mine it was decided to slip moorings and report the discovery to the naval authorities.

The following day the Claymore, escorted by a minesweeper, returned to the spot where the mine had been buoyed off alongside one of the permanent moorings.

The danger was so great that with the exception of the diver, two men on the diver's pump, and two attendants, the~ Claymore's crew, together with the ship's papers, was transferred to the minesweeper. Diver's Unenviable Experience Upon the decks being cleared Diver Johnstone went down in diving dress and shackled the light sweep wire provided by the minesweeper on to the mine itself. In the course of this operation he saw that the holding wire of the mine was tangled round the Claymore's mooring wire, of which it had already cut two strands. When freed by the diver the mine shot up the mooring wire to i within 2ft of the Claymore's

side, carrying Mr. Johnstone, whose life line was entangled in the horns, up with it. He remained there, clutching two horns and with the top of his helmet touching the Claymore's bottom.

Captain Williams then gave word to the sweeper to pull on the wire so that the mine was taken clear of the ship. This operation was nearing completion when the wire broke, the mine with Diver Johnstone hanging to it shooting to the surface within 10ft of the Claymore's bows.

After seven nerve-racking hours it was finally riddled with machinegun bullets from the naval boat, and sank.

Diver Johnstone paid a tribute to the superb leadership of Captain Williams, which saved this and other nasty situations involving mines.

Mines All About

Towards the end of January, when the Claymore was anchored at the Railway wharf, a loud explosion was heard at sea. This was caused by a drifting mine exploding when washed up on the rocks of the Little Chickens.

Within the space of the next fortnight three other mines were encountered, one of which again fouled the Claymore's sweeps. In each instance the locality was marked and the deadly monsters destroyed by a naval boat.

Naturally the knowledge that the salvage vessel was working in highly dangerous waters caused considerable discussion among the crew, two of whom left at this juncture (mid January). Despite the risk all the remainder regarded the salvage of the gold to strengthen Britain's economic front as their contribution to the war, and in this light gladly faced any peril. A Saddening Episode Further realisation of the hazards they ran was sombrely borne home to the members of the expedition when, while enjoying a couple of days break in Whangarci they received word on May 14 that the minesweeper Puriri had struck a mine and sunk nine miles north-e'ast of Bream Head and about two miles and a half north of the Chickens Five ratings were killed and three seriously injured only two miles from the scene of the salvage operations. The loss of these men was felt keenly by those in the Claymore, who had become accustomed to seeing them steaming up from their anchorage to clear the seas and make safe the shipping lane. Often during the course of her work in the few months preceding the disaster the men of the Claymore had passed over the spot unaware of lurking danger so close to their labours.

Later those aboard the salvage vessel as it lay anchored over the sunken Niagara came into even closer contact with the naval craft as the clearing of the waters in the immediate vicinity was undertaken. Occasionally a bright flash of light winked directions to cease diving while a mine was sunk or destroyed and until the "All right" intimation was given.

When a mine blew up there was a dull boom, but most simply sank, riddled with machine-gun fire.

The Claymore divers often wondered about the effect of an exploding mine on the bell while it was below. They were informed by the navy that the safe distance was two miles, but had it ever been put to the test, they wondered.

Within the space of three days, four mines were destroyed, all directly in the track usually followed by the Claymore on her trips to and from Urquhart's Bay, her nearest sheltering place and on her direct route to the port of WhangareL

No longer was the salvage vessel a lonely ship on a lonely ocean, as the minesweepers, several of them, came so close as to arouse fears of lifting the mooring. Half a mile from where the salvage ship had been operating, three other mines were disposed of in the week. Only her light draught had saved the Claymore, for in the search for the wreck she had passed and repassed over these waters for months, day and night.

The sweepers carried on moving towards the Great Barrier, their total for the eight days being 41 mines.

To put it mildly, these experiences coupled with the general hazard and strain of the diving work, superimposed a terrific ordeal for those engaged in the search for bullion.

As the minesweepers pursued their quest further afield diving operations were continued uninterruptedly, but even from five miles distant the rumbling of an exploding charge carried by the water sounded so close and loud as to be disturbing to the man in the observation chamber.

Hidden from the mainland by the Chickens group the Claymore would have been easy picking for any enemy raider operating off the New Zealand coast. Although the naval authorities were most watchful, they could not keep a constant supervision over the salvage vessel, and on one or two occasions when heavy weather caused her to seek shelter in the lee of the islands, the worst v/as feared by their friends ashore.

A Well-kept Secret

Careless talk in this instance might well have cost lives and brought a sudden end to a venture designed to strengthen the Empire's economic front. For that reason the movements of the expedition were a well-kept secret, and it was not until the concluding stage? that Pressmen were able to secure a narrative of this, one of the world's greatest new scoops. The need for the rigid censorship imposed by the Department of Information was fully realised and scrupulously observed.

Forty miles distant from land the brave men on the Claymore were fully aware not only of their danger from a mine, but also from direct military act : .on. While work was proceeding an aeroplane occasionally flew overhead, and when one did not signal the expedition conjectured that it may have been off a raider dispatched to interrupt their task.