LYTTELTON NEWS

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 16078, 7 December 1917, Page 8

LYTTELTON NEWS

—♦ ACCIDENT OX WHARF. Oscar Johnston, an elderly member of tKo Lytteltou. Casual Workers' Union, whilst engaged in unloading case oil from a vessel yesterday afternoon, wa£ etruck with a aling and knocked out of the truck in which he •was working. A serious fracture of the skull resulted. Ho was removed to the casualty ward in an unconscious state, but subset» quently recovered consciousness, Hi 3 con- S ( dition last evening was critical. If-possible j he will be removed to-day to the Christchurch Hospital. si a: SEAMEN'S INSTITUTE. p Mr S. Booth, superintendent of the Sea- . men's Institute, states that during tho month of November over 600 visits were paid to e: the Institute, while 70 visits were paid to various vessels in the port. Seamen in overseas ships have been the recipients of 150 k comfort bags. About 65 seamen from ocean- p going vessels were entertained during thf month by Lady Denniston, assisted by the O CsCshmero Ladies' Guild. Many of these seamen had been present on vessels during sub- . marino attacks on more than one_ occasion, •; but they hod repeatedly shown their courage a by re-Signing on without' hesitation. The b Cashmere Ladies' Guild had done much fine y work for the seamen, and as a result of its £ efforts had succeeded in raising £100 for the benefit of tho seamen. A number of , parcels have been sent for th© lads at Samoa arirl these should arrive at their des- t tination before Christmas. Over 200 letters 1) have been received at tho Institute, and q posted for the men. a ST. SAVIOUR'S CHURCH. D The proceeds from the sale of work and produce, which was held on Wednesday in 1 St. Saviour's schoolroom, amounted to £27, C which will go to th® church funds. A num- f ber of toys, which were unsold at the ter- j. minatiou of the sale, were packed in readi- j. npM for Bending th&ln to St. Saviour's Orphanage, Christchurch, to be distributed among tho children there as Christmas pro- j. eenta. £ THE WHISTLING BUOY. s TO THE EDITOR OF "THE TRESS." Sir, —Your correspondent "Foggy" states f that the dismal tones of the "whistling buoy," stationed outside Lyttelton _ Heads, J as an aid to mariners, can be distinctly i heard by him at his home in Fendalton, J about 14 miles distant. Of couibo it may bo possible under exceptionally favourable conditions. i.e., a swell coming inshore (from } N.E. or S.E.) and no -wind, for a person ( with "exceptionally" sensitive hearing to pick j up tho sound at any distance. . On th© other hand a prominent master l marine* who haa visited 13io port for many yezxa at regular intervals, informed me that ) the signal has never at any time been < audible to him at a greater distance than , 2i nautical miles, and it often happened ] that no sound whatever could be heaTd until _ the vessel had passed, the buoy and the wash had caused it to rock. . Sorao months ago» when the trhistimo buoy" broke away from its moorings and drifted to within a mile of the Sumnor beach, I happened to see the light dancing on the waves, and thinking' that it belonged to a ship in distress, I, with the help of « another man, raised th© alarm. 1 A lifeboat was manned preparatory to , effecting a rescue, and it was not until the buoy was quite close inshore that the error ■was mode manifest. _ That particular case happened one bunciay evening between 1 and 6, and it was found necessary to dispatch the tug Lyttelton to bring back the buoy to its usual anchorage. This mistake could not havo occurred haa the "moaning" been loud enough to carry to a distance of 14 miles. In conclusion, it "Fogey" wishes, the writer could supply him with the names of the prominent Sumner residents who went out against a howling easterly wind with the hop© of rescuing some shipwrecked mariners, and came back only to find out that they had. mistaken "Captain Thorpe's Bull" for a ship in distress. Tours, • Lyttelton, Deoember 6th.