THE DRIFTING HAWEA

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 286, 27 August 1908, Page 7

THE DRIFTING HAWEA

FURTHER SEARCH. NOW TVYENTY-EICHT DAYS OUT. TELEGRAPH —PRESS ■ ASSOCIATION —COFYBIQJIT.) - (Rec. August 26, 11,20 p.m.) - 1 Newcastle, August 26. Tho Flora, which sailed' to-day for Napier, .will continue ,the search* -for thd Hawca. HISTORY or THE MISHAP. i On.Tuesday, July 28,-the Union Company's cargo, steamer Hawea, left Newcastle fpr Gisborne arid' Napier With a cargo of coal, and two days later- broko' hor tail shaft. Nothing further • was heard of the vessel until August 11,7 when. fourteen of the crew, under the second _ officer, reached Lord Howe Island, and informed a, steamer of" the breakdown. A search-had already commenced for "the Hawca which was provisioned for five weeks, and on receipt of the news more' vessels 'joined in the quest. On August 10 a second crew, consisting of the chief officer (Mr. B. 8,. Irwin), third engineer, and'a seaman, left the Hawea, and' Seven: days later landed at' the Solitaries (near Clarence Hiver) very much exhausted. Australian files contain the. story of the chief officer. ' - . .. '. . ,•

Mr/'lrwin stated that upon investigation it "was found that .it' was impossible to effect . repairs', to': the tail 'shaft, so all possible can-vas"-was 1 set to endeavour,to sail the ship. It waj . found of no: avail, however. Altnough there, was'a heavy, easterly, sea the vessel be- ; havijd ; splendidly. Qh) August I,' when,. 45 miles south-east of Lord Hov/e Island, the captaindispatched' the ship's boat with ten men", for "the island to .seek assistance" if possible, '. and,also wjth a view to make- the steamer's provisions last longer. After, this the ;HaWea drifted to the westward and north-ward-through continuous easterly and southeasterly, gales. On August 10 the ship was in latitude 29.2 : deg. :lmin. and longitude 151 deg. : 57inin. east, and 83 miles from' Cape Byron, and at 1 p.m. a second boat-was dispatched. A strong gale was encountered, whichlasted for forty hours, and after a thrilling experience,'at 3 p.m. on Monday, August ;17.: the crew wore cheered by sighting land, which was in the vicinity of the Solitary .Islands/ where, half-perished/ the occupants of ' the boat effected a lauding at 12.30 p.m. From there a tug conveyed three of the, crew to• the mainland. '• , /. The Union Company have several steamers out: on. search for the Hawera, and all vessels are keeping a keen lookout for her. .

DESCRIPTION"OF THE SHIP.' ; 'The Hawea .was built in 1897 by Messrs. A. ll'Millah and Son,-Dumbarton, and is essentially i cargo boat.. Her dimensions are-rLength, 260 ft.; beam, 3Gft;; depth, 24ft. She has a bridge deck and.i.foreoastle,>and'-is straight-steihmed, with two pole, masts. She is of 1114 tons net register and can carry 2170 tons dead weight. She is built on the cellular-bottom principle for Wafer Jballast, "and is fitted with rolling chocks. , Sh&-has {Sroved herself a splondid 'sea-boat. On thd ; bridge deck is the captain's room, uijder whiph on'the port side are the rooms .for the .deck'''officers and.chief engineer: while on the starboard i.side are . the rooms .for the otjier engineers, also the purser's room arid lavatories, .the, Seainenarid'firemen.being accommodated in comfortable quarters in the forecastle. 1 At the fore; part under the bridge deck is the saloon, which, although small; is very neatly fitted up. Abaft the saloon is the pantry, fitted with every and in the .after part is the engineroom.' She has four large hatchways, with a steam winch. at each; also steam! windlass and steam .steeping gear and all labour-saving appliances. !' She; was', engined by Messrs. Denny 'and I !Co.;'Dumbarton, ivith triple surface condensing engines, her cylinders being 17in;, 28in., and;'4ssin. respectively, with a 3ft. Gin. stroke. Steam, is supplied by one large steel boiler capableiof a pressure of 1701b.,t0 the square'inch, fitted' with Coxcoriib's patent furnaces, Hoxden's system of force' draught. Weir's patent pumps for feeding her boilers. Brook's patent valve-gear, Caird's Alley's and M f Cutten's patents. . PREVIOUS BREAKDOWNS.

The record of breakdowns at . sea and long drifts by-disabled steamers or derelicts contains many, peculiar cases,' .of which, perhaps, the . most, striking is. the hundred days' drift in tho. . Indian Ocean by the Waikato, related below. Perthshire. v !In , 1899 the Perthshire broke down! while en route from Sydney to the Bluff. ! She left' Sydney! oh April'2s, and nothing was heard of her "tiluMay 20,' when.the:scow Whanga!roa, : frojn New; Zealand, 'amved'.at Sydney, and reported' that, she had sighted the Perthshire on May 12 with her tail shaft broken. , Steamers both • from !New ' Zealand arid Australia were sent 'out in search,.but it fell to the lot of the Union Company's steamer Talune, under command..if • Captain Spinks, to pick the Perthshire up arid tow her to Sydney on Juqe 19. The Perthshire waS discovered. 45 miles north' of Norfolk Island: having drifted nine hundred miles in a northerly '.dire'ctioh.' 'The salvage paid ' was '.-SSOOO. • ■ • . " '.' . -

Waikato. ■ ' , • • * ; On May 4, 1599, tho New Zealand Shipping - Company s steamer Waikato left London for • i_ or £ Chalmers, and on June 5 broke her tail | was picked up by on , September -15, • and. towed to Freinantle, where Bhe; arrived on .October 7.... The Aslouin was awarded salvage. ' The Waikato had a second ana similar experience while en'route from London to New Zealand. She broke her tail shaft on June 80, 1902, and on July 27 was picked by the steamer Michigan,, which towed, her into Table Bay three days later. The Michigan earned in salvage.; Monowai. / ■'. The Union Company's steamer Monowai, oq October 16, 1901, broke down whilst en route from Hobart to the Bluff. The Mokoia picked her-.up on October 22, and towed her to Port Chalmers. Oil September 7, 1907, the Monowai again.broke down, and five days later was picked up, again, by. the Mokoia, and was towed to byaney,'where: she arrived on September 15. Never Seen Again. The case of the Port Stephens, is invested -with a certain amount ,of mystery. She left Oamaru for Newcastle on October 1, 1900, and when, two days out hor shaft broke. She drifted about, for a.week, when the'Bavenscourt hove in ;Sight, ; and the master of the Port Stephens . judged it prudent' to. abandon her, which wasjdone, the rescuing steamer landing'' all ?, an r s cl a -, otag ? Heads on , October 15. The xort Stephens .has not since been .found, al- - though she was left in fairly well frequented waters. It is thought that she drifted away towards the South Polar ice-barrier.

Derelict's Long Drift. The case of the ship Laboranius may be recalled when considering long drifts. This vessel was passed, abandoned at sea, by the ship Hermione, "bound for London. The Hermione completed her passage, discharged and loaded anu sailed ironi London for Wellington, and once more passed the Laboranius. The derelict, according to calculations, had drifted 515 miles, an average of 6.7 miles a day, from where she ■ was first ■ sighted by the Hermione 81 days prevjoiisly. Sailed Back Under Canvas. While bound from Lyttelton to London the old _ Shaw ' Savill liner lonio broke her tail shaft, and came back to Lyttelton' under canvas,, a.distance .of 950 miles. Another notable breakdown was that of the Boveric, boudd from Australia to South Africa with_ remounts for tho British army engaged in the Boer war. She broke down on Anril 3, when about 1000 milos from Freriinntle, and was picked up by tho Narrung, arriving .it Fremautle-on. May 15, and with only the loss of one or two horses. , . " . While bound from Manila to Newcastle on November 18, 1900, the Eangatira broke her tail slialt. Auer drifting about 500 miles, temporary repairs were effected, and the vessel reaihed German. New Guinea, where a new tail shaft was fitted.