DISASTER FEARED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1202, 10 August 1911, Page 5

DISASTER FEARED.

RAFT WASHED ASHORE. NEAR CAPE MARIA VAN DIEMEN. IBy Tclccrapb.-Press Association.! Auckland, August 9. Indications' of what may prove to bo a marina disaster were contained in a telegram received by t!w Collector of Customs (Mr. J. I', Biding*) to-day from I'a.rcnga. The communicalimi in question was lo the effect that « rnfl, made of three casks lionwlcd together, with niosts ricced at each end, camo ashore at a promontory known as (-colt's Point last Sunday. The remains of two large flags we attached to the masts, tho message stated that tho ru£t was' in good order, and looked»as through it had not been in tho water long. . * It added that a quantity fit apples and turnips had been found washed up on tlio same beach. The Collector of Customs, on receipt-of tlio telfgiain, wired for further purlieu, tars, and for a description of tho ilagi referred to. H D n | M forwarded a copy oi tho original message from Parenga lo the Secretary for Marino in Wellington, suggesting that word might bo sent to mo t«ir/erninent steamer Hinemoa, now ill liorlJvjru waters, to keep a look out for llucthcr wreckage.

Could It Be the Rona? T/tio discovery of tho flags on the raft jsiookwl m>on m shipping circles aa b /nig significant. But for that, and for >-> iact that iruit and vegetables hav* also ooino ashore, it might have boon assumed that a hoax had been perpetrated. As it is, gravo tears are. enterlained that a vessel may have ooino to It is thought possible that disaster may hayo befallen the barque, Roua, which ell Auckland on July 29 for Hokianga, to ioad timber lor Melbourne, and has not boon since heard of. Ordinarily tho trio occupies only three- ov four days. Rough and Desolate Spot, Scott's Point is situated on one of tho roughest.and most desolate parts of New //calami, a few miles south of Capo Maria van Dwmcn. Tho entire vicinity, both on tho West Coast and the East, is bar* »?') sandy, and is backed by a low lino of lulls. I lie only residents aro gnmdiggera, and, if a shipwrecked parly lauded in tho locality, they would experience great difficulty in finding their way to the nearest settlement. There aro no roads. J. no only thoroughfare being the beach, tho sand does not carry the tracks of tho rare travellers well. ,It would, therefore, go hard with snrvivors frftm a wreck, unless (liev should Happen to como unou ono of tlio gum. diggers camps. Even ■ the latter would not be easily esen. as they lie behind the sand dunes, -hinging both coast lines. [Pavouga, whenco the message referred lo above was transmitted, is the most northern settlement in Now Zealand. It is situated on an inlet of the sea near tho iSorth Cape, and is 20 miles distant from tape Maria van Diemen lighthouse.!