EVENTFUL VOYAGE

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 224, 18 June 1929, Page 10

EVENTFUL VOYAGE

deaths ON AORANGI RESCUED FROM SHARKINFESTED WATERS f Dominion Special Service. Auckland, June 17. Two deaths, a man overboard in shark-infested waters, and late running made the voyage of the Aorangi from Vancouver to Auckland one that is out of the ordinary in the transpacific service. Held back for 24 hours to receive English mails, the Aorangi was only two days out of Vancouver when Frank Gilmour, a member of the Young Australia League, died of kidney disease. Gilmour came from Coburg, Victoria, and would have been 18 in November. He was ill for only thre> days, and was buried at sea.

A fatal accident occurred on June 8, three days after the resumption of the voyage from Honolulu. Through falling down a companion way Thomas Quinsey, a pantryman, sustained a fracture of the skull and died within 15 minutes from when he was picked up. No one saw the accident, and it is presumed, from the extent of the injuries, that Quinsey tripped at the top of the companion way, and fell headlong to the concrete deck below. He also was buried at sea. A thrill was provided when the vessel was passing through the reef at Suva on her way to Auckland. When sitting on the rails Hans Huber, a second-class passenger for Sydney, fell overboard. Sharks had been seen in the vicinity a few minutes before, but Huber managed to reach the reef, where he sat until he was rescued by a launch from the shore. The Aorangi was delayed for about an hour while the man was taken on board.