WRECK OF THE STAR OF THE EVENING.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3026, 8 April 1867, Page 4

WRECK OF THE STAR OF THE EVENING.

We extract the following from a General Government Gazette published on Monday: — General Post-office, Wellington, March 25, 1867. The following report of the Court of Inquiry, held under the Inquiry into Wrecks Act, 1863, on the wreck of the s.s. Star of the Svening, is published for general information. E. W. Stafford. In the absence of Mr. Hall.

Resident Magistrate's Court;, Wellington, March 6, 1867. Sir, — In compliance with your instructions, I have, with the assistance of Captain Johnson, Nautical Assescor, made inquiry iuto the circumstances attending the loss of the s.s. Star of the Evening on the morning of the 13 th February, ■even miles to the north-east of Poverty Bay, and report, — That the i.s. Star of the Evening was an iron •crow steamer of 166 tons register, and 35-horse power ; rigged us a three-masted schooner ; built in 1863, at Newcastle, and owned by Robert Mo In tyre, of Nelson ; was well provided with charts, and iv good order ; had been swung for compass adjustment in Melbourne last April ; was valued at £9,500, and was insured for £9,000 ; she was commanded by Angell Cooper Turner, who holds a Melbourne certificate of service, and had a crew of 17 hands. She left Napier on the 12th February, at one p.m., with a caigo of 130 sheep, and three passengers— the weather at the time fine, wind light S.E. ; at 8 p.m. ■he was off Portland Island, distant about 1£ miles, and when it bore W. S. W., a N. E. by JK. course was shaped to pass outside of the Bull Rock ; at 9.30 the conrse was altered to north, the master intending to pass inside of the Ariel Reef, and the square-sails set— the weather was thick, and the south-east end of Mahia was seen indistinctly to bear W. by S. ; from this time until half-an-hour after the vessel struck the laud does not appear to have been seen — the master and first officer were on deck the whole of the first watch, looking out and watching the steering ; at midnight the wind freshened, with rain, and the rate of sailing increased from 7\ knots to 8 knots ; the course was altered for a short time to N. \ E., and again to north, nothing to leeward— the weather at the time very thick and «^ual!yj at 2.20 the vessel struck — first slightly, afterwards heavily — and soon became a total wreck, by parting amidships, leaving only the masts and funnel above water. The crew and pasiengers clung on to anything they could until daylight, when it was found the vessel had run on a reef extending about a quarter of a mile from land and seven miles from Poverty Bay. The boats were soon broken up after the veasel struok, and nothing saved from the wreck except 100 sheep, whioh swam on shore. By swimming, assisted by pieces of wreck, the master and fourteen of the crew managed with great difficulty to get out to the reef; the remainder of the crew and passengers were unfortunately drowned. The master attributes the loss of the ship to a slight error in the compass, arising from the dampness of the weather and leak in the binnacle, causing a card made of talc, covered with paper, to absorb moisture, and act sluggishly after the vessel was put before the wind, which explanation may probably be correct ; but the question is, was the master, at 9.30, justified in taking the inside passage? He states that all vessels always take that passage, and in this he is borne out by the evidence of two ship masters long experienced on the coast. Taking into consideration the darkness of the night, I am of opinion a course outside the Ariel ■hould have been steered, passing seven or eight miles to the eastward until he got into forty fathoms of water, when a northerly course might have been taken with safety. In conclusion it is but just to observe that the master had made about sixty voyages on that coast, and had never before met with any accident ; and that all on board do readily attest to his utmost personal attention during the whole of the night upon which he sustained the loss of his ship. — I have, &c, J. C. Cbawfobd. The Hon. the Postmaster-General.

I, Robert Johnson, Nautical Assessor, on the inquiry into the cause of the wreck of the steamer Star of the Evening, concur in the above report concerning the said loss of the said vessel. R. Johnson, Nautical Assessor. Wellington, New Zealand, Maroh 7, 1867.