THE GALE ON SUNDAY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXI, Issue 5572, 6 July 1875, Page 3

THE GALE ON SUNDAY.

Thv. heavy storm to which v,e rcferrctl yesteulay as blowing in on the harbour on Sunday, culminated, in a succession of fo.u fully heavy squalls between midnight and. 3 o'clock yesterday morning, after which the fmy of the gale abated, but it was a consideiable tune afterwards when the sea went dow n The weather still looked very tlueateutng, however, and the barometer did not show any indications of a favourable change until yesterday afternoon, the wind then blow ing horn the south-west, into which quarter it had veered during the forenoon The wind lose again for a short time about 3 o'clock, but soon subsided, and last night it had died away to almost a calm, although the hcav ens to w indward still presented a gloomy and threatening appearance. There is little doubt that a continuation of the bad weather w ill lie experienced, the evidences of stormy weather being manifest from the low eiing appearance of the sky, and the obstmated refusal of the barometer to "rise." Little ram fell during yesterday. This is also considered a bad sign for the return of moderate weather by those who have been intimately connected with Auckland shipping for years Our report yesterday of the damage done was necessarily incom2>lcte, but on \ ihitmg the scene of the wrecks we found, tli.it after all, little of unj^ortancc had been omitted The p.s. 'Gemini,' which was scuttled off Mr. Oxley's store, was Moated, and taken round to the eastward of the lower part of Queen-street wharf, having sustained but slight injury, although she inflicted considerable damage to Messrs. Oxley's and Williams, 's store. The former estimates their loss at from £<"> to £ 1 0, and t he latter at from £'2."> to £30. The ' Lizard' yacht came ashore m close proximity to the spot, and became a total wreck. The ' Alice' and ' Edith,' watermen's boats belonging respectively to D. Connor and B Pillmger, were smashed to pieces. The 'Sunbeam ' schooner, belonging to Mr. D. H. McKcime, drifted down to the new eastern T and stove in all her bulwarks, besides canying away all the quarter railings. The ' Speedwell,' ketch, tiom the Thames, in ballast, sunk alongside the wharf, and was considerably damaged about the bows and stern. She belongs to y\r V. 0. Heiummies. The 'Diamond, 1 cutter, belonging to J. Huttley and I. Shera, also sank, but it was impossible to ascertain what amount of damage she had sustained. A sumlai fate oveitook the 'Teaser,' a cargo boat, belonging to Mr. (J-. Henderson. The 'Tin Tin,' ketch, owned by Mr. XV. I). C.oiik, leceived .some rough tieatment, and wa-> sunk. The loss upon this vessel will be considerable. These vessels were all lying to the westward of the wharf prior to the gale coming on. The ' Firefly ' schooner, as ah eady mentioned jestei day, was smashed up, and aftcnvaids foundered to the southwaul of the Xoitli Shoie Fcny T, and is apparently broken up altogether. The ' l]uteiprisc No. '1 ' had one of her sponsona slightly damaged while lying in her usual bcith to the ninth of the second T. The 'Snilfc,' nytstov boat, uentdoun at her anehoiage to the eastward of the whaif. F!cjoiid being considerably chafed, the laigcr vessels moored at the whaif escaped injury, being end onto the storm. The wharf ltselt sustained a severe shakmg,as manifested b}' the shattered appearance of several of the piles and stringers. Mr. Waymouth estimates his loss by the blowing down of his shop, the lo*s of tools, and timber, at close upon t'-'OO. 1 1 appears that a. number of largo spai s drifted against the piemises.andtlie fury of the storm was so great that they almost instantly carried away. Five new boats were also lost. Mr. (louk's loss by the 'Tin Tin' and to hia yaid, at Smaile's Point, will, it is estimated, exceed t'300. Messrs. Henderson and Spraggon put down their loss at £100, by the destruction of the frame of the new schooner in course of construction on their stocks, wluch, by-the-by, narrowly escap ed being burnt in the fire which occurred on the Point about three months ago. The new schooner at Maylmin's fortunately escaped damage. Several boats were lifted up cleai of their moorings, and carried, ill some cases, a distance of twenty yards by the foice of the wind, all being moie or less injured. Smaile's Point presents a very dilapidated appearance, poi tions of w reckage and timber being scitteied about in every direction. The 'Coionet,' winch was scuttled, we are glad to learn, escaped with only slight damage to her false keel. The othei casualties which occurred were in the vicinity of the Uoic street jetty, and included tho ' Echo,' schooner, portion of bulwarks carried aw ay ; ' Waratah,' cutter, fouled by the 'Thiee Iiiothcia, ' bowsprit eanied away and st u boud bulwatks sto\e; 'Three Brothcia,' cutter, loss of stai board bulwaiks fiom eh mis, sunk ; '!>'>b lto,),' cutter, bulwaiks damaged; 'Maty,' schooner, lying in the stream, fouled by the 'Clyde,' lost anchor and portion of rudder casing ; ' Bessie,' cutter, bulwarks smashed and hole chafed in her side. ' Harvest Home,' cutter, loss of bow sprit and port bulwarks. The ' South Caiohna' had all her stem knocked away, and i eceived a very severe handling alongside the breakwater. The ' Tartar' drifted alongside the breakwater, stove in her stern, and w cut down. The ' Triad' also came to grief dining the gale, but she is not much damaged. A portion of the end of the breakwater, about 25 by 12 feet, succumbed to the violence of the wind and sea, the timbers being washed away, and a quality of dram pipes, whicli hart been stacked there, were also carried away. Mi . (ico Henderson was most unfoi tnnatc, no few er than three of the vessels belonging to him, namely, 'Teaser," Tartar,' and 'Harvest Home,' being moie or less injured. Great blame is attributable to a number of mastersof the coasting fleet, who left their craft absolutely unattended, and this with a full knowledge that the gale must certainly come. Those who w ere niiduced by their religious feelings to attend the various churches in the city and suburbs will not easily forget their experiences on Sunday night. The whistling of the winds tluough closed doois and windows, the rattling on the roofs of the lutcimittent squalls of rain, the banging of shutters, and occasionally the bursting open of doois, rendered anything approaching to due attention to prayer or sermon a mattci of unusual difficulty. Out of doors, in the streets, verandahs were tried to the utmost limit of their endurance, and here and there loose sheets wcietorn off. Wayfarers themselves had to endure the full force of the wetting fiom the downpour, as umbrellas wcie simply useless, being immediately turned inside out if their owners were rash enough to opeu them. Hats, of com so, became movable chattels. By the way, one was picked up by Constable Mulville in \ ietoiia-street, and now lies for identification ,it the police-station. The mischief done by the gale in the Acclimatisation Craidens is reported by Mr. Aberoi ombic to this eflect : — It tore up the /me of the ndge of his house, and blew down Some of the slates. It blew over part of the gaiden fence in the deer enclosure, which, however, a tiee in the Domain pi evented fiom falling. It took down a ti-tree at the back of his house, and blew out some panes of glass in the green-house. Also, on the following morning there were found dead m their cages three of the four lapwings which I the Society had succeeded m impoi ting ; then death, in all probability, having been occasioned by fright caused by the stoim. In the Domain several trees were blown down. At Newton much consternation was felt by the inhabitants, especially in the westei ii poi tion, which was most exposed to the lull fury of the wind. The Star Hotel »uffued a good deal of damage. Advertising boaids and other hoardings had eaily in the evening yielded to the pressure of ciicuuistanee.s. In Queen-stieet, at Mr. Smallfield's shop, next door to the Thistle Hotel, the wind rushed in from the back with such violence astodiive out the shutters ot the shop in front On the opposite side of the stieet Messis. Montague and De Jongh had their shutters forced off, but strange to say their windows were not bioktn. Fences geneially were severely tried, and in many eases pioved unequal to the trial, as thenprostrate condition yesteiday morning cleai ly pioved. Chimney-pot, slates, and shingles, in not a few instances, were to Jbe heard falling from their normal positions, and m

two instances th.ith.ne loiiio to 0111 knowludge thnnnios themselves succumbed These wei o, one in Hobson-streel, near Mr. L«e.u cy s t.uloinig establishment, tlic otliei in Vinceni - slieut Jn neither case Mas an\ personal injury snlFeied. Tho\eiandah .uul ball ony in tiont of Mr. G T. Chapman's lesidenee m Eden Crescent were torn fiom the in.iin building, and completely ci allied up. In many instances out-house-> wcio sti ij>ped ot their roofs, and in some cases Mich houses were levelled to the ground. In the Wlwiu district several settleis suneied considerable loss by having their out-hou^es and fences destroyed. At the Noith Mune the effects of the gale wcie not severely felt. A large tree on Mi Duder's property was blown down, and fell right across the footpath shoi tly aftei church service Avas over. Had the accident occurred a little sooner there would have been considerable danger of some of the 1 eturning worshippers being injured. The fencing around the northern end of the naval reserve was blown down, and the shed on the North Head, used for storing the artillery implements, was completely unroofed. At Onehunga the gale seems to have been severely felt. Mr. Gibbon's w lurf was considerably damaged, and a l.u go portion of the outer woodwork was knocked away. Mr. Roe's wharf was also damaged to a considerable extent, and the Government wharf got a severe shaking. Portions of the old coal wharf were blown away About 50,000ft. of timber were blown from Mr. Gibbons's wharf, and strewn along the beach, some of it being blown to a distance of 200 yards. The stacks of sawn timber and piles of firewood all along the heidi were nearly all blown down, and nii\ed m such a way that each owner will have smut difliculty in recognising what is Ins and what his neighbour's. The shipping also safteied a little. The ' Maul ot Ital> ' was blown on the rocks near the causeway of the Mangere Bridge; and hits suffered considerable damage. Mr. Buckland's cattle punt was upset, and about 40 pig^ just arrived by the s.s. * St. Kilda,' di owned. The 'Two Sisters ' was driven ashore, and a hole knocked in her bottom. The culter 'Dante ' was also driven ashore, near Mr. Roe's ofhee, but suffered little damage. The steamer ' Waikato ' was at one time in considerable danger, but the measures taken by those on board her were the means of preventing serious injury. In the village, the damage done was comparatively small. Captain .) J. Symonds had a shed blown down, and several 2>eoplc had portions of their fences blown down, but such damage was of comparath ely small value. At the Thames the gale was also severely felt. The wind gauge showed a pre&suie of 50 miles per hour. About 7 o'clock it w as high water, which backed up the water coming down the Hooded creeks to such an extent that on Sunday night occuired the greatest flood that has taken place since the Thames was opened as a European settlement. Many of the streets of the township were flooded, and a large number of shops and piivate houses had from six to eighteen inches of water on the floors. In the Adi < i /!••( r office there was about li\ e inches of water on the Uoor, and the compositois had to stand on boxes in front of their f iimek. No damage, however, was done to the plant in this office. Albeit sti cut was like a sea, and the strong wind lashed the water into minute waves. Mr. Mai shall, draper, was among the greatest sullerers by the ilood. He has had a large ijiiantity of flannel and other Manchester goods damaged to the extent of about £300. Messi«. <Kborne Brothers had about IS ii ches <>f water on their floor, and had a consumable quantity of maize, &c, destroyed. In the National Bank premises, Messi s Mcutuc and Dey's, the Exchange Building, the Pacific Hotel, Mr. McCaul's (iroumongei ), the Nil Desperandum Hotel, and othei places, the water rose up to a considerable height. The beach road between Grahamstown and Shorthand is nearly all washed aw ay. The water ' in Albert-sti eet w as about six inches deep on the crown of the load, and about three feet at the side channels. Many of the gai'dens are completly destroyed, and a large unmber of the fences are washed away. The whaif at Taram is sadly destroyed, one of the breaches made in it is about 300ft. in length. The G rahamstown wharf is also much damaged, and at one time it was feared it would be wholly washed away, as the water was fully two feet over the top of it. The iron shed at the end of the wharf, used by the Taram Tramway Company is also destroyed The foundation gave way, and the shed collapsed Two engines which weie in the shed at the tune have fallen into the mud and sand, and ,i quantity of flour which was in the shed at the time, lias also been destroyed. The beach load to Tararu is also destroyed in seveial places. The shipping in h.ubour escaped without much iii|iiry. Two small nessels. were sunk near Graham stown wharf, and the harbour boat had its stern knocked n, bat the damage i^> lai lc->-> than might have been expected.