BIG STEAMER SINKS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 76, 1 April 1910, Page 7

BIG STEAMER SINKS.

. * . THE LINER PERICLES. CREW REPORTED TO BE SAFC, 'A IVALUABLE CABGO. By Teleiraph.— Pre«« Aitoelttion.— Copyright (Received April 1, 9 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. News was received from Perth, at an early hour this morning that the Aberdeen liner. Pericles, 10^925 tons, ha<£ been sunk off Flinders Bay, just east of Cape Leeuwin. The crew are reported safe. Ifc is understood they landed in the vicinity, of the Leeuwin lighthouse. The Pericles was Homeward bound, with a fnll complement of passengers | and a valuable cargo from Brisban6, Sydney, HobaTt, and Melbourne. FLYING SIGNALS OF DISTRESS. BOWS WELL UNDER. A ROOK STRUCK. ALL ABOARD SAFE. (Received April 1, 9.30 a.m.) PERTH, This Day. The Pericles was noticed yesterday afternoon six miles south of Leeuwin lighthouse, flying signals of distress. Her bows were well under and her stem high out of the water. The boats were leaving loaded with women and children. The steamer gradually drifted closer in, struck a rock, and sank three, miles oif Cape Leeuwin. Meantime, all aboard had been got safely in boats. A LATER REPORT. CASTAWAYS AT KARRIDALE. WOMEN BEHAVED SPLENDIDLY. PASSENGERS AND CREW LOSE EVERYTHING. NO DETAILS AS TO CAUSE OF, DISASTER. , (Received April 1, 9.40 a.m.) PERTH, This Day. A later report from Karridale (which is connected by telephone with the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse) states that abonfc 80 women and children passengers have arrived there from Flinders Bay, and are receiving every attention. Every house in Karridale is full of castaways. The women behaved splendidly. There was no panic or impediment to the work of » rescue. The passengers and crew lost everything but what they stood in. All arein good health. One boat put off from the wreck with three oars, and no plug or rudder, and reached land. It was steered with an oar. There are no -details yet as to the cause of the disaster. The scene- of the wreck is a remote, unsettled part of the West Australian coast. A steamer left Bunbury last night for Flinders Bay. She takes the castaways to Fremantle. REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE. A SISTER SHIP. (Received April 1, 10 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day, Captain Simpson, commodore of th« Aberdeen fleet, was in command of the Pericles. It is a remarkable coincidence that only yesterday the agents of the line weTC advised, that an order had beea placed for the construction of a sister ship to the Pericles, to be named Themistocles. THE CARGO. MEAT, WHEAT, AND FRUIT. (Received April 1, 9.50 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. The Pericles' Brisbane cargo included over 13,000 carcases of mutton and lamb, 1000 quarters of beef, 16.000 boxes of butter. The Sydney cargo included 5000 bales of wool, 10,800 carcases of mutton and lamb, 15.000 boxes of butter, 1250 crates of rabbits, and 250 tons of wheat. Included in the Hobart cargo are over 35,000 cases of apples and 1119 cases of preserves. The Melbourne cargo included over 10,000 carcases of mutton, 300 bales of wool, 424 tons of wheat, and 1050 boxes of butter. A MAGNIFICENT VESSEL. The news that the Aberdeen liner Pericles has foundered off Cape Leemvin will be received with very widespread regret throughout shipping circles in Australasia, as the tteamer was one of the finest that have been built within the last few years for the London — Australian trade. The usual service of vessels of the Aberdeen Line is (on the Homeward voyage) from Brisbane and Sydney to Hobart, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Fremantle, thence to Durban, Capetown, and London. > The Pericles had left Brisbane on the 14th March, Melbourne on the 23rd, and when she came to grief was presumably approaching Fremantle, Cape Leeuwin being at the western extremity of the Great Australian Bight. Before the- vessesl left Melbourne, Messrs. Dalgety and Co., local agent 6 for the Aberdeen Line, received cabled advice that the steamer was absolutely full as regards cargo space, also that the whole of her passenger accommodation was booked. HANDSOME AND GRACEFUL. The Pericles, which is a handsome ! and graceful model of the modern cargo-and-passenger-liner, is the work of Messrs. HarJand and Wolff, Ltd., of Belfast, who launched her just under two years ago. She is twin screw, and has four masts. Her length is 500.6 ft, beam 62.3 ft, and depth 31.1 ft, and she was constructed from special designs supplied by her owners., Messrs. G. Thompson and Co., Ltd., of London, and under Lloyds survey for 100 Al class. The vessel was built on the cellular double-bottom principle, the double bottom extending the whole length of the ship, and is divided by eight watertight bulkheads into nine watertight compartments. PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION. The passenger accommodation was on an elaborate scale, and the fittings in the first saloon were of luxurious description. Although only 100 passengers wero carried in this class, no less than four decks were utilised for their accommodation. The dining saloon was on th« main deck; ths outside cabins pu the

awning aecK ; me ciecK caoms, uuraiv. *nd smoking-room on the bridge deck, while an addnuonal promenade was provided on the boat deck. All the state . rooms were of large size. First, second, and third-class pa-^engws were carried, and the provision made for the lastnamed is said to have been among the finest to be found on any ship running to Australasia. A feature of the equipment on the Pericles was a system of submarine signalling for use in thick weather. It consisted of a bell sounded a few feet below the sea level, and in this case the. direction of the sound is not affected by fog. The Pericles is fitted throughout with electric light and refrigerating machinery. The machinery, which was also by Harland and Wolff, consists of two eets of triple-expansion engines, the high pressure cylinder having a stroke of 25 inches, aiid the low pressure 69 inches. THE CAPTAIN. Captain A. Simpson is commander of ■the Pericles. The steamer was the largest addition to the fleet of the Aberdeen iLine, and the largest- representative. Other vessels of the fleet are the Damascus, Marathon, Miltiades, Moravian and Salamis. PASSENGERS FROM NEW ZEALAND. The Pericles carried several passengers from New Zealand. These included Mr. J. A. Hunter, of 214 WillissHeet Wellington; Mr. A. E. Marris, of Wellington ; Mr. and Mrs. Warham, of Roxburgh-street; Mr. J. Fernaudos, of Wellington; Mr. and Mrs. Starsmore and two children, of Brooklyn. When the vessel sailed from Syduey on the 18th March, she had 50 passengers for Durban, 22 for Capetown, I^B tor London, and a large number of people travelling to inter-State points.