BLOWN UP

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 26, 1 February 1915, Page 7

BLOWN UP

END OFTHE TOKOMARU OFF COAST OF FRANCE VALUABLE CARGO OF MEAT AND PRODUCE. NEW ZEALAND GIFTS FOR BELOIANS. TORPEDO OR FLOATING MINE? General regret was expressed in bite city this morning when a cablegram was posted up to the effect that the Shaw. Savill, and Albion. Company's cargo . steamer Tokomaru, outward bound from New Zealand, and carrying a quantity , of gifts for the Belgians, had been lost. ' The information received was very meagre, and at first the impression gained currency that the vessel was carry* ing mostly goods destined for the Belgians. This, however, proved to be in« correct. The first cable message ie» ceived wa* as follows:— LONDON, 31st January. The Tokomaru, conveying New Zealnntlcrg l gifts io the Belgians, ■' has been blown up off Havre. The „ crew were saved. A later message was :•—• PARIS, 31st January. The Tokomaru sank in an hour and alialf. The cause is unknown. A trawler saved the crew of fifty* seven. The Tokomaru took her departure from this port on Bth December last. The last information received of her by Messrs. Levin and Co., agents for the Shaw. Savill, and Albion Company, prior " to the disaster, wa& to the effect that she left Monte Video on 2nd January last. No news was received that she had left Teiieriffe, her next port of call. » At this port she was to receive advice from the head office in London as to whether she was to be diverted to i Bordeaux, on the southern coast of France, before she went tb London Some of the shippers had .optional cargo for the French port, and it rested ' with them whether the steamer should call there or not. When the Tokomaru left Wellington she was practically a full ship ami earned a very valuable cargo, made up as follows :—: — From Whangarei— 7o casks tallow and lard. 590 bags and pieces mutton, 6069 quarters beef. From Auckland— 369. bales wool, 8 , bales skins. 78 bales hemp, 17 bales tow, 72 casks tallow and lard, 5 sacks hides, " 3372 carcases mutton. 1409 quarters beef, 283 casks kauri gum, 75 sacks kauri gum, 765 pieces timber. From Wellington— 446 bales hemp, 32 bales tow, 226 casks tallow and lard, 67 casks pelts, 6422 carcases mutton, • 9237 carcases lamb. 4279 quarters beef, 101 boxes butter, 4168 cases cheese. 1 package sundries. From Napier— loßl bales wool. 135 casks tallow and lard, 118 casks pelte, 9711 carcases mutton, 43 boxes and pieces mutton, 1377 carcases lamb, 1596 quarters beef, 337 crates kidneys, 25 packaged sundries. From Gisborne— 2277 bales wool, 150 casks tallow and lard, 12,021 carcases mutton, 760 bags and pieces mutton, 1853 carcases lamb, 1188 quarters beef, 100 crates kidneys, 20 packages Sundries. From Dunedin— l3& bales "wool, 91 bales skins, 161 bags scheelite, 1 pack* age sundries. ' , Her total cargo was — 5866 bales wool, 99 bales skins, 624 bales hemp, 49 bales tow, 653 casks tallow and lard, 185 casks pelts, 5 ■ sacks hides, 31,526 carcases mutton, 1393 bags beef and mutton, 12,467 carcases lamb, 14,991 quartern beef, 437 crates kidneys, 101 boxes butter, 4168 cases cheese, 283 cases kauri gum, 161 boxes scheelite, 755 pieces timber^ 75 sacks kauri gum, 47 packages sun* dries. ONLY SMALL PORTION FOR BEL. GIANS. Of the cargo the following consignments were "optional Bordeaux", :—» 607 quarters beef, Gear Meat Co. 500 quarters beef, 331 quarters, 500 quarters, 391 quarters, 500 quarters, Wellington Farmers' Meat Co. This portion was for export to France, and had nothing to do with Belgian relief. The manifest showed that compara. tively very little of the cargo was for the Belgians, the following being the entries of shipments to the New Zealand High Commissioner, London :~» One case sundries, from Gisborne Ladies' Patriotic Committee. Six cases clothing, from the Napier Ladies' Committee of tho Belgian Relief Fund. Fifteen cages clothing from, the Hast> ings V.M.C.A. Belgian Relief Fund. In addition it appears there were also aboard for Belgian relief purposes 491 I carcases of mutton from the Wairarapa. The total weight of this part of the cargo (exclusive .of the frozen meat) was an infinitesimal portion of the whole, being only about 17 tons— s tons from Gisborne and 11£ tons from Hawkes Bay. Possibly there may also have been aboard one case of blankets for Lord Kitchener's Army,, but definite information on this point is not for.th» coming. As far a-s Wellington's quota of gifts to the Belgians is concerned, it will be a great relief to the public to learn that the vessel did not carry any clothing or blankets from here. This city's gifts were on board the Bteamer lonic. Altogether the Shaw* Savill vessels have carried some 200 tons of shipments for the Belgians, Borne steamers taking as much as 45 tons. The - Tokomaru, however, fortunately had less , cargo of the description in her holds than any of the vessels sailing previously An unhappy feature is that ' the gifts, being generously carried freight free by the shipping company, « were uninsured. The Gisborne and Hawkes Bay ladies are to be sympathised * with, as they devoted much energy and time to preparing garments and com-*.-forts for the refugees from German " brutality. * WHAT CAUSED THE DISASTEB ? '"- i The question naturally arises as to I what caused the disaster. Was it as* torpedo or a floating mine? The cablegram throws no light on the problem. The fact that the crew were taken off by a trawler is open to two interpretations. One is that the vessel struck a mine and was long enough in sinking to enable her crew to be rescued v by a fishing boat in- the vicinity, and the other is that the crew were taken off prior to the steamer being torpedoed by a German submarine. No informa* tion of the destruction of the vessel has been received by either Mr. J. Lindsay, Z. general manager of the Shaw, Savill, Company or the local agents, Messrs. Levin and Co. In these circumstances it is impossible to say wkethet the Tokomaru had called at Bordeaux and landed a portion of her valuable cargo, or whether she had called at London first. THE STEAMER AND CREW. The Tokomaru was one of the oldest and best-known cargo carriers in tho Home-New Zealand trade, having beett engaged regularly for about twenty year*. • She was built in 1893 by Messrs. C. S. - Swan and Hunter, of Neweastlo-ott-Tyno, to the wdei; of Mr. X, M. Hudson b*.

ing then named the Westmeath. Her maiden voyage was made to Australia, and upon her return to London in 1894 she was purchased by the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company. After being altered to suit the requirements of the cargo trade, the Tokomaru came to Wellington, arriving here on her first visit on the 18th January, 1895. Captain Maxwell was then in command. The vessel a dimensions were :— Length, 425 ft; depth, 23.6 ft; breadth 53.2 ft. Her registered tonnage was 6084 tons, and her speed 12 knots. She was fitted with engines on the triple expansion principle of 2800 indicated horse-power, these being supplied by the Wallsend Slipway Company, Ltd. The appliances for handling cargo were very good, while her holds were fitted to carry about 90,000 carcases of frozen mutton. Captain F. Green was in command of the Tokomaru, this being his first voyage as master. He was previously chief officer of the Tainui. The officers ■were :— Chief, Mr. F. Kidman ; second, Mr. F. M. James; third, Mr. F. Abbott. Engineers : Chief, Mr. B. Ramsbottom; second, Mr. F. B. Ridley; third, Mr. Rr' Bond ; fourth, Mr. A. Gibson ; fifth, Mr. J. H. Shaw ; chief refrigerator, Mr. A. W. Ridgway; second, Mr. J. Montgomery. Chief steward, Mr. F. W. Bond. THE INSURANCES. • The total value of the Tokomaru's cargo is estimated at approximately £100,000. Most of the insurances were effected by means of open policies in England, as is usually the case in regard to such cargoes, and the amounts are therefore not available. A few of the Wellington offices hold small risks, but their total aggregate would probably not be more than £20,000^ the balance being held by the underwriters at Home. It has for some time past been the practice of the Home wool buyers to insure in London, and this method was adopted with regard to the Tokomaru's wool. The Vessel was also insured in England.