ON THE ARAHURA

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 129, 3 June 1922, Page 6

ON THE ARAHURA

i -! « HELPLBSS TO" ASSIST

TERRIFIC SEA RUNNING.

„ : „.■>. GISBORNE, This Day. Csptain Dryden' states that.' the' Ar'a-. lura was in the Bay of Plenty battling igainsfc'a' heavy easterly gale' when the' Viltshire's first call for help was picked i\>. A turn was made immediately, and' the Arahura went all-out in ■ the iirection o£ the Great Barrier. The itmosphere fairly buzzed with wireless waves to and from the Wiltshire, and other vessels which hail received the sail. The night was very thick and the ga'c .was increasing, but the Arahura made good progress, and at 7 a.m. sighted „the .wreck. ,„ Great waves ..beat against the cliff where the' Wiltshire was stranded. The Katoa was.standing-by, but being a light ship could not keep to windward oft'a lee* shore, and was some' distance off. The Wiltshire was head on about fifty yards from a steep cliff, and being fiercely' pounded '.by huge seas. Few signs of life could be seen aboard; the crew, apparently, were sheltering below: The Arahura'. worked cautiously to within a mile of the Wiltshire, not daring to go closer as the east coast of the Great' Barrier is not sounded. Wireless messages indicated that the water was rising in" the •Wiltshire, • and eventually the latter. signalled by flags that the dynamo had stopped and the tireless was out of action for sending purposes, though it could) still receive r<iessages. The Arahura's operator then sent a message explaining how the r-'Aiir. could be brought into operation for short-range messages. ' After that the Wiltshire's xvireless- improved.

Captain Dryden inquired as to the position of the Wiltshire and how those aboard were faring. A despairing reply ■was received that the situation was desperate, The great sea at this time was running higher than ever, and there was no possibility of a lifeboat living. The sea was as High ,as could be anywhere, possibly with the exception of Cape.Horn. Certainly it was the highest he had'ever seen on the coast for years. The 'Arahrxra stood by till 2,30 on Thursday, and as nothing more could be done in the raging sea ; Captain Dryden decided to resume his voyage.

The passengers describe their, feeling of -helplessness at their inability to succour ..the shipwrecked crew as most1 intense. The M-dhuTa'x wireless operator had his 'phones on continuously for seventeen hours.