THE DEVON WRECK

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 48, 25 August 1930, Page 11

THE DEVON WRECK

TO-DAY'S ANNIVERSARY

ASHORE NEAR PEXCARROW

(By A. L. Kirk.)

Seventeen years ago to-day. th« people of Seatoun were alarmed by tha sight of red flares burning beneath Pencarrow Lighthouse. Conjecture wai rife; many believed that the keeper of the light had had a serious accident and was requiring assistance, while others believed that the Lyttelton ferryboat had gone ashore. At daybreak the truth was revealed. The Devon, a steamer of C 059 tons, was seen to ba ashore at Penearrow. With the help. of a pair of field glasses, one could.see. the figures of the crew huddled together on the foc'sle trying to avoid the spray which intermittently broke over the: ship. The Devon waß bound from Montreal via Auckland to Wellington, and when, approaching Wellington Heads on the night of 25th August, 1913, ran into a rain squall of five to ten minutes' duration, which obliterated everything. Through tho gloom of the darkness and the rain, the captain of the Devon saw a red light which he thought must bo the red sector of Somes Island, light. Porting the helm, he looked eagerly for the white sector to appear. Before he could realise the position, he saw that the Devpn was standing too close into the land. The first order was countermanded, and the helm put over to starboard. Suddenly, with a crash, the ship struck, tearing out a number of plates below the en-gino-room. Recently one of the engineers who was on duty on the Devon when she stranded happened to be in Wellington, being now the second engineer on the Port Bowen. Describing his experiences, he related that the first indication that tho engine-room staff had of the ship's precarious position was a grating, followed by a severe shock as the ship struck. They stood by the engines, but not for long, as the inrush of water soon drove them on deck. With tho desertion of the engine-room the dynamos of the ship becamo submerged, plunging the ship into darkness. Luckily the rocks held tho ship, and kept her on an even keel, for had she slipped off into deep water many lives would have been lost. Where the Devon struck she was exposed to the full fury of the seas, making it most uncomfortable for those on board. Tho Wahine, which was proceeding to • Lyttelton, received instructions to render assistance if possible. She soon sighted the wreck by the red flares and, proceeding in as close as possible, signalled the Devon asking if she required assistance. Eeceiving no intelligible reply and realising that no assistance could be given from seaward, Captain Edwin decided to proceed on tho voyage to Lyttelton. Describing the night, Captain Edwin sau that it was very wild; in fact a genum, . southerly gale, but not one of th worst. The bow of the Wahine wa». dipping into the heavy seas as soon as she passed Steeple Rock. When the news of the wreck reached Wellington, the Kavaka was sent to attempt to rescue- tho cre-w, but at 1 a in., after vainly trying to beat against the southerly, she was forced to come back to town. Next morning at ,7 o'clock the harbourmaster with a party of twenty arrived at Pencarrow to proceed with rescue operations. A line was connected from the wreck to tho shore, and soon, by means of a basket, the crew were brought to dry land. At 5 o'clock that night the captain came ashore. On the Thursday following the captain returned to the wreck to rescue the ship's papers, which had been placed in a tin box left in the'foc'sle. The owners chartered tho scow Echo to salvage the cargo, the greater part of which, with the help of the Karaka, was saved. By using the donkeyboiler on the Devon it was possible to make a lift of four tons, which was the weight of the heaviest cargo on board. The wreck was soon turned to advantage. .Vxcnrsions by the Harbour Perries steamer Awaroa were advertise ed, and the City Council tramcars had notices posted on them advising the citizens to take a Seatoun tram and view the wreck. Hundreds made the journey to Breaker Bay and in the afternoons the sides of the hills were black with people straining their eyes to see tho wreck. Telescopes, fieldglasses, and even fancy opera glasses were pressed into service to enable their owners to get a better view.

On the followng Monday ' the Nautical Court of Inquiry was held to ascertain the cause of the stranding. After sitting for two days, the Court found that the captain had been, negligent in not taking way off the vessel so as to allow her to be handled expeditiously in narrow water; that the master mistook tho lights, and that the vessel was navigated too closely to the Pcncarrow side of the entrance. The Court then ordered that the master's certificate should be cancelled for three months, and that he should pay £.18 costs. The captain, however, appealed against this decision, and as a result of the appeal he was exonerated by the Supreme Court.

The majority of the crew stayed in. Wellington for a month or two until they could got a ship home, but five of them were most unfortunate in their choice of a vessel. They signed on the Tyrone. A month later, on 26th September, she ran nshoro near Wahiiio Point, about a mile and a half south of Otago Heads. Onco again these five had to desert their ship and reach land by means of the breeches buoy.

The sea has gradually reduced the hull of the Devon, and all that remains are a few rusty plates of the bow. A Seatoun resident bought the deckhouse and turned it into a bach. Still above the door may be seen the inscription "Chief Officer,'' and when one looks out. of the porthole one may see the treacherous rocks which have been the cause of so many weeks.