SHIPS AND THE SEA

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 18, 22 January 1938, Page 15

SHIPS AND THE SEA

The sea has always been a strange, romantic, unexplainable thing, and .it is no wonder that sailors have always been superstitious men. Many things which savour of the unnatural and uncanny have happened at sea, and although some are scoffed at by landsmen no explanation. is forthcoming. Crews have disappeared from theirships and ships have disappeared from the knowledge of i man—unexplained', leaving no evidence as to their fate. Sometimes fragments of wreckage have been found—perhaps years after—but .usually the. tale is left unfinished. Even around the New Zealand coast a number "of-.vessels ■have merely faded into oblivion, and quite a few have made Wellington their last port of call on this earth. , , '

: There, was, for instance, the steamer Ohau, a vessel: of 740 tons register, owned by the Union Company, which disappeared while battling against .terrific-gales■'while en route from Greymouth ,to Dunedin, via Cook Strait. The Ohau left:Greymduth on May 12, 1899, with a cargo of 800 tons of coal and 13,000 feet of timber. The weather was such that several other vesels were compelled to seek shelter,- and because they, arrived at their destinations from two; to' four days behind' schedule little

anxiety; was feliior;the non-arrival, of tlie: Ohau for;several days. ,'At 1 p.m. pn.^May 13- /the ill-fated /vessel was passed.by.the steamer Rosamund near Brothers, Island, and, at 3: p.m.; on the same day; she was, sighted by the -lighthouse keeper at Cape Campbell.- She was then ten/ miles north of the cape, and the keeper- watched her until darkness set. in.. He saw -her masthead light at 5-20 P.m., but from then on nothing more/was seen/of her, , The steamer -Brunner, which was dispatched;, to, look, for the.- Ohau,'made a thorough (examination of the coast, but no.sign of;;the vessel?or, wreckage was discovered.. •-:It was reported on May26,'•by {he/'mahagement of .the Union Cpmjpany^that all hope had. been aban-' /dpned.and 'that it, was concluded that 'the Ohay had foundered in the vicinity of Cook Strait on the night of May 13.' ' ; ■ .■.■'■;

The Ohau was built by Messrs. Denny Bros., in 1884,' and was commanded by Captain Richard Brewer. She had a total complement/0f,22. , :

'.Then . there was .' the steam trawler Duco, a vessel of 130 tons gross register, which left 'Wellington for Waitangi, , Chatham Islands,, on September 7,,.1909,, on a fishing 'expedition. 'She, never ;arrived; at the Chathams, and, although everything was :done to ascertain, her whereabouts,.- the search was ■..unsuccessful. . Oti^the night of her" departure "a strong southerly gale sprang : up, reaching its maxi.tium strength about midnight, and' it was concluded -that she/ foundered. She had a deck cargo of ten tons of coal, not lashed, a 400-gallon tank of water, some concrete blocks' and timber, and it was considered that this Was enough tt>!.render/;a!ship.of the Duco class un-seaworthy!-"The Diicd, which had formerly been1 employed as a tug, was built in,-1.892 and commanded by Captain Abrams.- >• . . .' . ..■•..'

. The dredge Manchester, of 883 tons register, was another vessel which left Wellington never to be heard of again. ,She sailed-from here on April 6,; 1912, for. Sydney," fully manned and com,manded- by Captain James Downie. The cruiser Challenger left Sydney, and.. the . warships, Encounter and Pioneer/ left .Auckland on April 29 to search for the dredge, but to no avail. The Manchester was a twin-screw bucket, hopper dredge and was built .in 1890 at Renfrew by Messrs. W. Simmons and Cox. Built for the. Manchester Ship Canal Company, she did a large amount of work in the Manchester /Canal and was acquired by. )he Lyttelton Harbour Board about 1900. She made a long and eventful passage out to Lyttelton and ended a 'useful.;career,.an-,the Tasman. :.

. The Hannah Barratt, '.which left Wellington on April 2, 1883, in ballast for Picton to load timber, was an.other vessel which never reached her destination. A heavy southerly arose shortly after she left port, v and although some wreckage was found later,--..what., actually, occurred was never "discovered. .The crew of four, were all lost. The Hannah Barratt was a wooden, topsail schooner of 57 tons and was owned and commanded by Captain F, Renner. She was built on the Manning River, New South Wales, in 1872. r The barque Kilmeny, which left Wellington on May 5 for Newcastle, also ended her Ife in a manner unknown, and with her'went the commander, Captain Roger, and a crew of i6. She was a" vessel of 792 tons...

These are just some of the shipssteamers and sailers—which have made Wellington their final port and the fate of which i will never be properly known. . What stories of tragedy, perseverance, arid - bravery they could tell and what dramas must they each have witnessed. But they are-gone- for ever' and the sea keeps its secrets. :

VESSELS THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED

THEIR DESTINATIONS UNREACHED