PORANGAHAU WRECKAGE

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 June 1936, Page 2

PORANGAHAU WRECKAGE

ANOTHER COVER FOUND

[P£B PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

WAIPUKURAU, June 10. The mast block found at Porangahau has disappeared. Apparently, it has floated out to sea since Fiidaj. Another hatch cover was found by a search party this morning. Apparently, it had not been in the watei long, as the screws were not.rusty. It is slightly smaller than the others found, being about nine feet by eighteen inches.

MATAI’S SEARCH

AUCKLAND, June 10

No wreckage at sea in the vicinity of Porangahau was sighted by the Government steamer Matai, which arrived from the East Coast lighthouses to-day. Captain Burgess master of the Matai, states the vessel arrived at Castlepoint from Wellington the day after the distress rockets were seen. After leaving Castlepoint, Captain Burgess zig-zagged the Matai along the coast for about 60 miles, searching the sea, particularly neai the Bay of Forangahau, but he did not sight any wreckage or floating oil.

NOT FROM JOSEPH CONRAD

HASTINGS, June It)

The opinion that the wreckage found on the beach at Porangahau could not have originated from the Joseph Conrad, was expressed by Mr W. Falconer, marine' engineer, who sailed in the vessel from Ipswich to Melbourne, before she proceeded to New Zealand, and who is at present on a visit to Hastings. Mr Falconer said it was extremely unlikely that the Joseph Conrad would be in the vicinity of the New Zealand coast, as after>going to New Guinea with a party of gold prospectors he had on board, Villers, was anxious to return to England, and would not therefore come back towards the New’ Zealand coast. The wreckage did not resemble, in the least, any equipment which, to his knowledge, was on board the Joseph Conrad. She had only one small hatch cover, on which was a brass plate with the name of the vessel inscribed. He also did not think the mastblock washed up on the beach last Fridav, belonged to the Joseph Conrad, as her blocks were all steel fixtures.

LETTER FROM SAMOA

(Recd. June 11. Noon.) MELBOURNE. June 11

A Geelong resident received a letter from his nephew on the Joseph Conrad, headed “Joseph Conrad, Samoa,” which states the vessel had passed through heavy weather, and part of the mast had' been carried away. It added that from Samoa the vessel would go to Tahiti, a journey which it. is estimated would take two months. Evidently the ship was to visit the Pacific Islands on the way. APIA. June 10. The ship Joseph Conrad did not call at Samoa.

SICKNESS AT LIGHTHOUSE

AUCKLAND, June 10

A special trip to Cape Maria Van Diemen with a doctor, who was urgently needed to attend the Light Keeper and his family, was made by the Government steamer, “Matai,” which arrived at Auckland to-day. When the Matai arrived at the Cape, the doctor found that Mr Thompson, one of the light-keepers, and his wife, and child, were suffering from a severe skin ailment. They were brought to Auckland by the Matai, for further attention.

YACHTSMAN MISSING.

WELLINGTON, Jujie 10

A familiar figure about Port Nicholson, Tasman J. Lovell, relief worker and yachtsman, has not been reported since the end of April, when he was on a cruise to Port. Underwood in his 26-fool yawl Tessie J. He left Wellington on Good Friday and spent Easter at Port Underwood, sailing on April 21. Shortly after Easter, Lovell is stated to have been sighted in Tory Channel, battling through the north-west gale and apparently heading for Wellington. Since then he has neither been seen nor heard of.

A regular water gypsy, Lovell spent the summer living aboard his yacht in the Hutt River. A brown, black and white collie dog, “Laddie,” was his sole companion on board. He cruised about the harbour, anchoring where night overtook him. The yawl had a beam of seven feet and a draught of 3ft. Gin. It was equipped with a four-cylinder motor-lorry engine converted to marine use. Although under-canvassed, it was a fairly able sea boat, and' he had many times made the Cook. Strait crossing in it, in fine weather and rough. He was' accustomed to crujse in the Sounds, collecting old bottles, which he shipped across and sold in Wellington. When interviewed some months ago, Lovell stated that his vessel was not sufficiently well found for an ocean passage. She carried no sea anchor or oil bags, and he himself was ignorant of navigation.