HOLMWOOD MISSING

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 December 1940, Page 2

HOLMWOOD MISSING

12 PASSENGERS—I 7 CREW CAUGHT BY RAIDER ? [per press association.] WELLINGTON, December I.* Five children and four women are among the 12 passengers on the small steamer Holmwood, formerly the-Tees, Which is overdue at Lyttelton frofh the Chatham Islands. It is possible; that the ..ship., has been caught by the enemy raider which, was operating off the New Zealand coast' last webk. A crew of 17 manned the ship, which was due to arrive at Lyttelton last Wednesday. . ■ . - . >, An official statement issued bn Saturday afternoon by .tlie. Prime Minister’s Department read: “The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hop. . P. Fraser, regrets hdvirig to announce that a small local vessel, the Holmwobd, formerly the. Tees, is considerably overdue -and no information of any kind is available regarding the cause of her delay in reaching port. It is of course possible that the vessel may have broken down, or she may have encountered the. raider known to have been off the New Zealand coast. All possible steps are being taken, and a further announcement will be made immediately any news of this vessel is obtainable. A further announcement to-night stated that no further information was available about the Holmwood. Searches made so far had been without result. The passengers are:— Mr. and Mrs. D. McMahon and their two children. Mr. McMahon was, postmaster at the Chatham Islands, and was returning to the mainland oh transfer. Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Idiens, arid their two children. Mr. Idiens is a Christchurch man who has been in business as a builder and contractor at the islands for many years. Mr. and Mrs. D. James and their child, who were returning to New Zealand. Miss C. Hough. Captain James Miller, of Christchurch, is in command of the Holmwood, and the other officers are:— Mr. A. Campbell (Wellington), chief officer; Mr. C. Clarke. (Wellington), second officer; Mr. F. Abernethy (Wellington), chief engineer; Mr. Keith F. le Cren (Christchurch), second engineer; Mr. G. R. Clayton (Dunedin), third engineer. The members of the crew are Messrs J. A.. Lundberg (Lyttelton), cook; N. McMillan (Wellington), steward; J. Ellison (Wellington), able seaman; P. J. Stiles (Lyttelton), able seaman), F. Johnson (Wanganui), able seaman; D. McLeod (Lyttelton), able seaman; T. L. Longun (Wellington), able seaman; S. C. Waterhouse (Christchurch); D. Cornish (Greymouth), fireman; J. Finnerty (Lyttelton), fireman; T. Allen (Wellington), fireman. The second engineer of the Holmwood, Mr. Keith Le Cren, is married, with one child, and lives at 47 Swann’s Road. His father lives in Tim ar u.

The Holmwood has wireless apparatus and three of the officers are competent operators. No word was received from the vessel, however, after she left the Chatham Islands on Monday morning on her run of about 450 miles to Lyttelton. The Holmwood shipped the following cargo at the islands: 1375 sheep, 77 bales of wool, 1 horse, several tons of general cargo and mails. HAZARDOUS RUN. MANY ROCKS AND REEFS.

The Chatham Islands run has always been regarded as a hazardous one; there are hundreds of rocks and reefs, many of them uncharted, surrounding the islands, and about 54 wrecks are recorded at the islands, the first being in 1827. The long service of the Tees, as she was then called, was riot without incident. When about halfway between Lyttelton and the islands in 1924, the vessel was struck one , night by a tidal wave, which laid,her on her beam ends. She was righted, but not before damage was caused to her engine, and she completed the voyage at reduced speed. The Tees was the first vessel to use the wharf at Waitangi, the only one at the islands, when it was completed a few years ago. In June, . 1931, after she had been trading to the Chathams for about eight years, the Tees made what was then believed to be a record passage between the Chathams and Wellington. Fair following winds favoured her on the outward journey, and she completed the trip in 45 hours. On the return, trip, however, she did the trip in 44 hours. Previously, that time was beaten by the Rama, formerly the gunboat Torch, of 610 tons gross, the distance between Wellington and the Chathams being covered in 42 hours. On that occasion, the Rama had to make port quickly to get medical assist-! ance for a sick man aboard, and the; passengers were put to work to stoke the fires. The Rama, of course, had facilities better than those of the Tees for raising her speed in an emergency, and her performance was hardly to be recognised as that of a merchant trader. The Holmwood, a coal-burning steel steamer of 553 tons, is fitted with refrigerated space for the carriage of fish from the islands. She has accommodation for 17 passengers. She was purchased about 18 years ago by the Westland Shipping Company, Ltd., Greymouth, and, as the Tees, was' a regular trader be 7 tween the Chatham Islands and Lyttelton and Wellington ever since, also at times trading on the coast, principally between Wellington and Greymouth. A few months ago she was puchased by Southern Traders, Ltd., a subsidiary company of the Holm Shipping and renamed Holmwood. An extensive overhaul and refit was carried out, and, with the aid of a substantial subsidy from the Government, the vessel resumed the Chatham Islands run. She made her first trip under her new ownership in August, and the present is her third trip. Captain James Miller was formerly a member of the harbour signalling staff at Westport.,He is a.son-in-law of Mrs. G. F. Bryan, of Westport, his wife formerly being Miss Eva Bryan.

RAIDER’S VICTIM. WELLINGTON, December 1., It was announced by the Prime Minister’s Department late to-night that no further information was available regarding the British ves-

sel which was attacked by a raider 400 miles off the New Zealand coast. Searches made so far had .been without result. •>