RANGATIRA AGROUND

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 December 1940, Page 8

RANGATIRA AGROUND

MISHAP OFF LYTTELTON HEADS

LITTLE DAMAGE REPORTED

ALL ON BOARD RESCUED

[per press association.]

CHRISTCHURCH, December 29. Sliding gently into the reef at the western head of Pigeon Bay, about 20 miles from Lyttelton, in a dense fog this morning, the ferry steamer Rangatira, under the command of Captain G. B. Morgan, remained hard aground for nearly ten hours. She Wad 750 passengers. They were safe - ly transferred on to the cargo steamer Waimarino, which berthed with them after mid-day. The Rangatira was assisted off the reef by the Lyttelton’ Harbour Board’s tug, Lyttelton I, and by an intercolonial steamer, on the afternoon tide. Steaming up the harbour this afternoon at a brisk eight or ten knots, the Rangatira completed her interrupted journey, apparently little the worse for her •. stranding. She arrived at Lyttelton at 3.40 p.m. The mishap occurred about 5.30 a.m. The Rangatira had been steaming slowly’for some time in a thick coastal fog, with her siren sounding at intervals. She struck so gently that most of those on board did not know she was aground. A few of the male passengers went on deck, and they-saw a reef of rocks a few yards away on the port bow. The passengers were told to return to their cabins, and to await orders. In response to a wireless message from the stranded ship, the Lyttelton staff of the Union Company quickly made arrangements to dispatch relief ships. The company had two ships in port, the fast coastal steamer, Waimarino, and an inter-colonial steamer. By 7.30 a.m., the Waimarino had been made ready for sea and left. The inter-colonial steamer followed soon afterwards. The tug Lytteltonl, however, was the first vessel to answer ’the summons, steam at an hour’s notice always being available on one. or other of the Lyttelton Harbour Board’s tugs. She left for Pigeon Bay about 7.15 a.m. The second tug, Lyttelton 11, was temporarily out of commission, but she was immediately made ready to assist, if necessary, in salvage operations. When the relief vessels left the wharves, fog extended the full length of Lyttelton Harbour. It began to lift as they neared the entrance to Pigeon Bay, and the actual rescue operations were carried out in brilliant, sunshine and an almost smooth sea.

The Rangatira went aground about two hours after full tide, and when the rescue vessels arrived, she was lying about 300 yards off the west headland of the Bay, with her bow well out of the water, and showing most of her bow rudder. Her stern was well down in deep water, and the tug had made a line fast, and was pulling gently, to prevent the Rangatira going further up. The grounded steamer had no list, which greatly simplified the transhipping of the passengers. Soon after the arrival of the Waimarino, the port lifeboats—that is on the lee side—which had previously been swung out, were filled with women and children and lowered into the water without mishap. All of the passengers were wearing lifebelts, and they seemed in remarkably good spirits. The lifeboats of the Rangatira are of the manually-operated, propellpr type, and the women passengers were enthusiastically assisting in the operation of the hand levers.

PICNIC ATMOSPHERE. It was an extraordinary scene when a launch carrying a newspaper representative arrived a few minutes after the Waimarino had taken up her station. There was nothing of the grimness and threat of tragedy usually- associated with shipwreck. Warm sunshine poured from a now cloudness sky and made a gently undulating sea sparkle brilliantly, as lifeboats began to ply to and fro between the Rangatira and the Waimarino. It Was noticeable from launches that Air Force men, passengers on the steamer express, were lending valuable aid in the loading of the lifeboats. The only mishap reported was that to a woman, who tore a fingernail. Crowds in the lifeboats were so cheerful that they might have been going to a picnic. In one boat, a mother settled down to’feed an infant child from a bottle, heated by a thoughtful stewardess. The milk apparently was too hot, and a seaman held the bottle in the water to cool the milk. - ■ . On board the Waimarino, all preparations had been made to receive the passengers. A companion ladder, lowered on each side, expedited the work of taking the passengers aboard. Some of the launches assisted by towing lifeboats, and one large passenger launch took a full load of passengers. As soon as they boarded the Waimarino, the women passengers were given facilities to wash, and were served with hot tea. Ail praised warmly what had been done for them aboard the Rangatira. All had had a substantial breakfast before leaving the ship. The stewards helped the passengers into their lifebelts. The Waimarino came into the inner basin and was warped into her berth at. No. 2 wharf. There was a big crowd to welcome the rescued passengers.

Anxiety continued to be felt for the fate' of the Rangatira, and preparations were continued in Lyttelton,for attempted salvage. Shortly after 3 o’clock, the anxiety was ended by advice that the Rangatira, under’the combined power of her own engines and two lines, from the Lyttelton I. and the Union Company’s inter-col-onial vessel, had backed off the reef. This welcome news spread' just as rapidly as the news of the stranding. When the Rangatira steamed up the harbour shortly before 4 o’clock, the Evans Pass and Summit Roads were lined with hundreds of motor-cars. No one would have guessed, as she steamed serenely up the harbour, that she had been aground, and consequently, in danger of serious damage, for nearly ten hours; nor would one have suspected, from her deft and exp.editous berthing, that anything was amiss.’ She swung round outside the moles and came in stern

first, the usual practice in berthing the steamer express. Arrangements were made, by the Railways Department to transport the south-bound passengers to their homes. Those who were travelling to points south of Timaru were conveyed in three railway ’buses, which left Christchurch in the middle of the afternoon. Passengers for South stations as far as Timaru were carried on the usual Sunday excursion train, which leaves Christchurch at 5.25 p.m. These passengers were obliged to leave without their luggage, which was despatched from Lyttelton by a later train. The Wahine, which made a special daylight trip, arrived at .Lyttelton at 7.30 p.m. She sailed for Wellington at 8.30 p.m. carrying the passengers booked for the Rangatira’s scheduled trip to-night. This evening stewards and stewardesses were paid off the Rangatira and were sent to Wellington by the Wahine to join the Maori, which is being recommissioned to-morrow. The reef which the Rangatiiyi struck is about five miles south-east of Lyttelton Heads. MAILS QUICKLY SORTED. CHRISTCHURCH, December 29. Efficient work has been performed by the mailroom staff at Christchurch Post Office. The Rangatira’s mail reached the chief post office at 7 p.m. Before 10 p.m. the southern mail had been sorted and despatched to the southbound night express, and all of the city mail had been sorted for Monday morning’s deliveries. Before this task was completed, another large .mail arrived by the Wahine.

RANGATIRA TO DOCK.

CHRISTCHURCH, December 29.

The Rangatira is leaking slightly, and after an examination by the Lyttelton Harbour Board’s diver, it was decided to send her to Port-Chalmers •for dry-docking. She has now (11 p.m.) left for Port Chalmers.

Commanded at the time by Captain Cameron, the Rangatira had a fortunate escape from destruction on February 2, 1936, when she grounded on the rocks of Barrett’s Reef on the Cape Palliser side of Wellington Harbour. This mishap also occurred in the early hours of the morning, and the hull of the vessel was extensively damaged. By a coincidence, the vessel was able to. clear the rocks in a subsequent big wave, and proceeded up Wellington Harbour stern first. There was a big passenger list on the trip, but no one was injured and no luggage was lost.

CHRISTCHURCH, December 30

The Rangatira sailed at 9.30 a.m. for Port Chalmers, where she will be docked.

AMENDED SAILINGS. f ■ As the Maori now replaces the Rangatira in the Lyttelton-Welling-ton steameb express service, all reservations for the Rangatira have been cancelled,, whilst the Wahine’s salings have been also varied. All passengers are to make early application for fresh reservations in the sailings they desire to travel, bear-' ing in mind the daylight sailings from Lyttelton on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. Similarly, motor car bookings for both the Wahine and the Rangatira have been cancelled, and it will be necessary to make fresh applications for space.