THE WRECKS AT TIMARU.

Grey River Argus, Volume VIII, Issue 526, 1 June 1869, Page 2

THE WRECKS AT TIMARU.

(From the Titnaru Herald, May 26.) The anniversary of her Majesty's birthday in 1869 will be long remembered in Timaru ; as on that flay (Monday List) it is our painful duty to record the total loss of two vessels —the barques Collinpwood and Susan Jane, and also the loss if one of the lifeboat's crew in their brave, but unfortunately vain endeavors to po to the assistance of a schooner — the Twilight — which w;is lying in the roadstead, and had during tlie whole of the forenoon on Monday been flying a sigtial of distress. The Collingwqod, barque, qf 457 tons register, was built in New York anont 20 years ago, and had been trading in colonial waters for the last six or seven years-^principally between Dunedin and Newcastle. • She was pwned by Messrs Hutcheson and Co ., of Dnnedin. The Cullingwood arrived in the Timaru roadstead early on Wednesday morning, having taken on board at Lyttelton 1700 bags of wheat, and intended to complete her loading \:i Timara with about 25,000 bushels more of wheat, with which she was to proceed to Auckland. During Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 1225 baps were shipped on board — making the total cargo on board at the time qf the wreck between 10,000 and 11.000 bushels. During Friday and Saturday there was a nasty sea running, but unaccompanied with any wind, and not sufficient to prevent the shipping of cargo; During Sunday the sea rose, and a vpry heavy aurf tumbled on the beach, but still, strange to say, without any wind. At al>out 6 o'clock on Sunday pv'ening the sea was at its highest, and during the evening, when a slight puft of wind came pff the land, the signal was made from shore hy the firing of a rocket to {'go to sea." The Susan Jane and the schooner Twilight attempted to obey the signal, but the wind was so very light that it was impossible to do so, and anchors were a^ain dropped. Fqr about two hours before midnight the sea dropped f-onsiderably, but after 'that hour it again rose to its former strength. Towards mornjng, between 4 and 5 o'clock, it is said that the barque Susan Jane drifted past the bows pf the Collingwood, and it is supposed that jihe. latter vessel's anchor was lifted or the cable broken by getting foul of the Susan Jane's cable, for just then the Cq'.lingwood found herself adrift, and heading rapidly towards the land. The starboard anchor had parted previously, aud now as the port anchor had gone, the barque was perfectly helpless, at' the mercy of the wa<es, for there was not a breath of air to enable the vessel to get out of her imminent danger. Soon after 5 o'clock, she was amidst the in : shore breakers, and shortly afterwards t'»ok the ground, about niid-way along tho Waimata}tai Lagoon, in Woollcombe's guljy. As soon as she grounded, Mr Mills, tho HarborMaster, was present on the beach wjth the rocket apparatus, and' h\ firing the first rocket, Mr Mills, we regret to say, was severely burned about the face aud right hand, the rocket going pff so suddenly that he had not time to go to a safe distance. A second rocket was tired under the direction pf Captain Crawford, and it was well directed, passing right over the. vessel. The line hatfr jng been seized by the men on board, a, large rope was quickly pissed to the vessel, and preparations made far rescuing the crew. A life-buoy, with a species of sack attached underneath was speedily rove on to the rope, and being pulled by. a smaller line backwards and forwards fr.om the vessel to the shore, every man onboard was soon landed, The men thus landed were the first and second officers, the crqw. of ten m.ej}, three men who were working the,ir passage, and four men who were taken on board at Timaru for stowing (jargo — seventeen souhj in aIL The master, Captain Lewis, was ashore at the time of the wreck.' ' The last man to leave the wreck was slr. Qrecn, th.§ first mate. The Collingwood at this time was resting on an even keel, head on to the beach, but between 8 and 9 o'clock she slewed broadside on to the sea, which then having greater power over her, the work of demolition was from that time most rapid. Between 11 and 12 o'clock her masts went one after another, and an hour, or two Liter she was completely broken up. '• After the disastrous logs of the Collingwood many were the anxious eyes directed towards the Susan J;in •, which was acen as daylight dawned <in, Monday liravely fighting with the breakers. During all M omlay there was not B^fScien,t wind even to b,low out the signals which were passing between the y Jssi'l and the nuthqritje's on] sh,<»re at the Government flagstaff. From eight o'clock in the morning tjll past mid-lay the. vessel slowly drifted nearer the shore, anxiously watched by hundreds of spectators who lined the Jiffs. At last, when all hope was past of 'saving the vessel, the signal was given to

" slip the cables." The barque then rapidly surged towards the land, and eventually took the beach under the cliff nearly opposite tp the house of Mr H. J. LeCren. Mr Mor--risoii, late pilot of the port, was on the top of the' clift" with the rocket apparatus, and threw a we!l;directed line between her fore aud maitf^'ini&ifc The ivpewith the lifeliuoy was rapidly "digged out, and the work commenced of landing the crew, nine in number, from the stranded vessel. All got safely asjiore without mishap, with the excep- • tjon ()f the ship's cp,r>k and mate, who both foil into the i toiling surf whilst on their passage from the vessel. The cock was saved liy Captain Potcrson, the master of the Susan Jane, who boldly rushed into the surf and seized the man, and both were pulled out of the water by the bystanders qn shore. The cqok was, we reerret to s,ay, badly injured by the fill. The mate wa§ also saved. The vessel theu was lying deck on to the sea, and soon began to brfiak up. Late at night the masts went and s,ho was a complete wreck, and the cargo washed ov»t Of ht'T lined this beach in all" directions. About the time' tho Su°an Jane was wrecked, with fortunately all hands saved, another scene was being transngte. ' on another part pf the beach, which had a different and a tragical ending. We have said before that the Twilight, schooner, had heon flying a signal i f distress the greater part nf Monday morning, and not only was the signal flying, but the crew were heard on shore loudly shouting for assistance. The orew of the life-boat werg, we believe, away at th s tiuif, on the look-out to render assistance to the Susan Jane, and some time elapsed before they could be got together. Some men had in the meantime forced open the life-boat house, and were proceeding to take her on to the beach— a volunteer crew having been got for her — but a gentleman informed Mr Mills, the Harbor-Master (who had charge of the life-boat) of this unwarrantable act, and he at once took matters in his own hands, aud {jot together his own tried crew. Plenty of V 'lvi tjers were forthcoming to 4a g the boat on the carriage from the shed to that part of the beach used by the Landing Company, where it was proposed to launch her Several times did the volunteers push off the boat, and on each occasion it was thrown back high up on the beach as a mere toy, each time drifting to the north and nearer to the reef which separates the two landing services. At last the efforts mr.de were successful, and the boat left the b-ach amid the cheers of the spectators who thronged the beach road and the hi^h ground adjoining. The moment was one nf i-itense excitement, as the boat was fairly over the reef where the waves were breaking with the greatest fury, and it was then seen that out of her full crew only six were on board, the others having been washed out and left on the beach. The names of the crew when the boat finally quitted the shore were Mr Mills (Harbor- Master), Duncan Cameron, (coxswain), A. White. Thomas Baker, George Newton, and Willnni Oxle\. When just at the edge of the reef, and but "a little way from the suote a tremendous sea struck the boat and capsized her, throwing all the men into the water. The scene on the beach at this moment \v; s one of the most fearful excitement, as all the men were struggling in the water, but it was seeu thatmnst, if not all, of them had on the cork life-belts belonging to the boat. Ihe Alexandra had righted herself in an instant, and soon one m n was seen to climb into her, and hold out his hand to assist iv another. Presently five men hud again climbed into the boat, but one was missing, and was not seen again. It was soon discovered that that man was Dunci.n Cameron. When the lifeboat capsized, all the oars except, one were lost, and with this one oar and a lino which was, attached to the boat's anchor, the crew managed to bring the boat on shore without being again upset. It is generally supposed that Duncan Cameron was rendered insensible hy a blow on the head, either from the steeroar or some part of the boat, as he -was a most expert swimmer, and could have reached the boat even without a lifebelt, if by any means he lost it. We learn fiat when in the water Cameron caught hold of Newton's leg, and would have drowned him had he not shaken himself fre \ Caneron was a good sailor, ami came to Timaru some years ago from Taranaki. He leaves a wife and four children. What the schooner Twilight wanted we do not know, as she put to sea on Monday evening when a light breeze sprung up, but it is generally supposed that she was short of provisions and water, It is a most significant fact, and one which, amid all this distress, speaks a word in favor of the holding ground in the Timaru roadstead, that the schooner Twilight., riding at the. outer anchorage for smtill craft, scarcely shifted her position, and rode out the storm with comparative ease. Had the other vessels been further out, and never taken up their anchors, they, in all probability, would now be in the r jadstead. We understand that both the Collingwood and Susan Jane were well in ured, and the cargoes of both vessels were also insured. The hull of the C<lliugwood was insured in the New Zealand Insurance Company for £2500, and the grain on board covered by a floating policy in the Union Bank. The hull of the Susan Jane was insured for £1500.