THE BOAT DISASTER IN CORIO BAY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1692, 6 January 1874, Page 4

THE BOAT DISASTER IN CORIO BAY.

[GEELONG ABVEBTISER, t 'i)EC.->2t.] V • ' : - The history of the sad affair may be J?riefly.lrelateia.'^;TwO boat 3, the Briton and Fanny, were hired during the "day to convey passengers from the screw stearaer. Sarah to ..the jetty opposite the Tea 'Gardeus; at Hetiry. At; this place the water is very shallow, and although taking but a small draught, the steamer could not approach nearer than a quarter of a mile from the shore. A rope was used -to assist , the boats in proceeding through ; the surf, ths weather being exceedingly tempestuous and beating witbJfull force on this exposed portion of the coast. Shortly. after 2 o'clock the Sarah was observed steaming up towards the Point, and both of the boats pre-pared-to .meet her. /They were speedily filled' with, passengers' who desired to return to 1 Geelong. ; The Briton was managed by a young -man named Elijah , HellihgSj and the Fanny by Frank Sharpe. Sellings took the precaution to attach his . boat to the rope provided for the purpose, and . af tep. 'waiting the approach . of the steamer, finding that 'she turned about when about a mile from shore, evidently for the purpose of making a. trip, round the bay with her passengers, be turned back. Sharpe, however, finding, it/ is believed, some difficulty "in* changing his course.,-, and ,nofr having, secured .himself wfth WeSrdpfe as hiscotapanibn had done, proceeded but to .seaj : beating against a strong. Jieai._wlnd, . for the purpose of reaching Geelong. About 4 o'clock, his boat was observed:-iiear=Cowie's Creek, •opposite a place named Old Dan's | Bluff. iSh'o had -beaten in- towards the - shore," and Tvas" wearing off, when the wind caught her sails, and: she suddenly capsized-.- "Maltese Joe" was at this time bringing up his boat in the same direction, .and was .about. 4oo yards from the . scene" ,6f the accident. With all promptitude hie.' made towards the spot, but being' himself fully freighted with passengers, 'he' was unable' 1 to render assistance so speedily as he could have wished. A young. J ad was seen battling with.the. waves and swimming, strongly toward 'his boat,: but r he was carried outwards by the. currents'. Marmip. did his .utmost lo'.'save 'the little 'fellow, but his efforts were On ■ > his . way towards the shore he picked up a man and boy— father and son— and brought them towards thebeach, where he caused the whole of his passengers.to land. ' Every mom,ent was of the utmost importance, and both men and women', without hesitation, jumped into the water and waded ashoift. Marmio, with bis assistant, J. Black eney, having ,cleared their boat, immediately turned 7 their attention towards the Fanny, to whose, mast a. .number, of .persons were I seen clinging., y Owing to' theroughness of the water it was with considerable difficulty they gpt sufficiently neariher to be. able to grasp the end of the mast.* Blackeiiey re-mairied-in the boat,- while twice Marmio plunged into the water and reached the spot'where a promiscuous group.of ' men, wcinfen, and boys were clinging'desperately..to each other. By dint of heroic . -.esiertioii's 1 he' managed : to convey them, one after the' other ' J on : Board of his .'boat. Several" were all but frowned, ■'and only sonic' time' afterwards 'tecbvered cbn,scibusnes3., Amovig, .those who were lost "was' ; . the,. boatman!. Sharpe and hismate, who maintained his hold of the mast, narrowly escaped a similar, fate. The per7sons".iW.hofiWerei rescuedgwere put ashore and taken to afarmhouse belonging to Mr Stewart, and the residence of a fisherman L fianied -l)aniel Edwards^ from-whence they were subsequently brought into town. Altogether ten persons were rescued — three men, .three women, and four boys. The. following, so far as we" could ascertain", are the names of the survivors : — L. Blashki, Eathdowne 'street, Carlton ; . :G.!«;Philpott,-iof St: Kilda • Davidf!Armstrong^Geelong; Ei'iima -Watts, Weller streot, . Ashby ; Mis 3 Neal, John street, 'Asaby'l Miss-'Paynton, ClSretice ■ street,, .tlioae'.'drdftiiedf or be-' iieved^'to have perwhed^ 'ifl th'^ brotherof Blashki; -the, father of Philpott, the sister., of *ihe r gijrl .Watts,, aged 16, the. ', .''dad^t^r-.'^^^a/Drii^iayer/^'.'and.' a . lad ' jnaij^ed' ','s^ , ;'f6sumis'^ the same [spot ab.out '. /two' years ' ago. The f ffwne E 6T ( 'i;_'e l< boy .jwhp "was seen struggling 'so manfully iV'said 'to I ' be' Marshall, but" . -no- definite- infocmation-as to this can be yet be properly ascertained. Ihe.surr yiymg boatmen on board, of the Fanny ' %it'es tMt'tlie ntimber'of passengers was. 18. Hellings believes there musthave been 20 when she left Point "'Henry, : 'an<l others state that there were 25 on board. It is alleged,; and, to some ; ex tent corroborated, that Sharpe was the worse for^rink when he left tse.i Point,-, and. that his assistantwas not "Trmch— betterr- The Fanny was an ordinary fishing boat, about 25ft long by M 6ft 'iii 'widih'fbwned by W well-known ; char acter .. n amed V ". Happy Jack." Had she been licensed it is probable that not ; more th.an,a dpzen^asßengers would have been allowed as her limit.