Last Night’s Sensation

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 609, 19 May 1891, Page 2

Last Night’s Sensation

STEAMER IN THE BAY, SIGNALLING FOR ASSISTANCE. A ROUGH TRIP—RUN SHORT OF PROVISIONS. Thkhe was great excitement in town last night, about 7 o'clock. A steamer had arrived in the bay, and was vigorously blowing her whistle and making an illumination with blue lights. She anchored in ths bay, and kept up tha signals. Meanwhile people were rushing about town in an ox-cited state, fearing that aotnettiiag serious had hap pened to one of the big coastal steamers. Steam was up on the launch Snark, and she would have been ready to go out almost at once, but the low state of the river prevented her being made use of. Captain Neale and a couple of others expeditiously manned an open boat, and lost no time in pulling out to ascertain the cause of the signalling. The steamer proved to be the Union S.S. Company’s Taupo, formerly on the East Coast trade, and now trading with Fiji. She was bound fo>Wellington, having made Auckland her first port of call. She encountered terrible weather, and had been blown a long way out from the coast. On arrival last night she had been five days out from Auckland, and was in need of coal and provisions. The necessary supplies were taken out last night. The sea in the bay had calmed down till there was only a slight roll on, Captain Cameron, a very capable officer; is in command of the Taupo.