WRECK OF KONINI

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 23 December 1924, Page 5

WRECK OF KONINI

ASHORE NEAR, OCEAN BEACH

CAPTAIN'S MISFORTUNE

CREW SAVED, tBY TELEGRAPH- —PRESS ASSOCIATION. INVERCARGILL, Dec. 22. ■ About 2 o'clock ' tnis morning in heavy yam and piireii dai'kiiess cue;, steamer ivolmn tons), of ' the Omon Sn/eam Company ’s. lleet, went asnore' at Wirale’ Head, or- South West Point, on the coaso at the back of Bluff Hid, about half a mile from Ocean Beach. 'ihe vessel was making, about nine knots at- the time of the disaster, and struck heavily : on a ledge ot ' rocks about two chains out from- the rugged coastline. There was fortunately no wind, though a heavy swell was- running and there was intense darkness, ike situation was,- therefore, sufficiently precarious. [:£]£;. : , v .£'■■■ . Four rockets were 1 fined and the ship’s whistle blown , steadily. ;; The;, distress signals, were heard, and the harbour board’s tug was immediately despatched from . Bluff., She . arrived, off the iscene of the wreck about 'L2O a.m.,. standing out about a hundred yards, r She took off the crew, who ’ left the Koiiini in The ship’s . bodts. • There- was no loss of life arid.; no, casualties of any .kind, the men being ■able to take most of their personal effects with them. ’ - Subsequentlythe vessel ‘ settled down, her engine room being full of water with fairly deep water along; one; side. The vessel is a complete, wreck, and there is "considered to .be little prospect of, her cargo- being salvaged, though, an attempt, will probably, be made to salvage a lot "of her geari : ,The first southerly weather • that arrives / will in all probability break her up. V <v : - The Konini is a new vessel of 1420 tons, gross and 833 tons nett register,' and was on " her ' maiden voyage, her last, port being Wallaroo in - South Australia, where she loaded about 2000 tons of salt and gypsum for Dunedin and northern’ New Zealand ports; The master is Oaptain Yint, who. ‘is familiar with the coast, and for - yeays has had liis Bluff pilotage exemption certificate as a careful and competent mariner*. . : -y k; The loss of the Konini ie particularly unfortunate; inasmuch^as it. fol- ’ lows: the mishap to the Armagli, which -: was piled up on a sand ; bank at Liverpool while in charge of the pilot. Captain Yint was; then-mas-ter of the Armagh,... though * the responsibility for that, disaster, was not his. _ .He then took command of the - Konini, but once- again misfortune has overtaken him,. ; , ... ; The remaining members of the. i ship’s cbmpanyj inumbering twehty- 1 three all told, ia-re as follow : —E.’ M. Anderson (chief officer) ; H. A." Bioyd (2nd officer); L. T. Wells (3rd .officer); : R ’ H. : Proctor (chief engineer); .H. Miller (2nd engineer) j'Johri Lewis; (3rd engineer); J ; Ingles' (boatswain); Allan Robertson 1 ' (donkeyman); ;G. Camie, ( J," Mqncriefe, J. A. Finch,. L.. W. Poole, A. Gourdey, J. Irvine, (able seamen) ; M. Carlin,, J-oe Dickson, :J. Carlin, 3?... Ferriie,' ’ F. ’ -Beattie. ' R l . : . Graham (firemen); J. Lockhead (chief steward); and James Huiiter (2nd; steward). - i The officers. aind conveyed to. port, and are at present awaiting instructions; ’ /''''£■} A preliminai-y inquiry was be!d' today before Mr. H. W. RufFell,: Cus-, toms /officer at Invercargill.^Apparently; there is little explanation’to- be given, apart from the ' fact that; the vessel got off her course in the/blackness of the. night, the rain contributing to.the low visibility,. v The Dog Island, light Was picked up soon after the ' vessel passed. Gbntre Island. The distance between, the : two points is approximately 25 miles. The Konini w,as standirig well.out, the course being set t'o carry ' her,' it. was thought, round behind Dog Island, which is the-usual course ,followed..by steamers making round ;the epa-st for Dunedin. ■; : ‘ ;,' ; ’ \ Shortly after passing Centre; Island; . however; Captain Vint, who hiul been on the bridge sipce 6 a.m., . Tost; ike Do : g Island; light in the rain, storm, Which so intensified the mirk that nothing at all could be seen’ . ahead; ' This was not considered an alarming circumstance, as their course should have enabled them to easily clear the dangerous rocks behind the hill,. The Dog Island light was hot picked‘ up again, and the first realisation- of ; peril came when the hill suddenly loomed . .out. of the / darkness ■ right .ahead. . ...It- was then impossible to avoid a di-aster. '•v; ■ ■;■ :. The vessel /struck head on ‘ and ; immediately swung around, losings her • rudder in doing .so. When she, settled her . bows pointed out to sea, as though she had eiideavoiiied to make seaward , and had struck in the stern. She lifted and crunched on to the rocks many times, until her plates were badly gashed. Making water rapidlv, she began W settle. At midday /she lay upright and fairly high out of the water, being clearly in view from the sandhills at Ocean Beach-.

To-morrow morning it is anticipated a party will leave Bluff by, boat, and make ian investigation, provided the sea remains calm enough to approach the vessel. It is not considered that there will be/ any 'possibility of salvaging the cargo, but it is thought that the fittings arid gear will be repovo*,od'. . The steamer was not fully loaded and, of co.ur.se, is liable to get a battering at any timl from , the heavy .s'u’-.westerly. seas that roll through the straits.