WAIROA.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1061, 29 June 1869, Page 3

WAIROA.

LflßO A COBBBSPOKDBNTj

Clyde, Juna 20. The township was in a great state of excitement the whole of yesterday, from a feeling of uncertainty as to the safety of the three small vessels which were off the: mouth of the river on Saturday, the 19th — the Grayling, cutter, and the Murewai and Hero, schooners. About six o'clock in the evening, it was reported that a vessel was ashore at the Heads, and that the beach was strewn with cargo and pieces of wreck. Captains Bower and Richardson immediately ordered the boats' crews down to the Heads, to render any assistance in their, power. The vessel ashore proved to be the Hero, from Napier; Her master found it impossible to weather Long Point, which he tried to do, when it began to blow from the S.E. -, He reports that, in all probability, he would have been able to do so, hadnot his foresail been carried away. Under' the circumstances, he adopted the wisest course, and put her on the sand spit just at; the entrance of the river. The heavy sea! funning at the -time threw her high up on 1 the beach. The boats' crews, when they : arrived oh the scene, got off the hatches and attempted to discharge the cargo, but the sea was breaking over her so furiously, that it was . found necessary to put on the hatches again, and wait for low water and daylight. When it was found that the goods on the beach had not come out of the Hero, everybody felt confident that the Grayling — if not the Murewai also — had gone down. • June 21. At daylight this morning, a number of people were on the.road^ to the Heads." On arriving there, it was found that the Hero was still On the beach, and not broken up. The sea had worked her further in, and at half tide she was high and dry. Everybody went to work with: a will, and ia about three! hours the whole cargo' was discharged. The boats then brought the cargo across the river. Unfortunately, it was raining furiously, otherwise the cargo would have been but very little damaged; Up to this time there waa no positive proof as to which Was the unfortunate vessel lost. This uncertainty was painfully cleared up by a report that the body of Schon (the master of the: Grayling) was on the beach, . about three miles to the southward of the mouth of the Wairoa river, and the other body was found close to' 'the same place. ■. Very little of the Grayling's cargo has ; been recovered. The natives, who were on the. spot first, helped themselves pretty freely to the spirits which washed up on the beach, and what they could not drink there is every reason to believe they have hidden in some place or the other, awaiting a favorable opportunity to get the loot up s to their pas. '■ Active measures, no doubt,: will be adopted to find out the thieves and recover, some of the property. The loss to the Waiiroa settlers will amount to about £1000, and in addition £400 will fall upon ' a person who came down from Auckland 'with.' goods 'to sell to the forces. He had a •narrow escape ; had the St. Kilda not been going out he would have started in the Grayling., , The. , thanks o those owning property iii either vessel are due to Captains* Richardson, and Bower, for the assistance 0 they' so promptly rendered, by sending the Government bouts down. \.-.; «There is no news from Colonel Herrick. Everything, so far as bis force is concerned, is in siatu quo ; nothing can be done till the necessary boats, pontoons, and punts are completed for crossing the Lake. He is very short of some stores, entirely owing to the^r -non- arrival in the Wairoa. „. The Murewai, which arrived off the bar last Friday, has been blown away ; and the St. Kjlda, which .was oil the bar at the same'tirae, was unable to laud her cargo,: th(l'sga'being ; toorheavy. It is a great mistake to send the St. Kilda here ; she could just as easily have been sent to Matata with the bulj4^i ;iR place of the Sturt, and the Sturt, which would haye been able to cross; -&ftbarv sent here. ; Talking of bullocks, "imless tboßO sent to Matata are better than; those sent' here some time since from Napier, 1 they are not worth the carriage. It was attempted to 5 drive the six sent up here to the front, but they only got a few miles on *the -road, when they broke down. Five more were procured from a settler, and all the supposed authorities on the bovine species were called in to decide how many of the original six would be most likely to 'be able togb on ; they broke down after a few more miles, and they settlers' five took them on. lam informed, on reliable authority, that the six bullocks sent up were original ly the property of the gentleman "who, ; 6rdefed their shipment. They were old and faithful servants ; so much so, that that gentleman thought it incumbent him to send up a nearly equally old "Vnd; faithful servant to drive them. It is 4 jsuc6 : JQb6 as this that often frustrate the 1 exertions of our forces in the field.

Natives, or rather their fires, are reipSrted,tO;have"been seen in the neighborhood of Pukctapu. They are supposed to be small straggling parties wandering about W commit murder or depredation that chance might throw in their way. Ihaka Whanga, with a party of his natives, is out after them.