THE WRECK OF THE GANGE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7822, 15 August 1887, Page 3

THE WRECK OF THE GANGE.

A TERUIISU-: NIfMIT.

On Hi' 1 night r>f Saturday, 23rd July, the Austrian barque (Sange, almost anew vessel, was MTeeked near Loiisdale, Victoria. With a line; breeze, the (ianijo Iravelleil rapidly from the Otway to t.lie pilot station, and at'i.DOo'cloc-U Hashed her li<'ht to call the schooner. The answer came .it onco, and liy the morning glimmer those on hoard saw the boat put off, ami make her way towards them. The sea was rolling up w '^'' fa' 11 '' 11 ' force, but now bulled i" *t-li« hollow of the waves, noxl lifted on the pinnacle of the moving hills, Hushes of green and red and white came. All this time the Oange was being carried nearer and nearer the shore, until at last the order was given to put about, but the wind and sea were too much. After the ell'ort was made, and while Hie crew were struggling at the sheets and halliards, a hard" squall of wind and rain came down

upnn them. Tt struck the ship abaft the beam, and blowing the sails until the heavy canvas torn almost away from their' fastenings to the yards, it drove her on at a terrible speed, lir-st on one wave, then on another. She tore through the water, until at la->t with a fearful crash, her bows struck the rocks. The Oango must have been a true ihip, for mighty as tint shock was, the masts did little more than bend, though the collision sent the ymds swinging ; snapping, as it did, the cordage and the set sails aback, she rebounded. I'our times this happened, and then the sea, lifting her right up, jammed her bow bard and fast, and left her stern to beat oil' the sea. It is difficult to discover what happened. Perhaps the men had not expected the disaster, for they can only tell that they were thrown flat on their faces. After the first sensation was over, the panic would .seem to have been terrible. The. waves dashed down the deck, and the men, in the fearful excitement of the moment, fought their way to the rigging, and scrambled ftioft, none knowing whether the next moment would not be their last. The captain's wife was seated in the chart-roam, where she was lifted up by the sea and carried on to the deck. The man at the wheel rushing towards her, grasped her dress, and the two of them were caught by the swirl and swept right fornaid, when, fortunately, they managed to secure a hold and wait for the subsidence of the sea. When it began to dawn the distressed mariners knew that there was no immediate danger, and by an effort they found the rockets, which, one after another, they fired to call help. Some got revolvers and exploded round after round, in the vain hope that the reports would be heard over the roaring of the wind and waves. They were on the vessel from the time of striking until 1 o'clock on Sunday morning, when the Queensolifte lifeboat showed alongside. It was n o'clock, however, before she had got all aboard, and then the Gauge's crew were taken inside the Heads, and ultimately brought safely to the city. AVhere the(!ange lies is rather inside the spot where the (ieorge Koper was lost in ISSS, and not very far from where the (.laneiis went ashore last year. Great credit is given to the lifeboat crew tor the plucky manner in which they effected the rescue of those on board.

Conflicting statements arc in circulation regarding the cause of the wreck, and an inquiry will probabl y he helil. The pilots say the schooner Mavis, on the outside station, had l>een chasing the vessel, trying to get her to heave to and take a pilot, from about 7 o'clock that evening up to the time she got ashore. At one time, by the use of blue lights and dynamite bombs, the pilot vessel signalled the barque out from the hack of Point Nepean, where she was very nearly ashore, and when going across the rip to the Lonfidale side, they endeavored to place a pilot on board. The small boat of the pilot schooner, with the pilot and crew on board, was, however, in a most dan-

gerous position in the rip, and was under the bows ot the Gauge, s>o near that the

boatmen could touch the side of the vessel with their ours, but .she was going rapidly through tho water, and there was no one to give them a line when asked. Tho

pilots say they called out to the Austrians :o anchor, or they would soon be ashore,

the occurrence taking place shortly afterwards. The pilot vessel could then do nothing more than pick up the boat a<*ain and lire a dynamite bomli towards Poll Lonsdale to attract attention to the vessel on (he reef.