FOUND EXHAUSTED

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXV, Issue 158, 20 June 1935, Page 7

FOUND EXHAUSTED

CRONULLA FISHERMEN

Wrecked in N.S.W. Storm

LIVED ON TUFTS OF GRASS Ay Telegraph—Press Assu.—Copyright./ (Received 20, 10.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, June 20. Having lived for three days on tufts of grass and the dried bones of a bird, the three Cronulla fishermen who were given up for dead when the wreckage of their launch was found on Tuesday night were found alive at the bottom of a 200-foot cliff a few miles south of Cronulla, at Wattamolla,

AU three men—Messrs. Edward Parker, aged 21, John Lynch, aged 40, and John Sanders, aged 27—are suffering severely from exposure, as throughout their long ordeal they were lashed by the spray of tremendous breakers pounding against the rocks below. They were discovered yesterday afternoon by two detectives who were patrolling the beach for wreckage. The men were rescued with difficulty just at dusk. The only way of rescuing the three men was by means of a block and tackle, but they were eventually raised to safety. They were rescued from their perilous plight on the cliff just at dusk by means of a stout rope which the men fastened to their bodies. They were hauled up by a party of police and relatives and by men from a nearby relief workers’ camp. The spot where the men were marooned was most inhospitable, and they had no hope of climbing the cliff. They suffered greatly from exposure and hunger, and were conveyed to their homes after receiving first-aid attention at a road-workers’ camp. While awaiting material with which to rescue the men, chocolate and dry clothing were lowered to them. Medical aid and an ambulance were requisitioned and were standing by ready for when the men wore rescued.

Their story, briefly, was that they were fishing on Sunday a short distance off the cliff, when a tremendous wave hurled their launch on the rocks. The men were catapulted into a patch of comparatively calm water on the other side, from where they swam to the bottom of the cliff and climbed as far up as possible out of reach of the turbulent surf. Their boat was smashed to matchwood.

The heavy seas along the coast are moderating. Reports of damage have been received from all parts of the coast. Repairs to buildings, promenades, seawalls and roads along the waterfront will cost many thousands of pounds. Scores of launches and sailing boats were badly damaged. A number of them broke their moorings and were smashed to matchwood.

Officers of vessels arriving in Sydney described the gale as the worst they had seen in the Tasman.

The Nollington Court entered port with strained plates, smashed lifeboats, ventilators and hatches, and the stores for the whole voyage rendered useless by salt water. Coastal services resumed last night.