EXPENSIVE SEARCH REVEALS NO ROCK OFF POVERTY BAY

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6537, 20 February 1928, Page 6

EXPENSIVE SEARCH REVEALS NO ROCK OFF POVERTY BAY

What Was Obstacle Northumberland Hit? MINESWEEPER DETURNS '’ v , TO PORT ‘ ■■ ■• (‘“Times’* Special.) ~ ; AUCKLAND, February 17. Tire -Mine Sweeper Whakakura, wkict left Auckland op. Saturday evening with H.M.S. Laburnum and H.M.S. Veronica to search for the submerged rock which the Federal liner Northumberland struck in January last year having swept an area of sis square miles olf the northern extremity of Poverty Bay where the accident occurred. An official report has been forwarded to the Marino Department at Wellington and is expected to bo published in duo course. From inquiries made to,-day it is understood that an exhaustive search failed to reveal tho presence of any submerged object in the area swept. Tho Whakakura commenced operations on- Monday morning the sloops Laburnum and Veronica being engaged in marking the course of sweeps with buoys and standing by to take soundings if necessary. Each sweep over a distance of three miles covered a width of 300 yards, the cable operating at a depth of 12 fathoms, approximately twice the depth of,.water that tho Northumberland would ordinarily draw. Six sweeps were completed on Mon day and four on' each of tho two succeeding days. Good weather favoured operations throughout.