A SEA MYSTERY.

North Otago Times, Volume XXV, Issue 979, 31 July 1902, Page 1

A SEA MYSTERY.

REPORTED SIGNALS OF DISUn Saturday evening auuul lime j'uiuch ii'iuusbiige \\'Az iccohe.i iiuiu .viuapoi, Uauiig mat tik-re was pro „aijiy a >e.SbCi in uiaii'tss on we cuiist as rockets nau uceit ured sonic ui.uanue ; oui at sea. bergeaiil lulleuyj comnuinicaU-d with me,) ilaibonr juasler ai Ljiwiioii'j and, a tug was sent out, ,vuli uipiain 'lhurpe acting chief pilot, on hoard to wane a search. A iew minutes aiier tuo receipt 01 the iiisl message at Lytteiton Uie postmistress, at New Brighton tclepnoncd ili.il roeiiets bred from sea had been noticed Horn there,. The tug Lytteiton ml to sea and made a thorough search returning to port about hali'-past twelve, nut discovered no sign of any vessel or wreckage. The captain of the Union Company's steamer Penguin also rc- ■ ported that he had seen no sign of a vessel in distress or of a wreck on his trip down from Wellington.

Later information shows that the lights were observed by the New Brighton postmistress, who was on the pier on Sunday night about nine o'clock, She states that sho waited about a quarter of an hour, and during that time there were- three distinct Hashes from scja-wsilrds off the ivaiapoi end of the beach. 'I he first one appeared to be tliei brightest,,, and there was an interval of live minutes between each flash. If ship's rocKets were used tne 'essel firing the signals must have been a good distance out at sea, as the lights did not seem to rheto any height. In spite of every enquiry made up to now in the kaiapoi district no satisfaitory explanation of the signals has been aiiorded.

They were first seen by Mr Herbert Parnham and Mrs Woodman, aliort x p.m., and are described as •eing three red rocket lights, followed by single ones at intervals of' a minute for some time afterwards. ;\o one. abort is known to have been using fireworks, and uie imp ession is Ihat lhc lights were hcl/ivccn Hie mouths of the Kaiapoi and Ashley rivers.

At Lytteiton to-day the subject of the supposed signals of distress seem ed to attract .little interest. In conversation with several seafaring men,' our re/resenlativc learned that it was hardly sufficient, had there been really a vessel in difficulties, that- -only . the tug should have been sent. They thought that also the Ringarooma should have been sent out in search for the possible castaway. Another captain thought that as nothing more had been heard of the matter, possibly there had been a collision which had resulted in the foundering of both vessels wilh all on board. A third caplain treated the matter iu a less serious manner, and lur/arded the opinion that one had been letting oil fireworks somewhere iu the vicinity of Taylor's Mistake. From the Heads, however comes the most feasible and most reassuring theory. Mr Carter stab thai no rockets or lights were seen from the Heads, but there were about nine o'clock sa, oral flashes of lightning and that there were a more trail usual number of shooting stars visile. He considers that these phenomena account for the. supposed signals.—Christchurch Truth."