WRECK OF THE SCHOOLER QUEEN OF PERTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume II, Issue 315, 15 November 1864, Page 4

WRECK OF THE SCHOOLER QUEEN OF PERTH.

(From the Tarimah'i Jhrnld, Nov. 32.) T}ip schooner Queen nf Perth, 8t tons. Captain Gareon, which lately arrived frnm Melbourne via Wellington, and from -which only five boatloads of cargo had been"lande<l,CHme ashore on the Lous' Reef about 5 p.m. on f?aturday .Inst. Sin; was lying at anchor in the roadstead with the three-masted scliooncr Storm Bird, and althouph. tliero was a breeze from the north-Svcst, it was not thought nrcrsfaryby either vessel to put to sea ; but it tinned out that Captain Garscn's faith in his ground tackle was too gn at, for when he least expected it lie found his vcssM was adrift, and driving straight for th" shore. In a very short time he had his fore-ahd-alt sails and jibs sei. and by the time he readied the reef had his topsail and top-pillant-sail also set. Hut it was nearly dead lo\v water; it was impossible to put the schooner about on the other tack, and his only chance Mas In go over Die reef. The end is foon told. There was not enough water/and the ill-fated fchooner struck when nearly across, the first hump driving the 1 udd* r through the vessel. Captain Oaison, Ihercfore, could do no more, hut lower his mainsail and come ashore on the rocks, not fur from where the Zephyr stianded. By moans of his dingy he and his crew safely landid, and before morning, the wind and sea having increased, nothing was to lie seen of the Queen of l'erth but her timbers and cargo scattered along the beach. The cargo washed in from the wreck, and the masts, sails, timber. &c., were sold on Monday bv Mr. Yems, by auction. Sixtfen casks ofbiandy. wines, &c„ were recovered with little or no injury, and several boxes of candles, biscuits, soap, &c. moi'e or less damaged. The remains of the wreck, including anchors and cablc3, fetched .£3l Gs., and the cargo washed in £'2GG 18s. We undeistand that both vessel and cargo were insured. We have been requested io publish the following. The sum qf ,4*12 was collected and given to the crew : " The Captain and seamen wrecked in the Queen of l'erth desire to express their gratitude to the inhabitants of Taranaki for the sympathy and assistance so gcneromly shown to them in their misfortune. " —. Gakso.v, blaster. " Pf.-AUS, Chief Mate Adam Wii.son, A.B. " Kir.is Pintsox, A.)!. " ANUKKW Gakson, A.B. "Wii.i.iam Hitciiams, steward " Wii.i.iam Akaks, boy." Tiik UiiiOANTiM-: SruAY, oil the previous day to the wreck ot the Queen of Perth, liti-l a very nairow escape. Captain Mcllerm'ott put to sea, as the weather looked -unsettled, but the wind being light the hrigiintiEO refused to come round when Hearing the Long Reef, and lie'was compelled to rim over it. The vessel struck twice, lightly, but crossed the reef safely, it, being fortunately nearly high water. After sailing down the bay towards the Sugar Loaves, it was necessary to put about nirain, which the Hp ray again refused to do. Captain MeDermoU, consequently, was obliged to wear his ship, and in doing so got far down into M.-.turoa Bay, out of which, however, he succeeded, to the admiration of all who witnessed it, in beating his vessel out of a very critical position. Abju\.\l o].- a CAlton <)]■- Wheat at NY.i.son i--ito.M A aTjl'a.haiso.—The Dutch banjur .Jacobus, Ho■] tons, Captain Van Der 'J'as, arrived here from Valparaiso on Tuesday. She brings 14,300 bushels of wheat for Mr. Saunders, ordered through Messrs. Kdwards and Co. The Jacobus left Valparaiso on the ISth of August, anil has therefore been 71 days on (lie passage, having been becalmed for ten days oil' the iMji Islands. She had fine weather throughout tlie passage. The news brought, by the Jacobus is that JOnglish freights were loiv at Valparaiso. Tivo vessels had sailed ill company from that port with cargoes of breadstufl's for iiydncv. One was loading with wheat for Melbourne, ami on the departure ol" this last, the shipments of grain from Valparaiso would close for the season. Launch at Akakoa.—A neat and faithfully-built vessel of the following dimensions was launched from the ship-building yard of Mr. James Wii.son, Duvauchelle Bay, Akaroa, on the Ist inst.: Length of keel, 44 feet; breadth of beam, 15 feet; depth of hold, (i feet G inches. She was named the Oamani. is to 'be ketch rigged, and is built to the order of Messrs. Trad, Koxby, and Co-, merchants of Oamaru. We (Sout-hlimd JVeicnJ learn from our Bluff correspondent that Messrs. Kendall and Co., the contractors for raising the engines of the steamship Scotia, succeeded, yesterday morning, in briugin" up the boiler of the donkey-engine, which was landed on the beach east of the wharf. Their next step is lo raise the engines, for which they are makiiio- all the necessary preparations. Our correspondent adds that great credit is due to the contractors for their <uvat perseverance in the face of many diflieulties, especially those incidental to the present season of the year— the weather being now very changeable. So far nothing has occurred to cause the task of raising the practicable 0 V b u cll ° lncs to be regarded as imTkagic; Amm at Ska.-Ou Sunday morning, between 12 and 1 o clock, a Scotch schooner, of SO tons named the liosehaugh, of Cromarty, left Sunderland, coal laden, for the former place", boin.' toived out by a steam-tug ai.ul accompanied by a

pilot. The crew, four only in number, -were Andrew ' Ross captain, ITugh Maekav, mate, William Diiff', ; nbln seaman, and Charles Munro, ovdinary scam in. These nien were all under the influelicc of drink, but. were not <niarrelling when left by tho pilot and steamer. On the contrary, the Rosehaugli'a pails were all set, all right, and slio proceeded on her vo\ngo. Tl»' captain went down below to light, his pipeful then proceeded to the helm to take command and steer liis vessel. A few minutes after the men bad left, and gouo forward, Ross heard some quarrelling between (he mate and iMuurobut took no notice of it, and as flic sail was between him and the man he could not sec what was goingon. liiinicdiatelv ' afterwards, ho saw the midships bulwark; which i\ moveable, float past, mid heard a fuin't cry for help from the mate, voice pounded ",ikc that Of ITe ra u hut coulil tie lllM | found hiinsclf alone in the s I 'V-- searched, the forecastle caivfullv, saw i tVJ one, and thcrclbro bro'ught tohiH ship, till she wan taken iji'tow by a steamer for Shields, and taken into Sunderland, where slio arrived about 2 o'clock, or shortly afterwards. Tho captain can givo no other account of the. affair than tlie above, and it is surmised that the mat,.' and Munro may have begun tho tight, and the other man (Dufl) going between to separate them, the three began a violent struggle, and, locked in each other's arms, staggered over the side into the sea, the bulwark, which wits rotten and insecure, giving wav under their weight. It is strange, however, that, the captain, when the ship was bonvded on her return off Sunderland by a young pilot named Dodd, took up an axe, and threatened to cut oil' the pilot's hands if ho did not leave hold of tho " fender," or attempted to climb on board. Dodd afterwards complained lo the police of this matter, and the captain was accordingly arrested and locked up on the charge of assaulting the young man. The crow it seems, were drinking a)l flic while, and on Suturdav night, actually took ashore some rope from the ship"and tried tu sell it for drink. The unfortunate men who were drowned, all belong to Crcmarty. jUaekav %vas unmarried, and about 30 years of age ; Dii/I' was 2S years of age, married and hail two children; Munro being a lad of 20, and unmarried. The oeeiirrenoe happened otl'Whitburn, three and-a-lialf miles north-cast from Sunderland harbour. — Time.v.