THE WRECK OF THE FEDERAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11622, 9 April 1901, Page 5

THE WRECK OF THE FEDERAL.

BODIES IDENTIFIED. THE LAST MESSAGE FROM THE VESSEL. - By Telegraph,— Association?— Copyright. Melbourne, April 8. The bodies found have been definitely identified as those of members of the Federal's crew* A bottle, picked up off Ceelong Heads, is supposed to contain the last -message from the Federal. It is dated Gabo Island, April 1, and says : — A stormy night. Boat sinking fast. Wind terrific. Small party lowered boat; started for land." The message is signed by Captain Coull and some members of the crew. s

The owners of the Federal are taking step's to give present relief to the widows and families of the men lost. They have also inaugurated a relief fund, to which the firm have contributed £500. SINGULAR COINCIDENCES. The Melbourne Argus referring to' the. wreck of the Federal, remarks that the circumstances surrounding her loss are similar to those attending that of the collier Taramung nearly 10 years ago, in that not a soul survives to tell the awful tele. Coincidences of a more or less striking nature are not rare in connection with marine calamities. Absolutely the last record of the Taramung standing in the office diary of her owners, Messrs. James Paterson and Co., is the following entry : —;.:■■■; , " Taramung passed by the steamer Federal off Cape. St. George on May 31, 1891. v Supposed to have been lost on the night of Sunday, June 1, or on the following day. Nothing since seen or heard of her." The Taramung left Newcastle on the night of May 50, 1891. She was afterwards seen off Cape St. George by the steamer Era, and finally, as already indicated, by the Federal, which is now supposed to have shared a similar fate. i

The first and only indication of the loss of the Taramung was furnished by a quantity of wreckage which was washed ashore, but beyond this significant evidence of disaster nothing regarding her fate has ever been elicited. ■~'.' -\ ■:!

Another singular occurrence, which was related in the Argus at the time, happened to Captain Coull, of the Federal, in May last year, when the ship Sierra Nevada was wrecked on the Sorrento beach. The master of the Sierra Nevada, Captain Scott, was an intimate friend of Captain Coull, and the latter had been expecting a visit from Captain Scott as soon as the Sierra Nevada arrived. lYJien the Federal left Geelonjr faNewcastle, the Sierra Nevada had not been reported on the coast,:. and Captain; Coull never dreamt that he would pass his expected friend that night without knowing at. That is, however, what happened. ,i. A: heavy gale had been blowing, and in the darkness of the night the ; Sierra Nevada lay helplessly hemmed ,in on a lee shore. As the Federal passed the spot some distance out to sea, Captain Coull, addressing his chief officer, remarked, " There is a large sailing vessel showing blue lights for a pilot. She appears to be too close in for safety. The red (port) light of : the Sierra Nevada could be plainly seen, and even her, sails were outlined against the darkness. ; She, however, was not showing distress'"signals/ and, imagining that .he was mistaken m thinking that she was dangerously close in/ Captain Coull' proceeded on Ms passage. A few hours later, the Sierra Nevada, for it was she, was a wreck, and her master, Captain Scott, had met his death in characteristic sailor-lik&fasluQn. oft the poop. - "'"''