THE BARQUE TIMARU.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12068, 11 September 1902, Page 5

THE BARQUE TIMARU.

OVERDUE AT KAIPARA

Souk anxiety is being felt regarding the barque Timaru. which is now considerably overdue at Kaipara from Lyttelton. The Timaru, which is an iron barque of 354 tons, is owned by Messrs. A. H. Turnbull and Co., of Ohristchurch, who purchased her in Great Britain in 1901. since which time she has beau engaged in the intercolonial trade. The. Timam arrived at Lyttelton from Newcastle on August 5 with a cargo of coal, and sailed for Kaipara on the 15th to load timber for Australia. The barque is therefore 27 days out, and although that is not a lengthy passage, anxiety is caused by the fact that the barquentine Elverlaud, which hailed from Lyttelton the same day as the Timaru, arrived at Kaipara on August 27, 16 days ago, whilst the barque Mary Moore,* which sailed from Lyttelton on August 21, a week after the Timaru. arrived at Auckland on Thursday last, and lias discharged her cargo and is now ready for sea. The Elverland had fine weather and generally fair winds on her passage to Kaipara, and neither this vessel nor the Mary Moore experienced anything approaching severe weather. That the Timaiu. which lias the reputation of being a very fast Sailer, has not yet arrived at her destination, whilst other vessels which left port at the same time and afterwards have completed their passages, leads to the conclusion that some accident has overtaken the Timaru. One theory is that the vessel's ballast, which consisted of shingle, has shifted, and as it would be impossible for the crew to restore it, owing to its quick-sand-like nature, this may have been the cause of the trouble. lb is also pointed out that the barque, instead of making the passage up through Cook Strait, lias come north-about, and probably met with head winds, which has had the effect of prolonging her passage.