THE LA BELLA WRECK.
FISHERMAN, FERRIER'S STORY. Fkrhikr, -the fisherman, lias been induced to give his version of* some of the exciting circumstances in which he played so worthy a part at the wreck of the La Bella on'the Australian coast. He said:
Constable Trainor came to my place at half-past ten o'clock on Friday night, and told me of the wreck. I was in bed asleep, with a bad hand. When we reached the breakwater the whale boat had left for the wreck. I thereupon got my dingey, and two .men named James Pattern and John Mitchell got in with me. We rowed out in the darkness towards the La Bella as far as what I call the Deep Hole. We could see the wreck, but could not see the whale-boat. We went nearer the ship, and the crew cheered as they saw us approaching. Then the lifeboat appeared on the scene, and the pilot told us to get into it and allow two of his volunteer men to go ashore in the dingey, as they were not shaping too well. Wc did so. The lifeboat went as near to the reef as it possibly could, and dropped anchor, with the object of standing by the vessel throughout the night. There was a terrible sea running, and during the whole night there was not a clear channel through the reefs that any boat could enter. A few seas broke near tho stern of the lifeboat, and we thought we were near enough. Well, we stayed there all night, and you know what took place after that. I have received'telegrams sent to the Mayor by the Governor-General and tho State Governor, and although I feel they are estimating at too high a value whatever I may have done, I nevertheless prize them very much, and I expect they will become a kind of heirloom. I don't think there is any justification for the reflections cast on the lifeboat. Everything that it was possible to do was done, and I can tell you the coxswain is not the man to shirk his duty or fail to run a little risk. If he thinks he can get "to a place he is the man to get there in spite of everything.
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New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13029, 21 November 1905, Page 8
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379THE LA BELLA WRECK. New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13029, 21 November 1905, Page 8
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