WRECK 68 YEARS OLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18295, 11 January 1923, Page 8

WRECK 68 YEARS OLD.

••■-••■ •• • ,0, ■ TASMANtAN! DISCOVERY. OLD HAZARDS RECALLED. if', ■ ■ CREWS STRUGGLE TO SAFETY. (Br TELEGBAPH-— CORRESPONDENT J CEtRISTCHURCH, Wednesday. Some days 'ago the following" paragraph from the Melbourne Argus appeared in several New Zealand newspapers :—" well-known caittie dealer of Tasmania has discovered a large vessel jammed between the rocks about nine miles beyoHd the Pieman River, on the west coast. The wreck probably occurred 40 or 50 yeans ago. A3 far as can be ascertained the wreck has not hitherto been reported. The vessel has been covered with sand for years, but the course of the sand drift had changed and the sea had washed oS; the covering and exposed the wreck. The identity of the vessel is not known." A well-known Timaru resident, Mr. . Robert Mahoney, who is a nonagenarian, went to the office of the Timaru Post full of memories of the past, and said that he was aboard the vessel in question when she was wrecked. Mr. Mahoney, despite his great age, still has a wonderful memory and vividly (recollects the incident of 63 years ago. He was even I able to tell the "names of the members of the crew. There was no doubt about the ship referred to in the Melbourne Argus being the one on which Mr. Ma*honey was wrecked, as he says that no vessel has since come to grief near the Pieman River. It could not be a ship that was ! wrecked before that time as Mr. Mahoney's vessel was the first to enter the Pieman River. Mr. Mahoney's sitory, were it not for its undoubted truth, would sound more like the tales that were current among the sea-dogs" of earlier days. The terrors of his experience are still stern realities to Mr. Mahoney, as could be judged from the way he told his story. Nonagenarian's Story. " The ship, The Spy, was a; topsail schooner, of 130 tons,"' "he said. She was in charge of Captain William GafHn, and the names of the crew were J. Johnson, H Hansford, X. Whitlock, Robert Mrfioney, and a seaman who was only known by the name of " Andrew." In | passing it may be mentioned that Mr. i Mahoney is now the only surviving memi ber of the crew. | * "Nearly 68 yearn ago The Spy set out j from Hobart- for Pieman's River. On I arrival the crew went ashore and cut a quantity of pine s.nd then loaded il on Ito the vessel. No ship had ever entered j the place before. When the Spy was i coming away she struck a reef running j across the entrance to the river and her l bentom was almost torn away. Her" ! rudder was also unshipped. "The wind was blowing across shore and after a time the vessel canted toward the beach She was in full sail and went along for some distance. The crew had to take to the rigging. " I was the only one among tlie crew who could swim," jiaid Mr. Mahoney. " I took off all I wore and tied my clothes to a board which I threw into" the sea so that I would be able to secure my clothes when I got ashore. I swam through the breakers to the beach and after a little exploring went, back to the ship to take a line ashore. While I was doing this those aboard managed to knock up a little raft and, with the assistance of the line, all were landed safqjy. Hardships Along the Coast. " A period of great hardship for the \ unfortunate seamen now began. Thev ! journeyed along the coast toward Mac- | quarriej Harbour, hoping t» get relief there, but on arrival they were bitterly disappointed. Not a soul was living there, the country for miles around being uninhabited then! They were confronted with another great difficulty. How were they to cross Maoq:aarrie Harbour, which measured two miles in width ? They, however, were not to be beaten. A sort of raft was rigged up cat of a Jog and on this they successfully crossed the harbour. "It must be mentioned that by this time the little undaunted band numbered one less, as 'Nat' Whitlock had, beeu drowned in i river which at that time had no name. The survivors had to trudge along the rocks on ithe coast, it being impossible to follow an inland route owing to the density of the scrub. ."Once the sea went out of our sight w© | were lost," said Ma Mahoney, "so the j difficulties of travelling through the bush i can well be imagined. We were barej footed and for 22 days had nothing to eat | except a mussel or a lampert we picked up at night.. We slept on the rocks. They were our couch and our canopy the sky 1" End of 300-Mile Tramp. After 22 trying days, the party arrived i at Port Davey, having tramped "over 300 : miles. Physically exhausted they no doubt : ; were, but dispirited they were not. In \ fact, said Mr. Mahoney, the cheerfulness ' iof "the boys" was remarkable. At Port ! Davey the party was picked up by a I schooner called the Annie, which was com- ! manded by a Captain Smith. ! "We arrived at Hobart without a six- ; pence in our pockets,*' stated Mr. Mahoney. "Ah, he. continued reminiscentiy, "there were no societies in those days to assist seamen who had been ship- ! wrecked." "What did you do?" he was asked; < "1 immediately went to sea again." ' replied Mr. Mahoney, apparently think- * ing that to have gone back to sea after i such terrible experiences was nothing out ' of the ordinary. < Although the vessel mentioned by the Argus was discovered nine miles beyond i the Pieman River, this does not lessen the possibility of its being The Spy, as ' she was left in full rig and with a large i quantity of timber aboard, and Mahoney ' thinks that the motion of the sea i and the wind would easily take her i the distance mentioned. Mr. Mahoney i is 92 years of age. j<