HERO OF THE SEA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20365, 20 September 1929, Page 15

HERO OF THE SEA.

SEAMAN'S HAZARDOUS SWIM.

EPIC STORY OF WRECK

HOW ALL HANDS WERE SAVED.

Above th« desolation caused by the wreck of the coastal steamer PappinbarrA on September 11, at Port Stephens, New South stands tlio heroic figure of "V. Jurvie, A.8., who risked his life to save tlio.so of the 14 men and the captain, who were facing Ih>ir end on the stricken vessel.

With rope bound tightly round his waist, ho got ashore on an unturned boat, which had been torn by the gale from its davits, and made a line fast to the lighthouse shore. A block arid tackle was rigged, and on this the rest of the crew and the captain got ashore.

But for Jurvie's action, the crew might have gone down with the ship. Seeing that within a few moments the steamer might take its long plunge to the bottom, taking with it every mau on board, he plunged overboard. The broken port boat provided a support in the boiling seas, and he made tho lighthouse island. On the boat stood 16 haggard men with lifebelts on. They stood by after the captain had shouted "every man for himself," waiting for the end.

Jnrvie's action came when all seemed lost. It was a desperate chance, but he alone was prepared to take it. Before anybody could stop him he was over the side and in the water. There was no cheering, because the full force of bis heroic action had not been •brought homo to the men on board. Knowing what fate the raging waters might havo for him he did not hesitato. The ship, with huge waves thundering over it, is being battered to pieces almost under their eyes. A funnel and several spars aro all that can be seen above the seething grey mass of tho steamer, w r hich 24 hours previously was running headlong before a howling southerly gale. A block and tackle hastily riggefl carried tlio crew over the mountainous waves to safety.

How the Pnppinbarra was wrecked remains a mystery among skippers. Captain Merritt, the master of the Pappinbarra, has* been on the coast for over 40 years, and knows every inch of it. So far as can be ascertained, the vessel struck treacherous reef jutting- out from the lighthouse. Fishermen and boatmen at Nelson's Bay, who know the entrance like a book, say they think that the steamer was caught up bodily and dashed on the reef.

Point Stephens, the place on which the lighthouse men keep their lonely vigil, is visited only once a week by supply boats, and the lighthouse men stay "there the full year round, with the exception of a month's annual leave. Overnight it sprang into prominence. It is remarkable how little was known of it. Several fishermen becoming reminiscent thought that they remembered a neck of land which joined the lighthouse with the mainland, but it was mostly thought of as an island.