BOY'S STORY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22629, 18 January 1937, Page 12

BOY'S STORY

CLINGING TO BOAT STRUGGLE FOR THE SHORE CAPTAIN'S CARE FOR LADS Apparently suffering no ill-effects from his ordeal on Thursday night, Donald William Woodroffe, the 14-year-old schoolboy who was one of the two survivors of the wreck of the scow Rangi, told on Saturday morning his story of what happened when the dinghy in which the crew were escaping was swamped about halr'-a-mile from shore. "1 was crouching on the back seat under the oilskin, and 1 felt quite warm,"' said the boy, after describing how Captain P. J. Petersen had made him get into the stern of the dinghy with the other two lads, and wrapped him in an oil»kin coat to keep oil the spray. "The next thing 1 knew i was kicking to get to the top of the water, the whole show had turned turtle and

there were the men and the boys clinging on to the keel of the overturned boat. We started to call out to one another to see w ho were there. 1 could see Charlie i.De Faire), liill (Robinson) and John (.Mason). Another big wave broke over us and 1 could only sec John.

"1 swam for about 25 yards, and I could see the lights on the shore," continued the boy. "They were about half-a-mile away, I think, but I could only see them when I was on top of a wave. After that 1 don't remember what happened. You read in books about sailors waking up on the shore, but t did not think about that. "When 1 came to 1 was lying on a beach with sand all over me and in my ears and eyes, too. A man came along and asked if I was off the Rangi. Then they carried me up to a house, where 1 had a bath. When I had been in bed for about half an hour the police came and asked mo a lot of questions. Then dad arrived from town."'

Although Donald has been confined to bed at his home in Manukau Road during the week-end by the doctor's orders, he is in good spirits, but he regrets the loss of most of his clothes and his treasured crystal set. which was in the scow. On Saturday he identified the youth on the scow whom he knew as Bill from photographs brought out by a brother.