THE LATE DISASTROUS GALE IN THE NORTH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4123, 8 June 1874, Page 3

THE LATE DISASTROUS GALE IN THE NORTH.

AUCKLAND. ■ In its account of the gale of Sunday and Monday week, the Southern Cross gives the following as the amount of damage done to the coasters in port :—Elly, schooner, scuttled and swamped ; Alice, cutter, swamped ; Lee, cutter (belonging to Captain Casey), loss of anchor and stei'n smashed iu ; Dusty Miller (belonging to Messrs. Low and Motion), scuttled to save her from breaking to pieces, alongside wharf ; oyster boat, Ida Zeigler (beloging to Mr. A. Welby), sunk ; Tartar, belonging to Mr. T. Henderson), swamped. The Clara, cutter, was also scuttled, it being impossible, from the heavy hard sea breaking on board and the force of the wind, to keep her at her anchorage. The Triad, belonging to Mr. Henderson, was also swamped. The cutter Rose had her staysail and jib blown away, but sustained no other damage. The Good Templar yacht, we are sorry to say for the cause, came to grief, coming in contact with one of the other coasters, and in the collision losing her bowsprit and topmast head. Insurance, of course, was not effected on any of the vessels which were swamped or scuttled ; they being under the prescribed tonnage, the insurance authorities have decliued to effect policies. In the city and suburbs some damage of a trifling nature was done. Decayed verandahs were torn away from their supports, signboards cast here and there, while iu many a sheltered nook lay large numbers of sheets of corrugated iron, which had been stripped off verandahs and other erections. Large numbers of fences were blown down in all directions, especially in the Newton district. There were also some large, blue gum trees levelled with the ground. The chimney stack of Cousin and Atkins coach factory was knocked down, and one of the windows in St. Paul's Cathedral was blown in. "A considerable number of windows in various parts of the city have suffered to a greater or less extent. In the suburbs the damage done secerns to be similar to that done in the city. THE THAMES. One of the most severe storms which have visited the Hauraki gulf since the Thames goldneld opened, blew on Sunday afternoon and night, from the northward, and inflicted a great deal of damage, it has in fact left the port without a place at which to land passengers by completely destroying the wharves and caused considerable damage to the shipping in the harbor. The cutters and craft which were at anchor at the south side of the Goods Wharf, dragged froni the holding ground, and four cutters were carried down against the Grahamstown Wharf with such force that they cut their passages through, making four large breaches in the structure. The Sydney, cutter, was the first to come foul of the wharf, close in shore, and after being carried through it, she was stranded high and dry on the roadway near the Wesleyan Church. The Lady Ruth made another breach through the wharf further out, but without sustaining much injury. She managed to hold her own south of the wharf, where she rode out the gale. The cutter" George did not fare so well. In breaking through the wharf she was considerably injured, but she was carried up towards Shortland with irresistible force, and now lies in the Mangrove Swamp, off the Shortlaiul whai'f, very much damaged. A cutter belonging to Mr. Hawkes, of Tapu, also broke through the wharf, which was further injured in shore by having the platform over which the tramway was laid to connect with the Tararu line completely turned over. The punt Lake Erie and several cutters were driven ashore between Shortland and Grahamstown, and another punt and cutter are in the Mangrove Swamp with the George. There was a boy on board this punt when she dragged. He endeavored to set the foresail to enable him to get away, and in doing so he fell overboard, but he held on to his rope, and although the vessel was driving too fast for him to get aboard, he held on until she struck- ground in the swamp, where he •at length succeeded in getting on board in a very exhausted state. Meanwhile the tide had risen to a great height and the water beat with great force against the sea wall, in which it made four extensive breaches, damaging the Tararu tramway to such an extent that it will take several days to effect repairs before the trains can ran again. XTp to to this time there was no account of the Tararu wharf, but soon portions of it could be observed floating iu the troubled waters, off Grahamstown, and soon after it was ascertained that a great breach had been made in the centre of it. Further examination to-day shows that the whole structure from the in-shore end at tile Imperial Crown Hotel to the outer T is damaged to an almost irreparable extent. There is therefore no wharf at all at which to land goods or passengers now, except the coal wharf, which can only be reached by vessels of very light draught at high water. The damage ashore is not very extensive.