THE PENGUIN DISASTER

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 6749, 22 February 1909, Page 6

THE PENGUIN DISASTER

TWO MORE BODIES RECOVERED. A PASSENGER AND A MEMBER OF THE CREW. On Saturday tlio body of another of the victims of tho Penguin wreck was washed ashore, and in the afternoon was brought to Wellington by the tug Torawhiti. It was subsequently identified as that of Edwin Herbert Hall, employed as second cook on the wrecked steamer. He was about twenty years of age, and his parents reside at, Hope, Nelson. The remains will be ned in ■Wellington. Yesterday afternoon another body, identified as that of Noel White, a passenger from Pieton, was , washed up about two miles on the city side or Otcrangi. A strong southerly wind was blowing all day, with a wild sea, and as it was anticipated that no immediate communication with boats was possible, preparations were made to pack the remains over the. hills for conveyance to Wellington. Mr White was formerly an assistant purser ot the, Onion Company’s steamer Mararoa. His father is Mr John White, land agent, Blenheim. FORTH COOK IDENTIFIED. Tho body recovered on Friday, and at first believed to have been that of “George Cooper,” lias now been identified as Forth Rotherham Cook, messroom steward, aged twenty. He was the sixth son of Mr Charles Cook, solicitor, of Wanganui. Cook was am ex-student of Wanganui Collegiate ■,-iiool. His body is to bo taken to Wanganui to-day for interment. MEMORIAL SERVICE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN. A solemn and impressive service was hold in the Missions to Seamen Church last evening in memory oi the passengers, officers, aiul crew w'lio lost tneir lives at the wreck of the Penguin. There was a very largo congregation. the church was draped in black, and beautifully decorated with white flowers, ivy, etc., a large "P" in everlasting flowers occupying a prominent place in front of the lectern, while a white floral anchor was suspended from the pulpit. Special hymns were rendered and sung with much feeling by the choir and congregation. The special lessons were read by Messrs J. W. Jack and B. L. Burgess. Mr John Prouse sang a sacred solo, “Tho Rock of Ages," very feelingly. Flowers were presented by Mrs Craig and Miss Dickson to the Missioner, on behalf of the workers and congregation, to be sent to distant relatives. Tho Missioner, Mr James Moore, conducted the service, and preached a touching sermon from 1. Samuel, xx., 18, ‘‘And thou shalt bo Missed because thy seat shall bo empty." He said that where mem. were tempted in on appalling catastrophe like this to rebel against the apparent harshness and injustice of God they as Christtians should trust where they could not trace and cling fast to the belief in the unerring wisdom and love of God.- Before concluding Mr Moore spoke of the splendid order observed and the selfsacrificing heroism shown by the many on board in the hour of peril.. He expressed the sympathy of tho society with widow, child, and mother. A collection was taken up for the erection of a braes memorial tablet to the memory of the departed. At the close ot the service the Dead March in "Saul” was played by tho organist, Mr Gardiner, THE RELIEF FUND THE “RED MILL" CONTRIBUTIONS. A GENEROUS SUBSCRIPTION LIST. Following out to the letter the cabled instructions of Mr J. C. Williamson, the manager of tho "Red Mill company, Mr Harold Ashton, gave a matinee perflormunce ot this remarkable musical extravaganza fa, the Opera House on Saturday afternoon. Nay, with the willing and generous assistance of the ladies and gentlemen collaborating with him in the production, bands of ■ canvassers were appointed to sell tickets for the show." ludeed, there was not a single individual connected with tho Opera House who did not contribute in porno measure to tho brilliant success which this ‘benefit” performance turned out to 7jo. Even the funny.little monkey “Micky," who makes such a brave showing in tho Italian scene in the second act, was laid under contribution, and with his guardians, he was responsible for the addition of upwards of £l2 to the fund! It goes without saying that tho house was densely crowded long before the performance commenced.

Before the curtain rose the Mayor, the Hon. T. W, Hislop, advanced to the front of the stage and briefly addressed the audience. He said he could not allow tho performance to commence without a word of thanks to all those who had contributed to make the benefit such a success. Up to that time th-: total amounted to about £250. (Applause). lie had been asked to thank the newspapers, Messrs Remington and Cadbury Bros., the membeils of the Willisvmson Comedy Company (and especially tho lady membcis),, who bad given their services gratuitously in this meet deserving cause. In fact, everything right through, so far as this per formanoe wis concerned, had been given —not a penny of expense had been incurred. Mr Hislop announced that the Government had given £250 as a first instalment to the fund, the Union Steam Ship Company £soo—(ipp’ausel—the Wellington newspapers had collected lover £2lO, the Mnipwreck Relief Society had contributed £IOO, making, with other sums, a total to that time ot £lll2. Referring to tho Union Company's donation, the Mayo; said it was desired that it should be known that tills sum of £SOO was quite irrespective of any payments arising oat of any legal liability. Up to tho present time the matter had been loft principally in the hands of the Town Clerk, Mr Kennedy, manager of the Union Company’s local business, and a few others. It was desirable, however, that some proper channel for the distribution of ths fund should be found, in which all those who had in any way contributed could repose full confidence. It was intended xo obtain complete lists of widows and orphans affected by tho Penguin disaster, and then to invite tho press and public to aid in sotting up a responsible body for the control and distribution of tho fund. Mayors of other centres where funds had been raised, and the various shipping companies would be asked to co-operate ’n this matter. Tho Mayor then moved a vote of thanks to Mr J. a. Williamson and to his Comedy Company tor the benefit about to begin. Tnc motion was carried by acclamation. In passing, Mr Hislop mentioned that the ladies of tho company deserved a special meed of praise, since they had been responsible for the collection of £193 of tUo amount thus far realised.

At tho evening presentation of the "Bed Mill” there was again a large and delighted audience, and daring the ludicrous mountebank scene Master "Micky" was again much in evidence. Tho audience threw silver and copper coins of all denominations upon the stage, and

tho ladies of th© company had quite a i busy quarter of an hour gathering up 1 this welcome largesse, which amounted to no less than J&2 Bs, which with the subjoined collections brings the company's collections in aid of the fund up to the highly creditable figure of ,£275 7s 9Jd. Mr Harold Ashton, speaking to a "Times” representative on Saturday night, simply remarked, "On Monday morning I shall have the greatest pleasure, on behalf of Mr Williamson and our company, of handing to the Mayor a cheque for the full amount, including the extra halfpenny, and also the coins which no doubt rolled into the footlights and have not yet been collected. And, by the way, you might add that the management offered a pair of gloves to the lady or the company who sold the largest number of tickets. This little prize was handsomely won by Miss Nance Maunsell.” The receipts prior to the evening performance were as under;— X s. d. Tickets sold by ladies of com- , pany ... ... ... ... 160 10 0 Tickets'sold by gents of company 26 1 0 Sale of programmes in the theatre 6 0 6, Sale of sweets in theatre ... 1 17 0 Collected by two gents of company at Miramar races ... 5 3 3 Shower of coins on stage ... 2 5 3, Collected by two of the mechanists' staff, assisted by "Micky,” the monkey ... 12 5 3£ Sale of tickets at the box office, at the day sale office, and at the theatre doors 58 17 6 <£272 19 9i SUNDAY CONCERTS. TOWN HALL. . The concert given by the Wellington Professional Orchestra, of which Mr Prank J. Oakes is the conductor, at the ; Town Hall last evening was a pronounced success artistically and financially. Th© Orchestra, through th© courtesy of Mr J. C. Williamson, had the assistance of several members of the chorus and band of the "Red Mill” Company. - Encores were rigidly prohibited, otherwise the programme would have been unduly protracted, for every number was applauded to the echo. The overture was Von Suppe's popular "Pique Dame,” which served as an excellent introduction to the succeeding! numbers. The Orchestra was also heard to great advantage in Ethelberfc Nevin's "Narcissus” and Ole Bull's "Saterjentens Sontag,” in which Mr J. Garry, of th© "Red Mill” Company, took the solo violin, Th© band also gave an excellent performance of Chopin's "March© Funebre.” Miss Nance Maunsell (Red Mill Company) gave a finished rendering of Liddle’s "Abide With Me,” and Mr Arthur Sharpies (also from the company) sang Godard's "Angels Guard Thee” very tastefully. Th© other vocal solos w©r© Gounod’s "0 Divine Redeemer,” well sung by Miss L. Fitzgerald, Edwin Greene's "Sing Me to Sleep,” by Mr Percy Coward. Sullivan’s "Thou'rt Passing Hence, My Brother,” was given by Mr Harold Oakes as a trombone solo, and Mr Len. King's cornet solo "0 Rest in the L6rd” (Mendelssohn) was much appreciated. The proceeds of th© concert are to be devoted to the assistance of the survivors of the .wreck of the Penguin. When all th returns are in it is expected that Professional Orchestra will be in a position to hand over to th© trustees about .£7O; <£lo as th© result of last evening's performance, and the remainder being the receipts from vairous entertainments they have given during the past week. OPERA HOUSE. The concert given at the Opera House last evening under the direction of Miss Florence Hayward, who was willingly assisted by several members of "The Red Mill” Musical Comedy Company (by permission of Mr J. C. Williamson) and by a number of local artistes, and the proceeds of which are. after the deduction of bare working expenses, to be devoted to the Penguin Disaster Fund, proved to be very popular. So much so that the auditorium was crowded long before the curtain rang up. The programme, although a long one, was so satisfactory that every item was encored. The vocal numbers contributed by members of Mr Williamson's company were "In the Shady Bower,” Miss Alice Mitchell; "Roses,” Mr Ross; "King of the Deep,” Mr Melville; an oboe solo, a "Romance” by Telia, Mr D. Williams, and two interesting part songs by the company's quartette, Misses Archer, Mettam, Craig and Neville. Miss Florence .Hayward and Mr E. Archer sang the familiar "Ahl che la Horte” duet from "H Trovatore,” and Miss Hayward sang as a solo Allitsen's "There's a Land. Mr E. Archer gave "Because,” and Signor John Vittetta played two harp solos very charmingly. It is expected that the net proceeds of the concert will amount to <620, BAND CONCERT. The Newtown Band gave an enjoyable concert in the Botanical Gardens yesterday afternoon in aid of the sufferers bv tho Penguin disaster. A large number of people were attracted to th© gardens. The sum of <613 12s 4d was collected. Employees in the Corporation tramway service are organising an excursion to Day s Bay, to bo held on Wednesday evening next. The proceeds will be de-( voted to the Penguin Relief Fund. THE "NEW ZEALAND TIMES” LIST. SUBSCRIPTIONS TO DATE.

CONTROL OF THE FUNDS. (To the Editor "N.Z. Times.") Sir, —Permit me to express my pleasure at the announcement made by the Mayor on Saturday afternoon that all parties contributing to the Penguin Relief Fund are to be asked to be represented in its control and distribution. That is ns it should -be. But, while I do not desire to appear ns a carping Jeremiah seeking to check a generous impulse induced by what may be termed a national disaster, the reference brings to mind memories, and on those memories I would base a question. Six years ago the Elingamito was lost at the Three Kings, and a heavy toll in human life was exacted. , A relief fund for the benefit of survivors or those who bad been dependent on the dead was raised; but I have never heard how the fund was administered. It has been stated that a surplus remained unexpended. And, if so, where is that money now? It seems to me a wrong thing that there should be any surplus. Whatever the amount subscribed, whether XlO or .£IO,OOO, the , whole should be expended for the benefit of those for whom the donors intended it Apologising for thus transgressing on your space, and hoping that these re- i

marks may be borne in mind by future benefit fund administrators, —I am, etc., A SUBSCRIBER, February 21st. A REPUTATION STATEMENT BY MR McMENAMIN. THE TRUE POSITION. Mr J. McMenamin, part proprietor and manager of Terawuiti sheep station, who has become very prominent on account of his generous conduct in connection with the wreck of the Penguin, takes strong exception to certain statements published in Wellington and attributed to Mr G. Pinnock. The following are the remarks referred to: "I reached the beach at about 11 o’clock, at which time only a few of the bodies had been pulled up out of the reach of the tide by two or three shepherds from the station. As we went along we came upon others scattered here and there along the beach, and we started to pull them up high and dry. These had not been touched by any one since they had been thrown up by the waves, and I’ll tell you what (said Hr Pinnock, with deep conviction) —some of those poor people were alive when they reached the beach, as sure as I'm alive. “When we got there no one had been before us, and yet the smooth sand near tho feet and arras of several of the bodies was disturbed, as if in their dying struggles they, had yet strength enough to move their limbs. In some cases, too, I noticed a depresssion at the side of the head, as if they had been able to move it about. My belief is that several of the men reached the shore alive, perhaps not conscious, and died there from sheer exhaustion. Seeing what I saw. nothing will convince me that I am not right. Had it been possible to render succour to -some of them, lives might have been saved."

Speaking to a “Times” reporter in reference to the above, Mr McMenamin said:—

Practically the whole of these statements are quite incorrect. I was called up at about 3.30 on the morning following the wreck by one of the station hands, who informed me that , ur -r. men i ust Home ashore from -he Penguin. I sent over to a whare and roused up the shepherds, who went down to the beach immediately. They were away down the coast at 4 o’clock, and when they got back to breakfast at 8, they had recovered about fourteen bodies. Two mounted constables must have arrived just about that time, and they continued along the. beach and pulled up bodies throughout the day, conveying them above high-water mark. Such statements as were made by Mr Pinnock are a decided slur upon my men, and 1 feel it only right they should be refuted. '

“Only one body—that of a lad who was found with his leg twisted in a rope of one of the boats —was warm, but he was too far gone for the men to revive him. At about ten o’clock the rabbiters from Oterangi got word of the wreck, and they went along the beach and worked round towards the homestead, picking up about fourteen bodies; while one of their number rode round to Ohau Bay to see it any of the boats had got in there. “The majority of the bodies that Mr Pinnock and Mr Almond saw had been placed away from the reach of the water by the station hands; but, of course, one or two might have been washed up while they were on the beach, hut they could not have had any warmth in them after being so many hours in the water. “I do not know what induced such statements as were made, seeing by Ur Pinnock’s own words that he did not arrive until 11 o’clock —hours after a thorough search had been made of :he beach.

“If somebody had been on the beach at about 2 a.m., when it appears that the boats were washed up, then there might have been a chance of saving life; but nobody knew anything about the wreck until half-past three, when there were plenty of willing workers.”

WELLINGTON’S UNPREPAREDNESS (To the Editor "N.Z. Times.”) Sir, —I did not think, when writing upon the Messina disaster lately in your columns, that my words would unfortunately so 1 soon come true, viz., the absence of all municipal regulations for any great public calamity. First, there was simply no one to look , after the poor dead bodies of the victims that strewed the beach on Saturday afternoon and, Sunday. Secondly, there were no proper appliances for dealing with snob a number of bodies. Thridly, there was a complete absence of reverent funeral arrangements. And if all thiscould occur over the Penguin calamity, what would happen to us in the event of a sharp earthquake? First, allow me to extend to the relatives of those drowned my sincere sympathy with their sad loss. The only comfort they have is the knowledge of the noble manner in which the lost ones died. I. hope when the wants of the living survivors have been seen to, that Wellington will erect some monument to mark tho true heroism of the deed. Mothers and children, maids and children, came ashore in each others arms. There was not one word of fear or complaint uttered by those who had to go down in the sea.

As to the actual calamity, it is alleged that tho police should have attended to, tho matter on Sunday, not the municipality. If that is so then where are the police regulations? And if there are none, then. Sir. let some be drafted, enabling the chief officer of police nearest the spot, to call upon all persons, in the King’s name, to lend a hand in reverently removing and covering the dead. In many countries the police are under the municipalities. A disaster snob as this clearly calls for municipal regulation. As to my second contention, the absence of proper appliances, I need say nothing upon it—everyone saw what happened. With respect to my third: Was it right for the newspapers to refer to the matter as a half-holiday? It should have been a half-day of mourning! Tho citizens should have been asked to bave draped their premises in black. The strains of some funeral march should have headed the cortege and checked the levity of the crowd, who, not knowing the route the procession was to take, rushed hither and thither as unguided as those on the beach on Sundav. There is but one feeling throughout Wellington as I write, viz., the deepest sympathy with the relatives, of those who so quietly and nobly died, combined with a shocked sense of regret at. the total want of any regulation governing so sad a calamity. Let me again ask, whilst the public; conscience is keenly alive to what has occurred, that.- some committee of the municipality ho at onco appointed to draft regulations for fuure guidance. Many of us will be ready to voluntarily and privately offer our suggestions, and the committee can select those most suitable. —I am, etc., COLEMAN PHILLIPS. Carterton, February 18th. NAUTICAL INQUIRY TO BE RESUMED THIS MORNING. The nautical inquiry into the wreck of the Penguin will be resumed to-day at

10 a.m. by Dr McArthur. S.M., Captain McArthur, and Captain Reed.

In the interview with Second Engineer Luke, of the Penguin, published last Monday, occurred the sentence: "I came through it because I was’a teetotaller and in good ‘nick.’ ’’ Mr Luke wishes it made clear that in making this statement he intended in no sense whatever to cast any reflection upon any of his fellow-officers, the majority of whom on the Penguin were total abstainers.

At a special general meeting of the Wellington Tramway Employees’ Union a resolution of regret at tho wreck of the Penguin and sympathy and condolence with the relatives of those who perished was passed. /

Previously acknowledged ... 61 12 6 J.E.H ... 1 1 0 F.J.T., Paekakariki ... 1 0 0 Mr and Mrs Flower, Bulls ... 1 0 0 F.E.J 0 15 0 J.W ... 0 2 6 Sympathiser ... 0 10 0 C. Eobinson ... 0 10 6 Total to date ... ,£66 11 6