“IN CASE THE WORST HAPPENED"

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12558, 22 September 1926, Page 7

“IN CASE THE WORST HAPPENED"

STEWARD WROTE DOWN THE STORY AND PLAOED IT IN A BOTTLE

Vividly expressive of the feelings of those on board the Awarua is the letter which the ship’s steward, A. E. Steward, wrote and enclosed in a bottle—“in case the worst happened.” The letter reads : “Dear Amy,—Am writing these few lines, and am enclosing them in a bottle, as I fear, unless help comes, that we are doomed. I will try and give you a little outline of our experiences during these last few days. “We left Owenga (Chatham Islands) at 4 a.m. on September 10th, and experienced boisterous weather until 6 a.m. on the 14th. We lost sight of land soon, and arrived at Cape Palliser at 10 a.m. on the 14th, when the weather calmed down slightly for about an hour, afterwards increasing to a gale, with a strong N.W. wind blowing. The ship was headed at full speed for the point, but, having made only a little headway, at 8.30 p.m., Captain Sawyers had to abandon any

further attempt, as there was only little coal left; in fact, only about a ton and a half. “It was then that we sent signals for help. A passenger boat, whose name we did not know (the Makura, presumably) passed by about 9 p.m., and at present we are in hopes that she has seen our plight and has wirelessed for aid on our behalf. We have sent up seven rockets, but up to now (10.30 a.m. on the loth) have sighted nothing; have been drifting practically east with the wind since 8.30 last night, and are now well out of sight of land. “Well, if we get out of this at all I shall indeed be very thankful, and shall thank God for the rest of my life, because last night was about the worst that anyone aboard has ever experienced, and, in my humble opinion, we are all very lucky to be alive, even now. . . . So, good-bye, dear sister, and take care of yourself.—Your loving brother, Alf.”