THE LAST TRIP OF THE BERLIN.

NZ Truth, Issue 99, 11 May 1907, Page 8

THE LAST TRIP OF THE BERLIN.

AN AWFUL CALAMITY ON A STORMY NIGHT.

But two Saved Out of Nearly 200 Persons.

A 1 fearful calamity, overtook the passenger steamship Berlin while on her usual trip from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, on Thursday morning, February 21 last. The Berlin was especially built for the Continental service, plying between the Essex coa9t of Etaglanid and Holland. She was propelled by twin screws, worked' by powerful engines, and was a speedy vessel, ■ with the appearance somewhat of an Orient or P. and 0. liner m miniature. Her fur- , fishings and fittings were luxurious, and she sailed under the British flag. Many thousands of Australians will, recall the fast boats that leave Harwich each night at 10 o'clock, and land their passengers at daybreak on the Continent. Not so many, years ago the writer crossed THE GERMAN OCEAN m one of the same company's boats, the Cam'brMge, and the rate she' ploughed through th© water from Haiv wich to the Scheldt was a welcome change after the 'easy plodding of our behdnd-the-times mail -boats. Some time ago the Cambridge stopped the rushing career of a -destroyer at early morn 'by collision, resulting m the drowning of most of the crew of the latter. Like the mailboats that cross the Irish Channel from Holyhead to Dublin, the Harwich boats never sighted .boats from the stern— always ahead— while the water receded with a speed that would put some of our lumbering trains to shame. The Berlin was of long and narrow build being 302 ft m length and but 36ft beam. Her registered tonnage was 177-5, and indicated, h.p. SOOO. The Earles Co., Hull, were 'her .builders , and 1894 saw her launching. The railway company have a fleet of 12, eight of which are passenger steamers. The Berlin, oast off her shore lines prompt at 10 o'clock, under Captain Precious. ■ with a fairly full complement' of . passengers. Agents ofthe line at Rotterdam estimate the number at 130, and her crew was 60 all told. She was due' . AT THE' HOOK between 5 and 6 a.m., and should have gone on to Rotterdam. However, a 'frightful gale veering from the north struck the vessel on the team, and a wintry tylow m the German Ocean at night, with sea after sea thumping against the 'battling ship's, sides, must have made the passengers long for a glimpse of the shore lights ahead. In good time she made the Hook, but owing to some accident or carelessness that will never be known this side of et/rnity_, the Berlin, instead of headir/jr into the narrow channel, struck the rocky shore just at the entrance..; Lifeboats and tugs were; despatched as soon as possible to her assistance, but, m the face of the mouii-, tainous seas running, little could be 1 done. The passengers, hurrying on deck m crowds, saw the gMmni'sring lights of - the Hook at one instant, 'ahd '" to-^Hn'g v?ges_T^he7JTl_B!^ ' that look was their last; \ Waive after; wave washed the helpless creatures to'their doom, and one, greater than the rest, came down like an avalanche- and broke the vessel m two pieces, as though she had been cbn- ' structed of tea' trays. For hours after the ship struck persons could be seen clingang to th© ...wreck,, but ■ their shrieks and cries for aid fell upon impotent ears. Nothing is more ' calculated to show the feebleness of ■" humanity than A MAJESTIC STORM at sea. Tlie life-boats m ordinary rough weather, are a godsend to shipwrecked folk, (but are of as much real use m a living gale as the storm birds that hover overhead and whistle the mariner's dirge. It was so m the case of the Berlin, and but a few hours passed jbef ore the once fine steamship, the pride of the fleet, was torn into fragments and formed a heap of wreckage m the comparatively, shallow depths of the North Seal As to the fate of her sanguine passengers and crew, it recalls Gray's mournful lines : No more 1 for them the blaziag hearth shall "burn, Or busy housewife ply her eveniing care ; No children run to lisp their sire's return, Or climb his lance, the envied kiss to share. -. . * THE PASSENGERS. Ofthe 1-20 passengers on board, a ■ very large proportion travelled from London on that fateful night, the number of tickets issued by the -boat train having been seventy-two. Theremainder were ' probably made up' of passengers from the north and other parts. Initfuiries from anxious relatives and friends were made at Liv-erpool-street, and the company did their best to get, prepared a list of those on board. „ Among the passengers it was known * TSHB-rMT ' Robert^ v CM^g ' He^Bertr- a King's Messenger, was one. He was, said the Press Association, a son of Mr Robert Charles Herbert, and a grandson on the third Earl of Powis. He was appointed a Queen's Foreign (Service Messenger m 1899. He was formerly a ' lieutenant m the Honorable Artillery Company, awl m 130G served m South Africa. He was about forty years, of age. The duties of Foreign Service Messengers are to convey despatches of the more important and confidential kind to foreign parts. Mr Herbert left the Foreign Office on the Wednesday ' night, and was the bearer of a particularly, heavy and important BATCH OF DESPATCHES., He was charge^ with missions to the Courts of Copenhagen, St Petersburg, i Berlin, and Teheran, taking those places m tlie order named. The dispatch , bag was recovered from the sea. The Great Eastern Railway Company on the Thursday afternoon , issued the subjoined list' of passengers for whom accommodation was r-c---i. served on the Berlin, but they dei sirod it to be » understood . that the . list could hot be regarded as oifi** i cial :— > Miss Sharrock, Miss Hertz,- Mr W--Fisher a^W^ge.r,- Mr W; Mi Rgeves, S

Tokeinhonse Buildings y Mr R. Frankenburg, Salford, Manchester ; Mr Arthur Herbert, 22 Portman-street, Portman-SKjiiare ; Master Aug. Mirsoh, Mr and Mrs Serabski, of Liverpool .; Mr F. Salt, 101 Leadenhali-street ; Mr A. Lamotte, 61 Crutcbed Friars ; Mr Henry Lamotte, of the same address ; Miss Thurnton, travelling from London ; Mr Themans, Mr Boohlander, Mr Helfenstein, 20 Eastcheap* Venderneulen ; Mr Spiker, Mr Watson, .Mr Jennings, and Mr Haisworth, said to be of a London motor company ; Messrs Anderson (two), Mr Murse, Mr Raisman and Son, diamond merchants, of Amsterdam ; Mr de Groot, Mr Davison, and nineteen members of a German opera companyA representative, of the Press Association on Thursday paid a visit to the Great Eastern Hotel-, where passengers crossing to the Hook of Holland occasionally stay for a ni'g-ht or two. 'It was stated that the following 'left on the Wednesday night by the Continental train for the Hook :— Mr Loosen, Mr Bryden Davison, of Matkenesser Lann, 196, Rotterdam ; and Mr Brodersen, of Hongkong. " The steamer carried/ . thirteen mail bags all of whioh were lost. Six for Amsterdam, three for Rotterdam,; two for The Hague, one for Haarlem, and one for Leyden. The service was. not interrupted, but the effect of- tlie disaster was immediately felt on the Stock Exchange, where there was a perceptiilMe fall m Great Easterns. / Mr Lensen 'had come >to London from Dublin, anid since then sojourn-, ed at the Great -Eastern Hotel. Mr Davison and Mr Brodersen arrived m London from the Hook onlyj on the Wednesday morning, and after dtfiing a day's business m -town they left again fyy V the o. night train. Mr Davison frequently >$tayed at the hotel, , where fe was well-known. It has also 'been ascertained that Mr WE. Clarke, of the firm of Voliker Incandescent Mantle Company (Limited) Wandsworth, also left that night for the Hook of Holland. THE CREW DROWNED. Among the drowned, as stated, were 19 members of a German opera company from Covent Garden Theatre, London. It is understood that this party was composed of members of the chorus, and that none of the principals of thd company were passengers on the ill-fated ship. The ci*ew belbniged to Harwich, Parkeston, and distriot. A parcel' of diamonds, valued at several thousands of pounds, was 'being sent to Holland by the steamer, but ttie loss m this caJJe will be covered by insuranoe at Lloyd's A TERRIBLE GALE. Interviewed hy. a representative of the Press Association, Mr C. Busk, mana , 'ger of the Continental Department of the Great. Eastern Railway, said that foe could' only j^count for J the weather as being m the main i*T&p&poss&^^wtl^r^i^sterTr-^Tteey; A had '{hajd ,^iews t.ha^'^a'H&errific ga'ie ! wasrffi^s&n'g'iat the '"^ime. Captain Precious was the seiiior oapta*n of th© fleet, _and he was a most able man, and. the company had the greatest confidence m -hami. He was an old 1 servant, having risen- from .the ranks. The North Pior at the Hotel, against which it is said the Berlin was dashed, is suhnierged at high tides, and is a most dangerous spot to navigate, the sea having- v a tendency to increase over five knots. The spot where ■■ the Berlin struck was one of the most ruggedf on the Dutch coast.