SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

NZ Truth, Issue 110, 27 July 1907, Page 8

SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

THE ILL-FATED CAWARRA, ■Unds ier Career on Newcastle Ban But One Survivor Out of 60. The Ship Breaks Up and Disappears Quickly,

Oh',- weep no more, sweet mother j] Ob, weep no more to-night ! And only watch the sea, mother* Beneath the morning light. > But' now the wind goes wailing O'er the dark and trackless deep ? And I know your grief, sweet mother, Though I only hear you weep.. — L. E. Landon.-

Tt should be- said at onoe tbat tbe story of the wreck of the Cawarra is specially interesting as being a sequel to that of the Dunbar, related m our columns recently. The Dunbar, it will bo remembered, went to pieces near the Gap. at South Head, while the Cawarra was wrecked on Newcastle oyster-bed ; and, by a singular fate, Johnson, the sole survivor of tbe famous clipper, proved to be the rescuer of tine sole survivor of the ill-fated steamer.

The Cawarra belonged to the "Australian Steam Navigation Gom/pairy, and left Sydney on Wednesday, llth of July, 1806, for Brisbane and Rockhampton., Her passengers and crew numbered fiO all told, and she was somewhat heavily laden, her deck cargo being considerable. ■During -the night tbero came on one of THE SEVEREST GALES ever known en the eastern coast of Australia. The storm grew so during the morning that the fury of the fearful sea bas never yet been exceeded even m the Pacific. The waves came soaring into Broken Bay and Port Hunter like huge bills of foam, and lashed tlve shore with such force that the beach seemed tp thrill beneath their blows.

About 1 o'clock m the afternoon tbe look-out at Newcastle Lighthouse sig-n-aHe:! a steamer making for the port from the northward. The flag was run up warning her. to . stand off and keep out to sea, as it was too rough for * any vessel to attempt to enter tho •harbor. Apparently the vessel did not- see the flag, for on she came, and m about an hour had steamed " close m. At last hew 'crew became aware of the difficulty of her task, and attempted to RETURN TO THE OPEN. j As the vessel wore to gain an offing she was recognised as the Cawarra. Her effort was mad© -too late. She could gain no headway against the sai, and slowly and surely was swept on to the bar. The engines were going full speed, but as the i surge came- "over her bulwarks her boy.« [was seen to sink deeper and .-coper, [and cripple ber power of steerage. j _For a few minutes the doomed shin drifted helplessly, and at 3 o'clock ; I sbe struck. j The people were seen to lie clus- j teri-ng on her poop ancl m tbe rigging. But the suspense was short. So violent were the waves that beat |en her that m a quarter of an hour funnel and mainmast had gone over the side. Five minutes afterwards the foremast went, and before a quar- | | ter to 4 the Oawarra had vanished, ! and all that was left of her was the wreckage AND THE BODIES ! that every now and then rolled over lon the ' crests of thc billows. ' Owing to the violence of tbe gale, tbe pilots and most of the regular lifeboat-men were aboard the vessels m the harbor, fully ' employed m koeping them out of danger, and the* lifeboat was not launched until the steamer had gone agrouhd. Whon the boat felt the sea she was soon rendered useless, for a heavy wave came aboard, and- eight out of her fifteen oars were snapped off short. Other boats, however, put out tp the rescue, the first and foremost being the lighthouse dingy. Johnson, the Dunbar hero, was then employed m the Nobby 's lighthouse, and he and Hannell, the keeper's son, rowed | off m the tiny craft to lend a helping hand. Tho terrific sea prevented the boats advancing very far. but tbe little dingy got out the farthest, and was soon among the wreckage. At ha.lf-past 5 a man was being swept past her, when Johnson, leaning over the side, seized him and lifted him on board. The rescue was only just m time. The dingy returned, the a.ppairen-tly drowned man, then insensible, was put to bed, and m a few hours recovered. He was one of the crew— a Bristol man, F. V. Hedges, who had come to Sydney m the year the Dunbar went down. He iwas j THE SOLE SURVIVOR | of tbe Cawarra.- | It seems that Captain Chatfield, I finding the ,gale increasing, resolved to seek shelter m Port Stephens or \ Newcastle, and as ho came westward chose the latter. The fore-staysail j was hoisted, and blown to ribbons ; the fore-trysail alone would stand. As the Cawarra neared Nobby's the danger of the entrance was perceived, and altbauigh a darinigly-handled little schooner came flying m at the time— snapping her maid-boom as she did so, and to it pi*obably owing her safety— tbe sbeameP was brought head 'to wind.

The jib was set, hut had hardly got home before it was

■■"SENT INTO SMITHEREENS," ancl the vessel broached to. The Weaves dashed on hoard and the water poured down tho forehold, but as the fires were not put out, and the engines could he kept going, no signal of distress was hoisted. Tha crew retained their coolness to the last, and thc captain gave no sign that he thought his ship m danger. ' The Cawarra drifted out of tho breakers into smooth water, and the deck cargo was thrown overboard. As she headed outwards she shipped another sea., and this quenched the fires. As soon as this happened some m«n got into the lifeboat-, and were immediately ordered out by the captain to make" room for the women. Shortly afterwards orders were •riven to' clear her away, but the tackle jammed, and Hedges, alone m those who remained m the fooafc, scrambled oa board again..

[ The ship was now agfotmd. Hedges j and ot-be/rs took to the rigging, the boats being all rendered useless. The masts were shaken out, and then sbe broke up^ Hedges grasped a piece of the " wreck, and, changing from piece to piece until tie FOUND A PLANK bigi enough to support him m safety, was only washed off it to Ibe picked up by Johnson. From the shore the progress of tbe dingy, as she rose and fell on the sea, bad been keenly watched. The news that a steamer was on the bar had brought tbe residents down m crowds to the beach ; and when the lifeboat returned disabled tbe excitement rose to fever pitch.,- All hope of saving the passengers and crew huddled on the vessel seemed cut off. The old shellbacks on- the scene SHOOK THEIR HEADS, but at the same time - chuckled with admiration as the dingy made for tbe open. When she cleared the.buoy and ! got into the breakers, tlie . spectators ! watched ber -breathless., for the sea | was dotted with wreckage, which was liable to crush m the timbers of the boat at any moment. Each time she ■disappeared from sight m the wave hollows, among the floating fragments of the Cawarra, the cry was raised, "SHE HAS GONE!"' And then, when she rose again to view, heaving up among the spray on the crest of some curving billow, the shouts that greeted her were mixed ..with the warning growls of tho older hands, '-'She'll go next time, whether or no • ! " The crew , ''.however , woul tl not return empty-handed, and the perilous course was continued until the man was found.

P't-j-u-ous course was continued unm the man was found. The Cawarra broke up entirely, and the wind sotting dead on the shore, nearly all that came from ber was swept into the bay. Thc shipping m tho port were dragging their anchors ancl to the danger of grounding or fouliyg th-ene was now added the by • no means inconsiderable 'chance of being damaged by tho floating timbers and cases. All that night the storm continued. Just before darkness set m, a few bodies-* had drifted into fairly smooth water, and had been, picked up, but it was not until the RETURN OF THE TIDE that they were found m any numbers. Many persons watched during the night, but 1 it-tie came to th-sir "hands. The sea raged furiously along the Stockton Beach, and' m the first dim light of the dawn it was found that a small coaster had also been blown on thc sandy bar, and was just m her last throes. Tbe glasses had hardly been brought to bear upon her before the masts "fell, the hull canted over— and she Was g)onc ! The day was spent m the mournful task of seeking for the bodies and bearing them away for identification. Que of tbe first found was that of the captain of tho Cawarra and soon afterwards that of the second engineer, who had boen standing by tbe side of Hedges m the main rigging when the sea rushed over them. Of the regular crew of the Cawarra one besides Hedges did .not go down with her. This was the steward, .Newlands, who, having injured his foot, was left behind m Sydney,, a fact worth* recording from THE SINGULAR COINCIDENCE connected with it that the same man had been steward of the Star of Australia, and, injuring his foot, had been left behind on the last trip of the ill-fated vessel when she went to pieces, with all lives lost but. two. Slowly the storm abated. The damage done all along the coast was immense, and of the many small schooners and ketches afloat mit several of them were posted missing shortly afterwards. The majestic strength of wind and wave bad rarely been more appallingly shown, and old-timers at Newcastle and the North Coast stall refer with awe to thc fearful gale of 1866, m whioh the Cawarra ended her career.