THE SURAT DISASTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3719, 7 January 1874, Page 3

THE SURAT DISASTER.

■*•- ~(fKOM A COKBESPOinDENT.) |Mfl^Abont 7 o'clock on the evening'of January steamer. AVallabi. left Bluff return .passage to Dunedin. News had reigned Invercargill,during the day that an emigrant ship had been cast on shore in the neighbourhood of Catlin's Biver, and that the captainof the Wanganui, •which-was then at the Bluff, had received orders to proceed without without delay to j the relief of the shipwrecked passengers and crew. The Wanganui accordingly left shortly before three o'clock, or about four hours in advance of the iWallabi. .• Captain Leys, of the Wallabi, expressed his intention of, being at the Bcene of' the reported wreck at daybreak next morning, and as the" wind waa highly favourable, the little steamer made such progress that her speed had to be slackened for some time before she reached her destma'ion. A very careful look-out had been kept by Captain Leys for some hours, and long before the dawn the passengers—about a dozen in number—were also engaged in peering through the gloom.. The Nuggets light was seen in advance, and, by-audbye, a light in the' direction of the. land became visible. The outline, of .the" jioast was now. seen, and Captain Leys stated that he believed the light proceeded from the Wanganui riding at anchor in a small bay under the shelter of Bloody Jack's Point—a very short distance south of the mouth of -■_.„ CaWin's River. All eyes were now eagerly direcV-d towards the shore, and as the darkness give way to the advancing day, the outline of a large three-masted- ship was teen on the beach or sandspit a very short •distanc: north of the entrance to the river. On the glasses being brought to bear on the vesse', tho white spray was seen breaking over her. Some of her sails were set, but for the most part they were hanging loose. There were no indications of any person being on board the ship. About this time a large steamer W€os seen coming from the north, aud she soon proved to be the Vire. The Wanganui was now distinctly seen at anchor in the bay already mentioned. The usual preparations were now made on board the Wallabi for entering the river, but as the tide had begun to ebb, it was for some time doubtful if she would be able to cross the bar till ni-xt tide, and the signal station 1 was eagerly watched. In a short time, however, the wished-for signal was observed, and the Wallabi entered in splendid style and was soon in smooth water, opposite two email huts in the bush, near the water's edge. Here two of the Surat's boats were observed, and a few people \were seen around the huts, near which two fires vrerc burning ; but there were no indications of anything unusual having occurred. ■ While the Wallabi was catering the river, a boat was seen co-iing from the Vire, and Captain Leys, accompanied by a few of bis

passengers, went ashore and met the following gentlemen as they landed from the Vire's boat, viz. :*-Captain Thomson, Harbour master; Mr Weldon, Commissioner of Police; Mr Allan, Immigration Agent; .Mr G. F. Reid; Mr G. W. Eliott, of the New Zealand Insurance Company; and two representatives of Dunedin newspapers. It may be mentioned here that a third member of the Dunedin Press, and the reporter of an Invercargill newspaper, were passengers by tbe Wallabi. The party was now joined by Captain Johnson, of the Surat, and Captain Hey ward, Harbour Master at Catlin's River, who briefly gave an account of what had occurred. They .also communicated the information that the greater number of the passengers, especially the women- and children, had been accommodated by the families at Messrs Guthrie and Larnach's sawmills, about three miles farther up the river, and that others had been taken care of by residents in the neighbourhood, while a few had remained at and around the Pilot Station. A council was now held, and it was arranged by Captains Thomson and Leys that the Wallabi should proceed up the river as near as possible to the sawmills, collect the whole of the passengers and crew, and convey them outside the river* at the next flow of the tide for transhipment to the Vire. The Wallabi accordingly steamed up the riverforabout two or three miles, and anchored a short distance below the upper sawmills. Captain Thomson and Mr Reid at the same time proceeded up the Owake stream to Mr G. F. Reid's mills, where some of the passengers had found shelter. The Wallabi took: in tow up the river two of the Surat's boats, by means of which the passengers from the saw-mills were to be taken on board. * On reaching the saw-mills it was found that many of the married families as' well as single women had found shelter there, axid were in charge of Mr Tighe, the surgeon of the Surat, who reported that the immigrants were entirely free from all infectious diseases. Some of the females at the mills were in an extremely weak condition, and one poor woman who had given birth to a baby three or four days previously was so very ill that on the surgeon's advice she was left in one pi: the houses with'her sister, husband, and children. The immigrants were loud in theirexpressions of gratitude to the settlers for their kindness to them. Having taken air on board from the upper mills the Wallabi then proceeded down the river, and received in her course the immigrants from the Owake mill and the other places where they had found shelter. The whole of bhe passengers and crew were placed onboard the Wallabi by 10 or 11 o'clock, but' it was necessary to wait for about a couple of hours before the flow of the tide would enable the bar to be successfully taken. While waiting for the - tide Captains Thomson, Leys, Heyward, Mr G; F. Reid, and others, landed on the sandspit and approached as near as possible to the Surat, for the purpose of making an official survey and report. Meanwhile the deck of the Wallabi was . crowded, with the passengers and crew of the Surat, and the officers and men belonging to the steamer exerted themselves to the utmost to promote their comfort. A supply of beef and potatoes was served out, and the immigrants employed themselves fpr some time in discussing' These and the home made bread and milk ■ which had been'presented to them by their hospitable entertainers on land before leaving for the steamer. As might be expected, there was a very* heavy run upon the steward's cellar, even to such an extent as to call for the interference of Mr Allan, the Immigration Agent. The conduct of the immigrants was, with a few exceptions, quite becoming and decorous. The variety of demeanour and behaviour exhibited on the Wallabi's deck at this time formed quite a study. While a spirit of kindliness and good feeling was very generally displayed, there were some manifestations of very gross selfishness on the of a few of the men, and in one instance a very nnattractive - looking sjjfccimen of humanity brought upon himself a wellmerited rebuke irom, Mr Reid, who at this time, as well as on other occasions during the day, greatly exerted himself on behalf of the^ poor unfortunates. . • . Little or nothing, had been;; saved beyond what the poor people--had upon their backs, though some had succeeded in" bringing away a few articles of greater or less value, but the packages were for the most part of small dimensions, r The only box of any size and. weight which seemed to have been rescueii from the wreck was. the captain's. In numerous instances the clothing of the women and children was to Tiave been worn for the last time on the fatal Wednesday if all had gone well till next day. One mother of a family said to us—"Sir, you see the little ones'there in little better than dirty •rags, which they were to have worn for the la9t time on W jdnesday. I had their good clothes all ready to put on them on New Year's Day after the children had git a good washing, and the clothes you row see on them were to,have been pitched overboard." Said another very respectable looking woman —-"0, sir, do you think our, boxes, will yet be got out of the .ship ?" "I fear not," .was the reply, " but you have cpineto a fine country, and you will soon have enough of money with which to buy all you need." "Ah,butsir, I. had things in that box which no money can replace. I had the portraits of dear friends, some of whom are now dead. There were preckrus keepsakes; and farewell tokens which were to me above all price, 0.. sir. do you not think they will be able to getiour boxes away yet ?" Numerous incidents of a similar nature could no doubt be related. All, without exception, spoke in the very warmest terms of the exceeding great kindness and attention of their entertainers at the mills and neighbourhood. By-aud-bye the anchor was weighed, and the Wallabi prepared to take the bar on her ; way outwards. Considerable anxiety was felt as to how the little vessel would acquit herself, freighted as she was with so precious a cargo. But as on entering, so now on leaving the river, she behaved herself most ; splendidly. Once she' gave a great lurch, and then swung twice from side to side as she passed through the rolling waves over the bar. These movements of the vessel excited considerable alarm amongst the women, and children, who gave very audible expression to their feelings, thus affording to those who had riot been on board the Surat during the previous day some faint idea of the fearful commotion wh t ich must have then prevailed.

As the Wallabi neared the Vire two life-' boats, each with an officer and seven men, were seen on the water awaiting her arrival. 'Under the directions of Captains Thomson and-Heyward, two of the Surat's boats had been manned with some of the Surat's sailors and men from the saw-mills, in order to assist in the transhipment of the immigrants. On reaching the Vire, the Wallabi was connected with her by a strong hawser about a couple of huudred yards in length, and the work-of transhipment from the smaller to the larger vessel was begun—for it is scarcely necessary to explain that the rolling of the waves was so great as to render it quite impossible for the two steamers to lie alongside of each other. The work of-placing so many women and children in the boats, and then removing them- from the boats to : the Vire, was a work requiring considerable .skill on _the part of all engaged in it; but it was most successfully accomplished by able and willing hands. Many were the encomiums bestowed by the onlookers upon the officers and crews of the two French boats, upon the men who worked the other two boats, and upon those who otherwise assisted on the occasion. Some incidents of a somewhat anmsing nature aud the reverse occurred, and the various temperaments of the women were very strikingly brought out. Some were excited aud noisy, others looked frightened and pale ; some were very quiet, others seemed greatly to enjoy the affair, anil gave expression to their feeliuga by a smile or a hearty laugh. The handling of the littlebabies was the most difficult operation of all, as only one hand was available, the other being needed to keep hold of the steamer. This was a work which Captain Thomson seemed to charge himself with, an1 * right skilfully was it performed. It ia only fair to mention that a well known member of the Dunedin Press rendered valuable service in passing women and children into boats. The work of transhipment, which had occupied about an hour and a half, was completed at about half-past 3 o'clock p.m. The Wallabi, before setting off for Dunedin, steamed round her big sister, and while abreast of the Vire her passengers rang out a hearty farewell chper, which was as heartily responded to by those on board the larger vessel. Three or four of the female im-uigrants, with their husbands and children,-were taken on by the Wallabi to Dunedin, as the women were in an extremely weak oondition, and could not with Safety have been transferred to the Vire. Thua entled. fche valuable services rendered

by the little Wallabi on this memorable occasion. The whole of the business, from first to last, was most admirably and ably gone through by Captains Thomson, Leys, and Heyward, and those acting under their orders. Everything seemed to be done at the proper time and in the best manner. Not a mischance nor a hitch occurred from first to last. Nor must the valnable services rendered by Messrs G. F. Reid, Allan, and others, be overlooked. Mr Commissioner Weldon, Sergeant Smythe, of Tokomairiro, and three constables also performed good service throughout the day. The admirable manner iv which Captain Leys acquitted himself is especially beyond-all praise.

Having now given a connected account of the removal of the passengers and crew of the ill-fated Surat from their temporary quarters on the banks of the Catlin's River, we now proceed to give the result of careful enquiries respecting the loss of the ship, and the events which occurred from the time of her approaching the New Zealand coast to the arrival of the Wallabi in Catlin's River. It was evident from the statements made that a very strong, feeling of exasperation against Captain Johnson and his principal officers prevailed amongst the passengers, apparently without a single exception. r The statements made with regard to the conduct of the captain and mates immediately before the vessel struck, and up to the time of her being beached on the sand-spit, are of so extraordinary and incredible a nature as to render it improper on our part to give currency to them until the whole of the proceedings shall have been made the subject of inquiry by a competent tribunal. The accounts of the disaster given by the passengers are in many points very contradictory, although there is considerable unanimity with regard to the conduct of the captain and'mates. After - a careful collation of the various statements, we venture to give the following as a tolerably reliable summary of the events which occurred :—The Surat left Grayesend for Port Chalmers on the 2Sth of September; with about 2SO passengers aboard. There were only two male adults and a boy in the first cabin. The rest were all steerage passengers. The voyage up to the evening of the; disaster seems to have been a tolerably successful one. The health of the passengers was good. There were only a few cases of sickness amongst the younger children at the beginning of the voyage, but these were soon got over, and no othei-3 of any importance occurred. There were two births on board, but both infants died. The only other-death was that of an' infant 2J months oldi A number of the passengers frankly stated'that up to the day of the disaster they had nothing of any importance to complain, of I with regard to the conduct of the- captain or his officers. On the last day of the year the Snrat had passed on the east side of Stewart's Island, and during the evening of the same day the light on Dog Island was clearly visible for a considerable time. The night was not particularly dark, the weather was good, and the wind seemed to have been favourable. At about 10 o'clock the vessel sustained a violent shock. Then followed about five or six bumps, accompanied by a harsh grating sound from the bottom of the ship, which extended over a period of about five minutes. If was the second mate's watch on deck, and the captain, who was below, rushed on deck and gave certain orders with regard to ohe helm and the sails, a favourable breeze sprung up at the same time, and a very high'wave flowed towards the vessel: These three combined causes -resulted in lifting the Surat off the rocks and in setting, her bounding seawards. She was kept sailing out to sea for a distance of three miles or upwards, when orders were given toheave-to. At first it was hoped there was no leak, as there was no immediate appearance of water. It was soon found that -water was makiDg in the" lower parts of the ship. It-is stated by some of the passengers that there were six pumps on board. Two Only were at first set to work, but ultimately only one proved serviceable. The passengers, women as well as men, worked at the pumps with a will' and it was for some time believed- that the ship might be kept afloat until port should be reached.

When the vessel struck, many* of the passengers, especially the women, and children, had gone to bed. Fortunately, owing to its being New Year's Eve; and to the .expectation of beholding the land at break, of day, a considerable number of the male' passengers had not gone to bed, or,, had not undressed. Immediately on the shock being felt the pas-' sengers rushed from their cabins and made for the deck. Then ensued' a ' scene more easily imagined than described. Men shouting, women shrieking, children crying, almost all making their way towards, and up, the one available stairway to the deck-—the strong prevailing, the weaker being pulled down, and in 'some instances trampledupon.j numbers rushing about half-naked withbundles of clothes in their hands j wives seeking for husbands and children^ children crying for-- their parents ; some retiring and on their knees earnestly praying to God for mercy and deliverance-, all combined to fortn a state of matters of the most heartrending description. Soon the second hatchway, which had been fastened down some days previously, was forced open, and in a short time all the passengers were on deck. The dreadful confusion and excitement which nnw prevailed were enough to try the nerves of the very strongest minded man. At the earliest break of day on Friday ' Captain Johnson set sail in a northerly direction, and about the same time a steamer was descried in the distance, "coming from the' north. Two of the Surat's boats were now launched, and were sent off in the direction of the steamer. It lias since been ascertained that the steamer was the Wanganui, on her way from Dunedin to the ..-Bluff, .with an unusually large number of passengers. It is reported that the Surat and one of the boats were seen by some of (he Wanganui's passengers, who called the attention of the mate, whose watch it was, to the circumstance, with the expression of an opinion that something must be wrong with the ship. Most unfortunately,, no heed seems to have been given to the matter by the mate, and. the Wanganui proceeded on her way, pass-. ■ ing between the vessel and the land. The appearance of a stvanier bearing down upon them, as was for some time'supposed, seems to have excited in the minds of the passen!gers of the Snrat feelings of the most frantic delight. The question naturally arises, AVhy were not all possible inea: s taken at this critical juncture to attract the notice of those on board the stsamer ? But on. this point the most contradictoi y statements have been made. It were easy to furnish a most thrilling narrative of the proceedings which are stated to have now taken place on the deck of the Sura' ; but justice to the captain and his officers demands that no currency should be given to the statements which have been made with regard to this matter. The Surat, after the disappearance of the steamer, bore up towards the cojst, and approached the bay south of the point near which Catlin's River enters the ocean, the water rapidly gaining on her all the while. Up to this time the captain is. reported to have prevented any of the boats leaving the ship with passengers ; but the surgeon, Mr Tighe, now actively interfered, and succeeded in taking off a boat-load of women and children towards the shore. Having entered the bay above referred to, an anchor was thrown out, and before noou other two boat-loads of passengers left- the ship. But the anchor failed to hold, and .as the water was now rapidly gaining and the vessel in danger of drifting on to the rocks, the ship was "run ashore on the sandpit a short distance north of the rivei's mouth, where she now lies. At this stago the captain and his principal officers setm to have lost all further control. Two of the petty officers, the wh"le of the crew, and some of the male passengers, immediately set to work to land the remainder of the passengers, which was effected amidst much difficulty with very, great success. Much valuable assistance seems to have been rendered at thia time by the Harbour-Master, Captain Hey ward. The first mate chose to remain on the vessel, and two of the sailors volunteered to stay with him. The latter report that they employed their time in collectii.g provisions and luggage on the poop, in hopes that they might be taken on shqre next day. But early in the morning the sea began to break so heavily over the vessel that they signalled to be taken off, which was effected by the captain and a boat's crew. Tho passengers bad beew landed on various points, and, as already mentioned, most of them found their way to the saw-mills and places in the neighbourhood. But on© baud of them, including several women and children, lost themselves in the bush, and had to remain all night without food, or shelter. Ewry possible exertion wasmadeby Captain, and Mra Hey ward, and by the families at the aaw-millfj and xieighbyuiftoqd, to feed. and.

shelter the unfortunate creatures thus unexpectedly and in such numbers thrown upon them. A bullock was killed, and all the resources of the neighbourhood in respect of food, &c, wete called into requisition with most satisfactory results. The stores ab the saw-mills were also laid under contribution, and before evening set in, food, as well as shelter of scone kind or another, was provided for nearly all. As already mentioned, the immigrants sjx>ke in terms of the deepest gratitude of the exertions of their kindhearted entertainers.

A glance at the map of Otago and acaieful collation of .the various statements- made by the captain and passengers, would lead to the conclusion that the Surat must have struck upon a ledge of rocks off Brothers Point, a few miles eastward from Waikava Harbour, aiid about 30' miles south west from Catlin's River. If not there the disaster must have occurred off Chasland's Mistake, about 15 miles east by north, from Brothers Point. In either case the' Dog Island light coukl not have been very long out of sight when the vessel struck. It is- difficult to conceive why the ship should have been so far out of her proper coarse, but for the clearing up of this and other pointSj we must await the full investigation which vrill soon be made before a competent . Court of Inquiry.' :