THE NIAGARA'S GOLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24850, 25 February 1942, Page 6

THE NIAGARA'S GOLD

On the morning of January 31, the Claymore's sweep heavily fouled an obstacle, and soundings were at once taken from a small tender rejoicing in the name of Betsy. A general depth of 74 fathoms was recorded, but at 2.15 p.m. the lead lodged on an object at 64 fathoms. When the lead was hove In there were adhering to it one large and numerous small flakes of paint. the large one comprising three distinct coats—red lead, grey, and buff. Here, at last, was tangible evidence pointing to the Niagara. The position, afterwards ascertained to be in latitude 36 degrees south, longitude 175 east, was marked by a buoy, and the salvage ship, was allowed to ride to the sweep for the night. Location of Wreck

The cheerful suspicion that the wreck had been located had, of course, to be established in fact In trying to fix the, lay of the obstruction next morning the bower anchor caught, and both it and SO fathoms of valuable steel wire were lost On February 2 all doubt vanished. Chief Diver Johnstone went down in the bell, and in the mud of the ocean bed found himself close to an upturned suitcase and some broken cases of canned fruit Later, he was able to see the Niagara herself, his first

impression being that she rested on an ! even keel. He identified her by the **■ type of boat davits and other structural details within his line of vision. His report was the signal for loud rejoicing and the lifting of a killing / weight of suspense. Not even the sight of the first ingot of gold, months after* wards, equalled the delight of this moment. Nor was it lacking in irony, for land observations indicated that the sweeps must have missed the wreck by • margin of barely fifty yards a month earlier v How difficult it can be to find a large vessel sunk at great depth is proved by the fact that even after the Niagara had been discovered on what trans- > pired to be. the eastern edge of the search area. Captain Williams was unable to get any soundings on her deck. To manoeuvre the Claymore directly over her he was obliged to trail a bower anchor and many fathoms of 'cable i on the bottom m decreasing circles until it finally hooked itself to the superstructure. It was in doing , i this that the anchor and most of the cable was lost. ''■-•' A! Narrow Escape ' • Next day Diver John'Johnstone had - an adventure that might have cost him his life. A high wind was blowing when he was lowered in the observation chamber to make an examination of the wreck from the boat deck. The bell had hardly settled on its precarious perch, when the Claymore's bow mooring carried away. Plunging heavily, the little vessel fell rapidly away before the weather, jerking the bell With her. Before Johnstone realised what was happening he had been i. tossed across the boat deck and over '• the side, fortunately clearing the two forward davits. At express, speed the bell then catapulted across the slope of the hull and over a huge hole in the plates,to the iniid.below..where it.was deposited upside down; leaving the diver, standing on his head! J v '■ Providentially; Captain Williams had seen the wire: bfieak, ftn<Loisd#red the beU to be w . on * dering, with •omemttgivmj, whether this could IsCilbhe-before the -suspending line f6u»d;iome. tentacle of the wreck. The fates, however, were kind, and Johnstone ultimately stepped from what had threatened to be his coffin little the worse for wear. He admitted, -however, whilst nursing his bruises and wiping the blood from bis forehead, that it had been, a "near , thing."

Damage to Liner As a result of this and subsequent visits to the depths, he reported that the Niagara was lying on her port side at an angle of about 70 degrees. From abaft the foremast to a line Just in front of the bridge the bottom lad been blown in, one hole being 18 feet high and another measuring approximately 22 feet by 18. The forward funnel had disappeared oyer the side, probably as the result of the mine explosion. About 100 feet aft of this forward damage.and almost under the second funnel was another enormous hole 45 feet long and tapering to eight feet in height. At this point the ship's back seemed to be broken. As it was difficult to connect this damage, with the mine burst in the forward section of the vessel, it is. probable that she dragged a second mine down with her and that this exploded as she dived to the bottom. . The problem now confronting the party was how to moor the salvage ship in such a position as to, secure her as accurately as possible over the bullion room. There was no "open sesame" to this treasure chamber for it was situate four decks down below the forward funnel and 26 feet inside the vessel. As yet, its very existence was apparent only on a plan. To facilitate its discovery Captain Williams decided in consultation with Captain Herd,' who had joined the expedition on January 0, to adopt in principle the mooring scheme used by the Italians in raising the gold from the Egypt. Six mooringSs were laid in a circle which had a radius of 800 feet, the angle between each mooring being 60 degrees.' As the exigencies of war made it impossible to obtain steel buoys, substitutes were made of pressure cylinders enclosed in wooden crates and two-ton blocks of concrete were used in place of anchors, The pendants between the concrete blocks and the buoys were made up of anchor cables, wire, swivels, and shackles Often Dragged Moorings

It was soon found that this gear was Inadequate. Wind and current played tricks with it. Even when the concrete blocks were backed with an anchor and 15 fathoms of heavy cable, they still dragged. It was then decided to sink six five-ton concrete blocks and to these kauri log buoys were made fast. These were ah improvement, but on occasions uncountable the morrings continued to drag towards the centre of the circle. Once, during a northerly blow, the Claymore contrived to take one mooring on a voyage of five miles Small wonder

SEARCH FOR SUNKEN LINER ARDUOUS DEMOLITION WORK 11. (Specially Written for the Otago Daily Times) The salvage of, the Niagara's gold involved long and hazardous operations, which were conducted from the old coastal ship Claymore. The central figures, both in the search for the sunken liner and the subsequent task of blasting a path through the side of the ship to the bullion room were Chief Diver J. E. Johnstone, of Melbourne, and his brother, Shipwright Diver W. Johnstone, of the Royal Australian Navy.

was it that the perpetual necessity for raising and relaying these objectionable but essential objects frayed the tempers of all hands. In the end "mooring" became a term of vituperation. In fact, to be called a "mooring " was to acknowledge that one had sunk to the lowest grade of unpopularity. Under favourable conditions the system worked perfectly, for the Claymore, by pulling on this mooring line or that could be moved to the precise position required by the diver below.

A careful study of the Niagara's plans showed that the door of the bullion room directly faced the porthole of the chief steward's cabin. The bullion room itself was about the size of a villa bathroom. It was 6ft wide, 9ft 6in long, and Bft 6in high. Marking the Spot

How was the diver to distinguish one porthole from row upon row of others? The task was not so perplexing as it appeared, since there was a point of focus in the shape of a gangway door. Counting from there towards the stern, the port of the steward's office was only seven portholes distant. Sooner than anyone had dared to hope, the chief diver was able to mark the spot.

Now, the delicate work of demolition could begin, for naturally the gold could not be reached until a passage to it hatd been torn away by explosives. On April 5 the job was commenced of removing the bulwark plating on "C" deck for a distance of 30 feet forward and . abaft the centre line marking the place under which the bullion room lay inside the hull. That there was initial trouble with the explosives is not surprising, since the effect of blasting gelatine at the depth where the Niagara lay had to be determined by a process of trial and error. No expert could offer any guidance as to the proper strength of the charges or the manner of firing them. Various experiments were accordingly carried out before complete detonation was obtained, but, thereafter, a misfire became exceptional. Method of Placing "Shots" The placing of the " shots " demanded team work of the highest order. In effect, the diver was the eyes and brains, and the deck operatives were the hands, of the operation. The former could see and guide, but not touch, and the others, by mechanical means (though over 400 fest above), could deposit the charge in any position indicated. But this was not easy, and certainly not swift, for there were instances when as many as three hours were taken up in laying a single "bomb." Incidentally, the blasting gelatine was enclosed in metal pipes of varying lengths and diameter fastened to wooden frames measured to cover the plates to be removed. Each charge was connected by a firing cable to a battery on deck, and was exploded by pushing down a plunger. Eight men, in addition to the divers—the brothers Johnstone took turns in the bell —were normally engaged on the surface under the direction of Captains Williams and Herd,, the former himself invariably receiving and passing on the telephonic directions, received from the wreck. One man [drove the deck winch, "one the grab winch in the hold, and three men attended to the wires on the winch ends, one looked after the telephone wire, and two assisted generally. Weird Submarine Domain The divers # were brought up before each shot was fired, but in their weird submarine domain they were indeed monarchs of all they surveyed. The queerest sorts of deep sea fish made their acquaintance, and followed all their actions with great inquisitiveness. Here was the habitat of the hapuka, whose' bulldog jaw and huge

gaping mouth suggested cruelty and an insatiable appetite. Here, too, slithered enormous eels, which had established homes in the ghostly purlieus of the Niagara. Some of these monsters had bodies as thick as a man's thigh, and fattened quickly on the innumerable creatures of the deep that were killed or stunned by every explosion. Much of the wreck had been covered by a marine growth resembling grass, and, upon this, dainty terakahi fed in myriads, presenting an entrancing picture. Gradually a way was smashed to the bullion room and the ill-used Niagara began to look like a bombed building. First, the bulwark platings went by the board, and then in succession the thick sheer strake, the shell plating, and sections of "B" and "C" decks. Cabins, bathrooms, stairways, and all the internal fittings of a modern passenger liner were shattered, grabbed up, and dumped in the mud alongside until the sea bed became heaped like a junk yard. Eventually a hole 60 feet long and 30 feet wide yawned in the side of the wreck, and on September 25 a conical passage had been cleared to the bullion room door. Bullion Room Blown Open

The date coincided with Chief Diver Johnstone's birthday anniversary, and this was considered to be a favourable omen for the opening ceremony. But whereas some very heavy charges had previously been used—the most powerful comprised 1121 b of gelatine—the utmost care had now to be taken to ensure that the required " shot" was neither too strong nor too feeble. After some discussion the salvage officers resolved to try a 121 b charge which at the end of nearly three hours of patient work was accurately placed over the door.. Suspense was almost painful when the plunger was pushed down. Would the explosive do its work, or would it blast those tons of elusive gold bars to an inaccessible cavern in the bottom of the wreck? This anxious question was in everybody's mind. By the irony of circumstances it did neither of these things. It misfired! The anti-climax was complete.

Imperturbable, as ever, the chief diver set about the task all over again, and this time all went well. Not only was the door blown in, but some hefty rivets along the top angle were loosend, thus facilitating the removal of the double plates around the entrance, as well as a section of the plating above. Fruits of Dogged Work At long last the gold had been located. Doggedness, galling work, and technical proficiency had won the day. With ordinary luck nothing now remained but to recover the bullion which, though still invisible was undoubtedly there for the gathering. In the whole of the demolition operations 113 shots containing a total of three tons of blasting gelatine had been used. The chief steward, who complained bitterly at the breaking of his glassware and crockery by each successive detonation, and who constantly protested against the ruinous damage to the saloon ceiling, rejoiced perhaps more than anybody when it was all over. Gold, or no gold, he preferred a quiet life. Although the venture was now literally on the verge of success, malign influences had been at work througriout these weary months. \ Naval sweepers had been fishing up and destroying mines by the score, some within a mile or less of the salvage ship, and the weather had been treacherous to a degree. To guard the divers from the violent effect of the detonations, mutual signals were arranged so .that before each mine was exploded the observation bell could be raised. Sometimes dead fish covered the surface for miles, the i phosphorescent glow ■■ from their bodies shining like silver frost. Loss of Mine»sweeper Winter had set in with a rush towards the end of March and henceforth, a succession of gales and squalls impeded operations on the wreck often, for days- on end. It was nothing for the wind to shift boisterously to three different points of the compass within a few hours, with disastrous results to the moorings. One tragic day in June the naval sweeper Puriri fell victim to a mine and went down with the loss of five lives. Unfortunately, the Claymore happened to be at the Whangarei base, 40 miles away, and so was not in a position to give assistance. The survivors were picked up by a fishing boat.

The remaining article of this series will be published to-morrow.