THE CITY OF MELBOURNE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1296, 30 September 1876, Page 22

THE CITY OF MELBOURNE.

The special correspondent of the Australasian tielegraphed' from Sydney as follows concern* ing the disaster to the steamer City of Melbourne :—: — i "The City of Melboumo, crammed with passengers and having on board eleven racehorses, comprising the flower of the Victorian studs, left Sydney at midnight en Saturday, the 9th inst. On Sunday morning a strong sputherly gale iset in, and as the Bhip was not far from Jervis Bay, Joe Morrison requested Captain Paddle to return, in order to save the lives of the valuable animals under his charge, but the captain determined to face the gale. i "Soon after passing Cape St. George the vessel Shipped a number of heavy seas, and the gale increased to a hurricane. The wheel was smashed and the binnacle washed away, the ship at the time going round like < a top. The crew behaved splendidly, and rigged a temporary steering gear, and, as some of the horses had fallen, the captain at last determined to return ; but the weather being hazy and thick, he could not ascertain rightly where he was, and put' the ship's head to sea. Then commenced the slaughter amongst the horses. Eros and Mr Evans's Gwendoline filly were about the first to succumb, being washed on to the deck, and killed. , Poacher followed, then Burgundy was killed. Nemesis was thrown on deck, and was drowned where she lay ; so was Sovereign, Etoile dv Martin having also been killed. The greatest loss of all was Robin Hood, who fell under the other horses, and notwithstanding the efforts of Davis, Morrison, and Harris, and the chief officer, he also was killed. In the meanwhile the terrific seas that swept over the ship had carried away two boats, and smashed another. Then a fearful sea stove in one side of the engine-room, and tho saloon was flooded with water. Men were kept employed bailing out the cabins night and day. "All day on Monday the gale blew with terrific force, and the ship kept dodging about at sea, most of the passengers fearing for her safety. Captain Stackpoole, of the ship Shannon, kept up the spirits of the male passengers, and Mrs Stackpoole those of the female passengers, though one or two of the latter created some alarm by their fears. Nearly every bed in the saloon was saturated with water, and few of the passengers slept night or day. " On Tuesday morning there were signs of a slight improvement, and the captain steered a course for Sydney Heads. The Sylvia colt was the last of the horses to die, and then the Chrysolite colt and Redwood weie the only two left of the eleven shipped. The former fell down, and it was feared he would die, but Davis and Morrisoa stuck to him manfully, and just as the colt appeared to bo at the point of death, the Heads were sighted, and the ship was soon in smooth water. Another quarter of an hour at sea would have been fatal to the Derby winner. " The passengers raised a subscription for the crew, and a testimonial was presented to the oaptain by a portion of the passengers, though Mr Kit, the chief officer, was considered by others entitled to one also. " Throughout this tremendous gale the ship behaved admirably, though, until the deck cargo was thrown overboard, she laboured a great deal. The chief damage was the destruction of the wheel and binnacle, the loss of the three boats, the injury to the engine-house, and the saturation of the passengers' luggage, though these lossos were nothing in value compared to that of the valuable racehorses that were destroyed. The Chrysolite colt and Redwood were landed this afternoon, The formsr had to be carried on boards, and cannot move now."

The Argus says :— "The news of the terrible disaster on board the s.s. City of Melbourne by which so many valuable racehorses were destroyed, created the greatest excitement throughout the City yesterday, and a very

strong feeling of sympathy was felt for Mr C. B. Fisher, alike by racing men and by those who seldom take any notice of turf matters. That sd many high class animals, just entering on their racing career, should be so suddenly destroyed was generally looked upon as a national calamity. Never before had any vessel in the southern seas carried such a valuable freight of thoroughbred horses as the City of Melbourne when she started on her ill-fated trip. Of late years owners of race horses_ have been so successful in crossing the Straits to Tasmania,, or making the trip to Sydney, that no more was thought of shipping valuable horses to any of tbe neighbouring colonies than of a trip by rail to Echuca. The catastrophe, which surprised every one yesterday when the news arrived, was therefore all the more unexpected, and at first it seemed so improbable that for a time few persons believed it. Mr C. B. Fisher is the greatest loser by the storm, and the market value of the horses lost by him cannot be estimated at less than L 15,000, though it would probably have required a very much iarger sum to have purchased them before leaving Sydney-."