BAD WEATHER IS THE NORTH.

Otago Witness, Issue 2360, 18 May 1899, Page 22

BAD WEATHER IS THE NORTH.

TWO FATALITIES REPORTED. J SHIPPING DELAYED AT j WELLINGTON. WELLINGTON, May 13. ' A severe southerly gale continues with unabated fury, and all shipping traffic has been practically .suspended. The Takapunu, which ai rived at Onehunga, via New Plymouth, this morning, experienced its full force all the way from Cape Egmont. ' The vessel shipped a great deal of water, but nothing serious happened until she was entering Wellington Harbour. Here a mountainous sea was running, and one tremendous sea came over the starboard quarter and washed overboard Andrew Hughson, a seaman, who was never seen again. Mr H. J. Williams, the chief officer, was dashed against the rail, and had a narrow escape of following the fate of the seaman. As it is, Mr Williams is badly knocked about, but it is believed that he has no bones broken. Mr Jacobs, the chief steward, who was Avith the part}', darted into the smoke room before the sea came aboard, and thus escaped. The sea did a good deal of damage on board, both the boats aft being smashed to' such an . extent that they are not worth repairing. The rail leading to the upper deck was wrenched off, and large quantities of water found its way below, chiefly in the steerage, but it is understood no damage was done beyond wetting some luggage. The sea is one of the worst experienced here for some three or four year. 1 ;. The body of Hughson was washed ashore at Tarakihi Bay. j Rarely has Wellington experienced such weather as that which has prevailed since Thursday night. The velocity of the wind for the 24 hours ended 9 o'clock this morning was 510 miles, which was for the most t>art registered during the night.

Nearly an inch of rain fell during the night. THE M.OKOrA TAKES A SEA ON ..BOARD. During the passage of the Mokoia from ! Lyttelton, • and when nearing Wellington, . tremendous sea broke on board and washed .' two women passengers for some distance along the, . alleyway, and buried several ' youngsters . up to their necks in water. ' About an hour and a-half before her arrival the infant -child of Mrs Correford, a steerage passenger, died from t congestion of the lungs brought" on by teething. The child ' was three weeks old. ' Several small coastal boats are" overdue, , but no anxiety is felt, as all are believed to i be sheltering in bays in the Straits. All outdoor sports had to be abandoned to-day. DETENTION OF SHIPPING. May 14. The , southerly gale which began on i Thursday at midday has continued with j unabated fury, but this afternoon shows , signs of taking off. The weather has been bitterly cold, and rain has fallen almost continuously until noon to-day. The i shipping in Wellington was seriously interfered with, and there have been no depar- | tures since Friday ' The Wakanui arrived from the south ,' yesterday evening. She made several inj effectual efforts to go to sea before reachI ing the heads, and then it was decided to ! come on, and she* is at anchor* well down i the harbour. The Ribston, which at- •' tempted to leave for Auckland- on Thurs- : day, but returned, is still at anchor near '. Soam.es- Island. The southerly trip of the j Rotomahana was abandoned, and she will not now leave for Lyttelton until to-mor-1 row evening. The Rotoiti should have left { yesterday afternoon for New Plymouth ; and Onehunga, taking the Wellington. 1 southern, Nelson, and West Coast portion I of the outward San Francisco mail, but ) the mountainous sea running at the heads prevented her leaving port. The Rotorua, j which came in yesterday from Nelson, had j a rough passage across, and used her oilbags with good effect. The Rotorua brought some of Nelson's San Francisco ; mail bags. The Haupiri, from Nelson and 1 the West Coast, which had the West | Coast San Francisco mail on board, had 1 been sheltering under Long Island, and i yesterday started to come across, but on I nearing Wellington Heads was unable to 1 pick up the entrance, and was headed for the south. She was in company with the ' Brunner and the Mawhera. Both the latter followed her example. ! This morning, on _lhe weather clearing : somewhat, the Heupiri's head was turned for Wellington, and she reached port safely : shortly before 2 this afternoon. She used i oil-bags with satisfactory results, but did •not escape scath.le.ss, portion of the railing being carried away on either side. The ' captain reports that iii his 15 years' ex- [ perience on the coast the sea in Cook : Strait during this trying time was the I .worst. The . Mawhera arrived from Westport about 4.45. She had a lively experi- • ence in the Straits, and took on beard a large quantity of water, but only very slight damage was done to the bulwarks. . The Rotoiti will endeavour to get. out at 5 o'clock to-morrow morning. The Mokoia's departure for Sydney has been dolayed. She may make an attempt to get away to-morrow morning. As the Rotoiti was unable to leave with the southern portion of the San Francisco mails, the Postal department arranged for a special train to convey the mails to New • Plymouth, and this left at noon to-day, i and wiir catch the Gairloch at New Plymouth. Portion of the Nelson mail, and the whole of the West Coast of the South Island mails, which mjssed the train, will be sent via Brindisi. i At the inquest on the body of Andrew j Hughson, lost off the Takapuna yesterday, I the evidence showed that the unfortunate man must have gone . straight overboard. Williams, the chief officer, had an exceedingly narrow escape, being nearly through the railings, and in an unconscious condition - when rescued by Mr Charles Jacobs, ! the chief steward, and Mr M'Grath, a lamp trimmer. When Huglison's body was washed ashore it was devoid of the heavy | sea boots which he had on at the time I of the accident, and this appears to suggest I that he must have made a desperate at- ' tempt to reach the shore. A verdict was | returned that deceased was -washed overboard, and that his death was the result ' of misadventure, and not otherwise. Williams is progressing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. Despite the' severity of the gale, no damage is reported in town beyond the smashing of a few windows. May 15. The wind has now (noon) dropped, but heavy rain followed, and the weather is thicker than ever. The rainfall so far is 5.23 in, the average for the month being only 3.89. fe CHRISTCHURCH, May 13. The weather still continues very rough, and to-day rain and hail showers have fallen incessantly. A bitterly cold and strong S.W. wind is blowing. The Christchurch Racing Club's meeting has again been postponed till Wednesday next, and all football matches are declared off. May 15. The rain has ceased, but the weather is still very threatening, and there is every appearance of snow. The week's rainfall totalled 4.98 in. and for the 24 hours from 9 a.m. on Saturday 2.50i0, Only on two occasions during the last 12 years has this 24 hours' record been reached. FATALITY AT TIMARU. ! TIMARU, May 14. An immense southerly sea sprang up on Saturday afternoon, • and caused a fatality at 4.30.- A block shifted on the parapet of the breakwater, and several men j employed on the. works went to the end of) the wharf to see it. B. Catlow, a man j in the prime of life, was a few yards ahead of the others, and, .standing by' the rail at the end of the wharf w"hen a sea broke over the breakwater, and carried him into the harbour. Boats were got out in a few minutes. The man was seen once, but the boats failed to recover him. Catlow was a, married man with four children, and

was a valued workman. The body had not been recovered up till 5 to-day* The sea is still running heavily.