WRECK OF THE TAUPO.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 634, 24 February 1879, Page 2

WRECK OF THE TAUPO.

FULL PARTICULARS.

The wreck of the Union Company's s.s. Taupo coming so soon after the Taranaki catastrophe has naturally created a tremendous sensation thronghont the length and breadth of New Zealand. From an early hour yesterday morning we were inundated with urgent telegrams demanding particulars, and the single wire which connects Tauranga with the outer world was positively blocked. The general impression in town Beems to be that the accident resulted from carelessness, but whose the fault was has not as yet transpired. We have formed a very definite opinion ourselves, but shall say nothing till after the official inquiry. Both Captain and Mate were on the bridge, and seem to have shown considerable presence of mind when the ship struck. The passengers were also calm and well behaved, no. attempt whatever being made to rush to the boats. THE ACCIDENT. The Taupo left Anckland about 5 o'clock on Monday, with a cargo amounting to 100 tons, and a quantity of coal. The following is the passenger list : — FOR TAURANGA. Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, Mr. and Mrs. McDougall, Mrs. Maxwell, Miss Maxwell, Mr. and Mrs. R. Chapman, Miss Bartleman, Miss Snodgrass, Miss Wrigley, Miss Milne, Miss Cook, Mrs. Cook, Messrs. R. C. Jordan, C. Parke, Knapping, Campbell, Riggall, F. and T. Clarke, Phillips, Kaye, O'Sullivan, | Mrs. Sheehan, Rev. M. Ashwell, Masters Wrigley (2). FOR GIS BORNE. Mrs. Haworth and 2 boys, Messrs. Smart, Marcas, Pollard, Mahoney, Mr. and Mrs. Espie. FOB NAPIER. Mr. Weston, Mr. and Mr3. Collings, Mrs. Beale, Mrs. Parkes, Mr. Hargreaves, Mr. Owen, Mrs. Baike, Mrs. Williams, Mr. Clarke. FOR WELLINGTON. Mr. Symonds, Mr. and Mrs. Danks, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Knocker, Mrs. Auckan and 3 children, Mrs. Brookfield. FOR WANGANUI. Miss Gray. FOR LYTTELTON. Mr. Ginn, Mr. and Mrs. King and son. Mr. J. H. Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Graham and 2 children and servant, Messrs Parfitt, Mahoney, Augustein, Mahoney, junr., Wade, Bishop, Lightholden. PORT CHALMERS. Messrs Lee, Smith, Montague, Dickey. MELBOURNE. Mr. Dearden. All went well till she arrived off the Tauranga bar on Tuesday morning about 7 o'clock. All this time many of the ladies were still in bed, though the gentlemen! had mostly come on deck. Captain Cromarty and his Chief Officer (Mr. Garrard) were both on duty, and two men at the wheel. The usual course was steered, and all went well till the vessel appeared within a stone's throw of the Mount, when she struck heavily on a sunken rock. ' Opinions differ as to the severity of . the shock. Some [say it seemed extremely sharp, but one or two persons were not even wakened by the noise, so it cannot have been very severe. The Captain immediately gave orders to reverse the engines, and for a few minutes this was done, but the engine room commencing to fill with water, they were stopped. The Mate now called all hands on deck, and in a very short time the boats were lowered, and the ladies rowed to the Mount. The gentleman and luggage followed. Hardly twenty minutes elapsed before all were safely ashore. Immediately after the accident a cannon was fired, and the whistle kept going till .the steam gave way. A PASSENGER'S ACCOUNT. Mr. Walter Bishop, representative of the New Zealand Sun, .favours us with the following resume of the catastrophe : — The Taupo left Auckland shortly before 5 o'clock on Monday afternoon, and and had a good run down the coast, with fine weather. She entered Taurantra Heads about a quarter to 7 o'clock on Tuesday morning against a strong ebb tide. When passing Mount Maunganui, and within 100 yards of Stonev Point Reef, the vessel struck heavily, and remained hard and fast. The engines were at once stopped, and in a few minutes the fires were extinguished in the engine-room by the influx of water. Anticipating serious injury to the vessel's bottom, immediate preparations were made to land passengers and mails. The boats were quickly lowered, and within 20 minutes all the passengers, mails, and a quantity of lusrgage had been safely placed ashore, whence they were conveyed to Tauranga by the Katikati. A subsequent examination showed that the vessel had apparently struck the ground immediately under the engine-room, which, with the middle compartments, are flooded to the floors. The fore and aft compartments are dry. Soundings indicated two fathoms all round the vessel at low tide. She is evidently hanging amidships on a shallow patch composed of big round boulders. The officers and crew were most energetic in their efforts to rescue the vessel from her unfortunate position, and great praise in particular is due to Mr. Garrard, the Chief Officer, for his prompt and unremitting exeritons while superintending the lowering of boats and landing of passengers, which was accomplished without any confusion. The accident is attributed to the vessel's head suddenly canting to shore when steering through the strong tidal rip at the most critical point in the rhannel. General sympathy is expressed for Captain Cromarty under circumstances which are considered purely accidental and unavoidable. ANOTHER ACCOUNT. A passenger describes the accident as follows : — I was standing on the forecastle with another gentleman as we entered the Heads. The vessel seemed to be going rather near the land, which we remarked to one another, and also that the rip appeared very strong. Suddenly the steamer struck violently against a rock, and appeared to lift under our feet. There was then a general lurch, and as I looked towards the helm, Avhich was forward also, I saw that the two helmsmen had let go the wheel. Both captain and mate were on deck. One of them shouted "Back her," but upon its be-

coming obvious that going astern would endanger our lives, cried "Stop her." The engine room now began to fill with water, and the mate, who was throughout conspicuous for readiness and precision, ordered all hands on deck. In an instant his words were obeyed, and the | boats rapidly let down. SaVe for a little excitement amongst the women,, the greatest self-control was exhibited by all who were on deck. The others, who were . summoned from their cabins, seemed rather nlarmed. Some of the ladies had hardly time to dress, and were compelled to go ashore en deshabille. After the women had been carefully landed, the men, some with luggage and some without, followed. The principal danger at this time (owing 'to the falling tide) was the ship canting. over. Wo remained on the Mount about two hours. THE ALARM IN TAURANGA. The alarm was given in Tauranga about a quarter past 7. by Mr. M'Kellar, who observed the Taupo letting off steam, and apparently aground. He immediately communicated with Mr. Commons, and in a few moments the s. s. Katikati had got steam up, and proceeded to the wreck. As she neared the Mount those on board could see that the passengers were ashore, and that an accident had eventuated. The launch took aboard and conveyed to Tauranga a number of people, the mails, and a quantity of luggage, arriving about 9:30 a.m. AFTER THE ACCIDENT. During the early part of Tuesday the Katikati was occupied bringing luggage, &c, from fhe wreck, and later the crew of the Taupo began discharging cargo into cutters. This took until Wednesday morning. The coal was then transhipped into the Sovereign of the Seas. ARRANGEMENTS ON BEHALF OF PASSENGERS. The s. s. Hawea, from the South, was due here this morning at 6:30 a.m., and was despatched for Auckland at once. She leaves again the same night, and reaches Tauranga on the following morning to take up the Taupo's passengers for the South. This expedition reflects great credit on the Company, who are evidently not easily posed. PARTICULARS GATHERED AT THE WRECK.

The following particulars were collated during yesterday from the chief officer's log-book and other reliable sources by a special reporter of this journal : — At 6.40 a-m. on Tuesday the Taupo rounded Moimt Mongonui ; the morning being fine and clear. The engines vere put to half-speed as a course was made for ihe red buoy on the starboard side, and shortly after passing the black buoy on the port side, the tide, or an eddy, caught her and carried her broadside towards the shore, and she immediately stiuck on the port side. She made first three bumps, then two more, as though she were going over a sharp point and being l'ipped up, and then stopped dead and began to fill, the water rushing into the stoke-holes and engine rooms. The engines were put full speed astern, but this was without effect, as the fires were out almost immediately, and in three minutes the engine room had four feet of water in it. The bumps were so slight that many of the passengers did not know anything was the matter. When they Avere ordered out they did not understand what it was for, and both captain and chief officer had to appeal to them to make haste and get on shore, as it was quite impossible to say whether she would cant over, or what she would do. In less than half-an-hour all the passengers were landed ; some few, however, remaining of their own accord to assist the crew. At this time the engine compartment was quite full, the fore compartment being quite dry, and the after one having seven inches of water in it. A gun was fired as soon after striking as was possible, and a reversed ensign hoisted as a signal of distress. When the passengers were safefy landed, the pump was shipped and kept going all the morning, and the mails and luggage were got out and placed in life boats alongside, in order that they should be safe in case of a capsize, or if, as was at one time feared, she broke her back, At Ba. m. the s. s. Katikati came alongside, arid the contents of the life-boats, as well as the remainder of the luggage, was placed on board of her, and the passengers brought 1 from off the shore. With them she proceeded to town. When the passengers were landed on the Mount one was desired to go round the rocks to the pilot-house and acquaint the pilot with the mishap, but he did not arrive until 7.30, three-quarters of an hour after striking. At 9a. m. a lighter came alongside, and all hands proceeded to dissharge cargo from the after hold, the men working: up to their middle in water. At 10 a. m. a boat was lowered and soundings taken all round the vessel, and a depth of from 13 feet to 18 feet was found in diffirent localities, but no appearance of a rock could be made out through the water. At 4 p.m. the depths were from 17 to 22 feet. At noon two life-boats were lashed together by means of a spar between them and on the spar was slung the bower-anchor, a 9-inch man ilia hawser being run out from the starboard quarter. The anchor was dropped some distance astern. At 2 p.m., no lighters being alongside, and all hands free they were set to work pumping and bucketing to keep the water down. It was found that the water gained two inches an hour, and it continued to do so until 5 p.m when it being then the top of high water, all cargo not already damaged being out, and there being evidently no possibility of floating her 1 , the compartment '^MUtted to fill. The crew, with labour from shore, were emyoyed in discharging from the foreWold, and keeping the fore compartments dry with the pumps. At 6 p.m. there were fourteen inches of water in the fore hold, and at 9 p.m. five inches. Pumping was then discontinued, and all hands employed in discharging until 11 p.m., at which time all cargo was out, but some damaged stuff in the after-hold, and a number of cases of tinned meats, which were allowed to remain under water. In all there were on board one hundred tons of cargo, of which ninety were saved. At 3 a.m. on Wednesday the water was rushing over the main deck to a depth of about 18 inches, it being four feet deep in the saloon. In the mornng coal was discharged from the fore-compartment, and saloon stripped of its fittings, the plate having been already sent on shore in a life-boat in tow of the Katikati. The Taupo is now lying about one hundred and fifty yards from the shore,

between the black buoy and the beacon, nearer to the latter than the former by some fifty, yards. The beacon ljed three points on her port bow, the black buoy two points on her port quarter, and the red buoy three points on her starboard quarter. She appears to be fairly in the channel for, a line drawn in continuation of her port side would clear both buoy and beacon by certainly forty feet, and if, as is asserted, deep water lies close to each of these, it is difficult to understand on what she struck. It is possible that a rock may have been displaced by the action of the water, and rolled into the channel, but no rocks are visible. The tide at the time of striking was two hours ebb. It has also been suggested that a sunken anchor may have been the cause of the disaster, for many of those onboard are of opinion, judging from ripping sounds made, that the vessel struck on a very sharp point. When sue first stuck she listed over to star- ! board but after a quantity of cargo Was discharged she moved her position, and listed slightly over to port, a3 she now lies, but had it been a rock on which she struck it would have had to go right through her bottom from port to starboard to allow her to list over to port. The engine-room, main and after holds are quite full of water at ebb tide, and the tide runs freely through, so that either the bulkheads separating the compartments have broken, or else other holes have been made in the bottom. She is severely strained right amidships, the deck planks having started where the staunchons support the main deck by the hatchway. The keel from abaft the fore-mast touches the ground, only the fore part floating. No view can be got of the hole or holes, and their shape, size, and exact position are at present purely conjectural. Beyond the slight straining amidships, do damage is visible to hull or rigging, but what has been effected by the water, and by the stripping. Judging from appearances there does not seem to be any possibility of floating her, but she may, perhaps, be hauled on shore. It certainly looks as though her head should be made fast to the shore, for if the wind were to blow her round towards the channel the vessel would sink right in the fair-way, and entirely block it up. As it is the position of the wreck will render navigation difficult to large vessels. It will be remembered that some months ago the Hawea touched something in exactly the same place, and a search was made by the Harbour Master and the Collector of Customs but nothing could be found. The chief officer of the Taupo states that he has frequently been much closer in than the present position of the wreck. INSURANCES ETC. The insurances on the Taupo are : — Hull (Home offices,) £10,000 ; Melbourne offices, £5000 ; South British (half re-insured), £6000 ; New Zealand Insurance Company, £1000 ; Colonial, £1000 ; Union, £1000 : National (unknown.) Cargo : New Zealand, £945 ; Union, £306.