THE STORM AT LYTTELTON.

Southland Times, Volume VII, Issue 4, 4 July 1866, Page 2

THE STORM AT LYTTELTON.

A gale unparaUed for its duration and destructive effects in Lyttelton harbor and on shore, commenced on Friday morning, 29th June, to blow from the S.W. ; it continued to blow with great severity from 1 o'clock till 8 o'clock in the morning. The only casualties to record among the shipping were the foundering of the yacht Flying Mist at her moorings, and the barge Glasgow, laden with 40 tons coal ; she was on •shore near to the raUway wharf. During the morning the wind graduaUy freshened, and when the Tararua arrived with the English maU, the bad-weather flag was flying at the flag-staff belonging to the harbor master, and it was with great difficulty the watermen's boats could communicate with the steamer. Considerable delay was in consequence' experienced in landing the maU boxes. At times during the day there appeared to be a luU now and then, but the sky to to the S.W. foretold we should in aU probability have a dirty night. At 8 o'clock p.m. the wind increased, accompanied by smart showers of rain and haU ; by 10 o'clock a terrific gale was blowing, and it was difficulty passengers could traverse the town owing to its violence. The harbor authorities were on duty ready to render any assistance possible. Several of the smaUer vessels began to drag their anchors, and come in towards the town; but owing to the intense darkness of the night, it wa3 very difficult on shore to understand the extent of danger to which some of the vessels were exposed, and the efforts of those willing to assist were directed to those anchored near to the wharves. We beheve we are accurate in stating that the first vessel which came to grief was a schooner caUed the Streamlet, recently arrived with a cargo of stone and lime from Oamaru. She dragged her anchors from the centre of the harbor, and drifted inshore to opposite Mr Grubb,s boatshed. In her perilous course, she fouled a large whaleboat, the property of Mr Stamford, the contractor for bringing the maUs ashore. The ■master of the schooner Bays she stove him in, and on finding the water had got to the lime, the vessel took fire, nnd he had to run her on shore to save their Yves. She became a tola! wreck, and bias bec;i abandoned to the underwriters. She iB said to be insured in a Victerian office. It is impossible to record the disasters as they occurred - so we eupply the foUowing particulars, which may be relied upon : — The ketch Annie broke away from her anchors, and drifted on the rocks near the raUway works, 6taving in her side, and suffering other damage in the hull ; she is a total wreck : the hands were rescued with great difficulty by some men in the employ of Messrs J. T. Peacock ard Co. The fine barge .Alert was in great danger, and her foremast had to be cut away to ease her, and prevent her going on Bhore. The Ughter belonging to Mr Alfred Rhodes, and named the What You Like, was capsized at her moorings; she is very much damaged. A schooner, caUed the Brothers, broke away from her anchors, and drifted on to the breakwater, but got off again, and took the direction ot ths Heads; her crew seeing their danger took to the dingy, but found her without rowlocks or oars ; they drifted with the vessel down the harbor, and passing near the ship John Temperley, were rescued by the crew of the port officer's boat ; the dingy was fuU of water, and sank immediately afterwards. The fraU craft was cast upon the rocks in the smaU bay below GoUand's Bay, and it is feared she is a total wreck. She took in a cargo of timber, shingles, &c, from the barque Chrisna, on Friday. A ballast boat caUed the Blue BeU, was sunk in Dampier's Bay. The celebrated Deal boat known by the name of the Flower of Kent, was dashed to pieces against the new jetty. A boat used to supply vessels with water, and owned by a poor man named Duke, was destroyed. The barque Indus parted from her mooring off the *ca wharf, splitting one of the new pUes, and partly destroyed the Derrick crane belonging to Mr Cairn 3, the contractor for the screw-pUe jetty. She ?aved herself by grounding off the tramway. The brig Fawn parted from one of her cables, and waa in a very critical position off the RaUway Wcrls. The brig WUd Wave sustained very seri-u^ injury to her stanchions, bulwarks, &c. • she wa3 jammed alongside Peacock's Wharf, and could not be moved ; she has to some extent damaged the wharf by shaking the screw -piles, The schooner William received considerable aye to her upper works. The ships John -'King oc Italy, and David Brown, aU .air anchors a considerable distance ; in s was the case with every vessel afloat. * considerable damage was done to private •imneys were blown down, verandahs ed, and several roofs of buddings more or .ijured. TBy three o'clock the gale showed iT-toms that the worst was over, and the wind --.-div died away, and was succeeded by a fine ay." The harbor works have not escaped. iie and framework of the seawaU have given ay several feet to seaward. The breakwater at .Seer's Point was washed away for some disiiice, and aU the staging destroyed or washed out o sea. Independent of the damage done to the harbor works, breakwater, &c, the property de-rtroy-'.d will not faU far short of £6000.— LyttelAon Times. A rumor was circulated on Friday that the steamer Gundagai had foundered in the gale that blew on that day. The rumor arose from the fact of the officers of the Wanganui having seen a steamer's Ughts on their passage down, whichsuddenly disappeared and were not afterwards scon. They must, however, have been the lights of the Sturt, which came in after the Wanganui. There iB no reason for being anxious about the safety of the Gundagai, as we understand Captain Fairclnld of the Sturt tsaw her lying to, or anchored, under the shelter of Kapiti. — New Zealand Advertiser, 25th July. , . Through the enterprise cf tbo.- "Royal MaU Union Steamship Company, cays the Home Neivs, ft new steam route has been opened up with Xndia, China, aod Australia, via Plymouth and He Cape of Good Hope. The Company bave -itered into an arrangement with G-ovornmsnt /v:* the extension of the packet service from Mau* Y'tiaa to Ceylon, Passengers may, therefore, now rVvr-cH-eed in the Company's vessels* from Plymouth tsz to Point de Galle, where a junction ia formed srifc -be other regukr steam lines to India, "•hins... snd Australia. The advantages of thi» su-am communication to the commercial '^tsts of our South African colonies must bo uifcld, r-hile to the English traveUer, for busi- • or pleas-ire, it affords an ocean steasi paseage te Calcutta], Madras, Hong, Kong, Meland Mew Zealand,^ but a raoderrUe int'Jpe? xss-on the o cm-land lines, and pos<t pV"JS|S|gS etborvq?-**; WM tfef®'