The Missing Steamer Kakanui.

Southland Times, Issue 11652, 5 February 1891, Page 2

The Missing Steamer Kakanui.

RETURN OF THE G.S.S. HINEMOA. (By Telephone from our Bluff correspondent). The b. 3. Hinemoa was signalled as 18 miles off at 5 o'clock this (Wednesday) evening, and her arrival was anxiously awaited by those who had been made aware of her approach She made the wharf at 6. HO and immediately thereafter Captain Fairchild granted me an interview and communicated the following particulars : — Ou leaving the Hlutf on 23rd Jamiary, the Hinemoa went first to Port, Pegasus, from thence to Wilson's Bay, Sfswart Island, from there to the .Snares and thence to the Auckland Islands. A thorough search for the Kakanui was made at these places without result. At Stewart Island communication was had with the shore and parties seen were questioned as to whether they had seen or heard anything of the missing steamer, but no one had anything to communicate regarding her. At the Auckland Islands the depots were found intact and in good order, showing that no needy or distressed seamen had had occasion to touch them, as they would no doubt have done had any such called at the localities. From the Aucklands the Hinemoa proceeded to the Macquaries, and found at Mr Hatch's establishment Mr and Mrs Mellish. From them Captain F&irchild learned that the Kakanui arrived in. the offing on the 2nd of January and left again on the return trip on the following day. But although she would thus appear to have been about a day at the Macquaries she was actually only about half an hour off Mr Hatch's camp, and i spent the rest of the time at another part, or the other end of the island. Mr i Hatch's party consisted of Mr and Mrs Mellish and eight men, and as soon as the Kakanui made the landing these eight men determined to return in her, saying that if they once reached New Zealand they would take good care thty would never return to the Macquaries again, and they were accordingly taken on board and the Kakanui left as stated. Mr Mellish and his wife had refused to leave the island, and informed Captain Fairchild that they had endeavoured to persuade the eight men also to await the arrival of the Gratitude, of the early departure of which vessel from Invercargill they had information by letters from Mr Hatch sent by the Kakanui. They had plenty of flour, rice, and biscuits, and were quite comfortable and happy. They had (had no occasion to fear starvation as, besides the provisions already mentioned, there were pleuty of eggs and penguins to be got, and certain portions of the latter were capital eating. Mr Mellish had no anxiety in the matter of remaining on the island, where he had been for over a year, and was determined to await the arrival of the Gratitude and Mr Hatch as arranged. Two days after the Kakanui sailed a terrific westerly gale had beeu experienced at the island — the most severe that Mr Mellish had witnessed there. As an evidence of the force of the wind, some large casks of oil that were lying on the beach waiting shipment, were blown irom their position and rolled along the ground. A stout hut that had stood many a stiff breeze was also demolished. On leaving the islands the Kakanui was well down in the water, showing that she had evidently a considerable quantity of her stock of coal still on board. Captain Fairchild thinks that the Kakanui must have beeu caught in the gale shortly after leaving the island, when the coal, having space to shift in, would be an element of danger rather than otherwise, and that she has founded. Had she merely been disabled she ought to have made some port or other even under sail and been heard of before this; although, on the other hand, her sails, likethose of steamers in general, .night not be of much service to her in severe weather. Captain Fairchild says that at the Macquaries the barometer frequently falls nine-tenths below the lowest readings here, and that the gales in those latitudes are correspondingly heavier. Shortly after leaving the island on this voyage the Hinemoa encountered one of great violence, the most severe Captain Fairchild had had to contend with, even in these seas, during the past 13 years. He is of opiuion that the Kakanui should never have been sent on such a mission, as, although he says she was one of the finest little vessels of her kind in the colony, yet, at the game time, she was too small to make a voyage into mid • ocean, and to latitudes where gales of great violence are always occurring. He had remarked to the authorities of the Marine Department, when he knew that the Kakanui had gone to the Macquariei, "This is another job for the Hinemoa," meaning, of course, that she would have to go after her. He also expresses the opinion that if the Kakanui is knocking about in mid-ocean under sail she would not make for the BluT, but for one of the northern ports, such as Dunedin or Lyttelton, as if she had tried to come to the Bluff she would have too many currents and variable winds to contend with. The Hinemoa arrived at, the Macquaries last Thursday at 3 p.m., and remained all Friday, surveying, during that time, the islands. She left the Maequaries at 1 1 a.m. on Saturday and fetched the Snares on Monday morning. She searched there and then proceeded to search the islands off Stewart Islaud, but not a trace of anything appertaining to a ship was discovered. Two vessels were passed at the Snares when the Hinemoa was going down to the Maoquaries, but after that no sign of any vessel was seen. Captain Fairchild called in at the Aucklands when coming back expecting to find the Gratitude there but he saw nothing of her. The Kakanui was commanded by Captain Best, one of the best known shipmasters on the coast, and was owned by the Dunedin and Invercargill S.S. Co., of which Mr Keith Ramsay, of Dunedin, and Mr A. B. Campbell, of this town, are the principal shareholders and tnanagera. She was a vossel of about 59 tons, and was, as Captain Fairchild says, an admirable boat of her class. She had for this voyage a crew of ten, whose names have been supplied to us by Mr Campbell and Captain Sundstrom as follows: — viz., Captain Best, J. B. Eckhoff (mate), Charles Nordens (second mate), R. Stewart (engineer), John Sylverston, G. Ludman, and Peter Sands (A. B. s), W. Ressler (steward), Wm. Morgan, and Hugh McMillan (firemen). Mr James Stewart also went with her as a passenger, representing the Government, making eleven souls aboard when she left Invercargill The names of the eight men who were taken off the Macquaries, as furnished by Mr Frank Hatch, were — Henry Couzens, Charles Gamble, William Cowan, Henry Lewis, George Godfrey, Alex. Watson, William Dow, and Win. Ralph. The latter two were youths of about IS years. All, with one exception, were engaged in Port Chalmers, and belonged to that locality. Watson was at one time second mate of Mr Waterston's Circe, afterwards mate of the schooner Awarua, and joined the shore party in March last. His wire is reported to reside in South Invercargill, and a child has been born to them since he left home. There were thua 19 souls on board the Kakanui when she left the Macquaries. While there is only too much reason to accept Captain Fairchild'a opinion that the Kakanui has foundered, probably through shipping a sea which filled the engine room, extinguished the boiler fires, shifted the coal in the hold and left her helpless in the trough of the sea to fill and go down, there is room for just a faint hope that the cause of her non-appearance may be a break-down of the engines. Assuming the possibility of such being the case, and also that the vessel would probably be midway betweeu the Macquaries and Stewart Island when the gale burst upon her, " stranger thinga have happened at sea, " than that she has been sighted by some homeward bound ship and the crew taknn out of her. To show that 1 such a thing is more probable than most | landsmen will credit it may be stated that ' betweeu December 20th and January 6th 23 ships left ports on the southern seaboard of Australia for the United Kingdom, every one of which would almost certainly pass between the Snares and Auckland Island*, and therefore in the track of the Kakanui supposing her to be adrift helpless. But it must be admitted that the chances are against such a happy denommaU. (Pur Press Associate). Dunedin, Feb. 4. So far as can be ascertained the names of thou on board the i.«. {Ukanui are Captain

William Best, married with four children ; Captain Jacob Eskhoff, mate, married with six or seven children ; Charles Ericson, mate, married ; Robf rt Stewart, engineer, married— no children ; William Morgan, fireman, married, four children ; William Ressler, cook and steward, married ; George Ludwig, seaman, married, two children ; Charles Silvester ; another seaman, whose name is unknown, and a fireman, also tinkuown ; James Stewart, customs officer, son of Captain J. Stewart of the big dredge. The eight men taken off the island were C. Gamble, H. Couzens, A. Wataon, G. Godfrey, W. Dow, H. Lewis, and two lads named W. Cowan and W. Ralph. Couzena and Dow are Duntdin men, and Lewis was a fisherman at Port Chalmers. The Hinemoa 's news has cast quite a gloo.n over the-s^Uce. No one ever dreamt that the Kakanqj? could have made such a smart passage down. As to the statement that she was deep in the water, that can scarcely be correct as she only had about 65 tons of coal on board and about 25 tons must have been consumed on the run down. She ought therefore to have been in best possible trim. The news has greatly shocked Mrs Best, who is in ill health.