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FURTHER DETAILS.

October Ist.

At the inquiry at Wellington into the sinking of the steamer Port Kembla oft" Cape Farewell on September 18tb, Mr I*. S. K. Macassey, who appeared for the Marino .Department, said:— .

' "On Wednesday, September 12, at 6.15 p.m., the s.s. Port Kembla left Breakwater Pier at Williamstown, Victoria, bound for London, via Wellington and Panama, with a crew of 59 -hands all told. The vessel was fully laden with frozen produce, wool, skins, tallow, jams, lead, and general cargo. There was also on board a mail for New Zealand consisting of 270 packages. I The draught of water leaving Williamsi town was 22ft 2in forward and 24ft llin aft. Fine weather was experienced, with moderate westerly winds and moderate seas. At 2 p.m. on Friday, September 14, wireless instructions were' received from Sydney to proceed orir the voyage to Wellington. On Monday night, September 17, Kaurangi Light was picked up and passed at a distance of 19 miles at 11.55 p.m. The course was then set for Farewell Spit light, to pass about four miles off Captain Jack j was on and off the bridge until 0.50 a.m. on September 18, when te saw the loom of Farewell Spit Light. He ■ then came down and entered the chart i room, and afterwards his cabin. Ho was just about to sit down when ho [ teard a terrific explosion. He immediately rushed to the bridge, where ho met Mr Churton, the second officer, who was- on watch. William Donald, A.8., was at the wheel, and John Rogers was on the look-out in the crow^s-nest on the foremast. Mr Gard was in charge of the wireless. The captain rushed to the bridge, where he met Mr Churton, who said, 'A bomb has exploded forward.' The captain gave orders for the helm to be put hard to port and lead S.S. for the land. The captain then ran to the wireless room, and ordered the operator to send out the S.O.S. signal. At the same time orders were given for the lifeboats to be swung out. The captain went on the bridge again, when Mr Churton informed him that the compass was shatj tered by the force of the explosion. The engines were then stopped and everyone ordered to stations to swing out and lower the lifeboats. Mr Gard, the wireless operator on watch, and Mr Haslem, senior operator, were also there, and tried to send off the message, br.t they could not do so as the aerials [ had been carried away by the force of the explosion. The carpenter was ordered to sound forward, and Mr Fletcher, chief officer, met him at No. 2 hatch, and he reported Bft of water in No. 1 hold; No. 2 was dry. Mr Fletcher reported that No. 1 hatches were blown off and cargo strewn around the decks. The ship had now listed heavily to starboard, and the foredeck was awash.

"Both lifeboats were now in the water, and all the crew as far as could T>© ascertained were on board the boats. The captain gave orders for the second officer to go into the starboard boat, and the boats to pull away from the ship, and stand by at a safe distance. The captain then went aft as the water came-along the decks. The starboard side was now under water from forward to about amidships. The captain worked his way afte. He met Mr Fletcher, the. first officer,' and Mr Samms, the third officer, but, as the vessel had listed heavily to starboard and the water was washing along the deck to No. 4 hatch, it was decided to abandon the ship. The captain, Mr Fletcher, and Mr Samms jumped overboard; and swam towards the boat 3. The oaptaiH and officers were taken into the "boats, and it \vas decided to head towards the loom of Kaurangi Light, which could ho seen at times between the rain squalls. ■:■ The seamen were pulling constantly until 6.30 a.m. on Septenvber 18th, when they were res cued by the s.s. Regulus, and brought to Nelson.

"As to the cause of. the explosion, I think ifc will be established beyond any doubt that the explosion was an internal one, and was not an external explosion, lor the following reasons: —The explosion took place in the No. 1 hatch, in which there were frozen rabbits in open crates in the lower hold and between decks, and under the shelter deck forward cases of jam, wool, and skins. No. 1 hatch was blown-off, and a seaman called Horsford, who was sitting on the hatch at the time, found himself lying on the starboard side of the ship, with cases of jam, which were blown up on deck out of No. 1 hold. The explosion was a very heav yreport, and the shock caused the ship to shake from stem to stern. Several hatches blew off the starboard side of the No. 1 hold, and several cases of cargo, Jam. etc, blew out of the hold on to the deck. A large quantity of smoke was coming; out of the No. 1 hold, and also from the ventilators on the forward deck on the starboard side. The second officer will say that he smelt fumes, as he thought, of sulphur, which came up and affected him so much that~he. was sick when in the boat, and the man at the.wheel will say that his mouth was all blistered with these fumes. There is the following evidence against the theory that the; explosion was caused externally: The'hatches on I\ To. 1 hold were blown off; the cargo in the hold was blown up through the hatches on to the deck;" smoke was seen coming out of the hatches-and out of the ventilators ; the smeli o.f sulphur came straight up to the bridge, and affected the second officer, and also .Rogers, the look-out man in the. crow's ne. et on the forward, mast; the wireless appara-i fus" was- 'affected and the compass; smashed; and there was no volume ot'i water- thrown up. inuj the air, as one would expect if tlie .explosion was due to a floating mine or other external cause." - :\ .

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TC19171017.2.38.14.5

Bibliographic details

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14539, 17 October 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)

Word Count
1,032

FURTHER DETAILS. Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14539, 17 October 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)

FURTHER DETAILS. Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14539, 17 October 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)