MANUKA WRECK

Taranaki Daily News, 19 December 1929, Page 14

MANUKA WRECK

STORY OF THE DISASTER ■’ ■ . VESSEL IN HELPLESS PLIGHT LANDING ON LONELY COAST SCENES OF QUIET HEROISM

Dunedin, Dec. 17. The last has been seen of the Manuka as a seigoing passenger ship. When pressmen and photographers arrived at Long Point there was no doubt as to tho ultimate fate of the ill-starred vessel. Her stern was completely submerged,zbut at times it was possible to glimpse through the constant swell plain Indications of the havoc wrought by the pounding seas. The Manuka was lying on her side at an angle of approximately 30 degrees, with her bows almost clear of the water • and perhaps half of the port side of her hull showing. Every wave seemed to force her deeper into the water and each time the clouds of spray dispersed it seemed that there was less of her above sea-level. The; spray rose high above the foremast. !. With her funnel gone and her afterinast hard put to it to keep its truck above : the waves the vessel presented a sorry sight? Her bows, with every ebb of the tide, rose clear of the water, but every returning onrush brought , fresh destruction to the top-hamper. • In the small cove north of Long Point were ample evidences of tho destruction Wrought by tho waves. . The shore was . littered with wreckage of all descriptions, including what appeared to be the < personal effects of passengers, but large- - ly decking from the vessel, most of which was shattered.

’ The rocks, seem to have an unbreakable grip of the after-part of the ship, find while forward, eho responded to every vagary of the tide her stern reinained firm. It must therefore be only a matter, of time before she brsaks in two. .

v ANXIOUS AND TRYING TIME ,■■ ' ■ HIGH PRAISEI FOR THE CAPTAIN,. . PASSENGER TELLS THE STORY. '■ • ■ : •, ■. '<• Dunedin, Dec. 17. Two of the passengers by the Manuka, Miss Leona Hogarth, .and. Mr. -Leonard Doyle, arrived in Dunedin by motor-car at about 5.20' p.m. this afternoon. This ? is their first visit to New Zealand, whither they have come to take part in * theatrical tour afer a very successful season •xending over some eighteen jnonths in Australia. 1 When interviewed by a reporter short- . ly after their arrival here- they were \ cheerful,'.though they frankly admitted , that they had spent a very trying and , i hnxidus time, especially before reaching the shore.

, “The weather on tho trip up from Bluff was very dirty and Joggy,” said Mr. Doyle, whoso account was supplemented by Miss Hogarth, “and there was a very heavy swell on-the sea. ' “The disaster occurred at six- minutes to eleven, by which time practically all the passengers were in bed looking forward to an early arrival at Dunedin yes : terday morning. Tho vessel struck a rocky ledge, and fortunately she remained there, otherwise she would have slipped into very deep water and the results might have been terrible. “I was informed that the man on. the look-out called out ‘Rocks ahead!’ just before tho Manuka struck. Tho helmsman immediately signalled to the engineroom for full speed astern, but before .the order could bo carried into effect the vessel struck the rocks hard, and the order for full speed aheud was given immediately. Thanks to this bit of quick thinking and prompt action the vessel was kept on a ledge of rock.

“Th© behaviour of the officers and >rew was splendid. No time was lost Ln arousing the passengers and getting them on deck. This was done without any fuss, and 'so promptly was the work carried out that by 11.20 all the passengers were safely in the lifeboats. The action of the passengers is worthy of the highest commendation with the exception of one young woman, who was somewhat hysterical for a 'brief period. The best of "order prevailed, thus assistin'* materially in the rescue work. The men waited patiently until the women ■w-.o placed in the boats, the only exception being when males were called for to complete a boat’s complement in ortjcr to undertake the duties of rowing. “CAPTAIN WAS WONDERFUL.” • “The captain was wonderful; ho was here there and everywhere, exercising a very close supervision and doing his best to cheer the passengers . “I must admit I did not realise the r C prioh«nes3 of the position at first,” conf tinned Mr. Doyle, “but when I saw the L- Htokehold staff on. deck and realised that tlicV hud been driven away from their 1 cfs bv the inrush of water, it dawned !,■ ■ ->,.. c d?ntely that something ■

very serious had happened. By the time the passengers were ready to leave it was apparent the vessel was in a bad way. By 11.20 p.m. eigtht lifeboats were full and clear of tho ship. Tho only people then left on board were the captain, two officers and the wireless operator, who remained on board till the very last minute, eventually having to jump in'o the sea to save their lives. Before he left his post tho wireless operator sent out a farewell message of “Goodbye and good luck.” Ono of those on board was a baby in arms, who said, ‘Get mo into that little boat, mamma.’ “By tho time tho' passengers arrived on the deck tho. Manuka had a-heavy list, and it was impossible to launch the boats on tho port side. The passengers were let down to tho boats on tho starboard side, but after some difficulty tho crew managed to launch a boat on the port side. Wo were in the boat which was under the control of the third officer (Mr. Meatyard), who was particularly courageous and cool. When we left the ship we set out to And a landing place if possible. With the rest of the boats we went down the coast for a mile and

returned at about 1 a.m.. just as the ship was sinking. As she plunged back into deep water a column of steam and smoke issued from the boilers and engine room. Tho radio operator was signalling for us to save tho captain and himself. We started to comply with the request, but just then they jumped overboard and another boat which was near the stern of tho Manuka picked them up. The masts of tho steamer crashed when she slipped back and just. missed our boat. “Although there was an entire absence of confusion on board, the preparations for departure from tho Manuka were necessarily hurried and there was no time to stand on ceremony. All the passengers loft with only the clothing they stood in and many of tho women had only their nightdresses on, being without even stockings and shoes. Miss Hogarth was one of the more fortunate passengers, as she had time to dress completely aud even to don two pairs of stockings, one of which she subsequently handed over to a less fortunate sister.

Mcatyard went round all the boats and told the. occupants where to_ land. We started for a stretch of beach’ about a mile down the coast at 1 o’clock, but the tide against us was so strong that we did not get there until p o’clock, although each boat was manned by six oars. Some of . the ladies gallantly help.cd in tho arduous work- of pulling. As the hours went by the nerves of all concerned began to suffer, and towards the finish strenuous exertion was impossible, with the result that little headway was made. During the hours of darkness • the boats kept in touch with each other by means of vocal calls.

the first boat landed at 5 o’clock and all the others except one reached the shore between five and six o’clock. One boat went astray, but the captain went out about 7 o’clock and brought it safely to shore. After we landed big fires were lighted and we were delighted to sit round them and enjoy their warmth after our unenviable experience. A man named Mr. Calder, who resides near Long Point, ■where w'e landed, was a ‘prince.’ He did everything he possibly could for us, and in addition to providing us with welcome refreshments he placed at our disposal'a generous supply of dry clothing, which was extremely welcome. The people of Owaka were marvellously kind, and we cannot\speak too highly of what they did for us considering the dramatic suddenness of the disaster and tlie rapid sequence of events. The escape from serious injury was remarkable, as only one man, whose leg was cut rather badly, was hurt. A large proportion of the passengers consisted of elderly men and women, and naturally they found the experience a very trying one. - “After landing we had to traverse two or three miles over sheep , paddocks, and the journey was such a hard one that the elderly people, and especially the unfor-

tunato women in bare feet,, had difficulty in completing it. There were two whippet dogs on board; one has been accounted for, but when we left for Dunedin it was not know’n whether tho other had got ashore or not. Apart from this the loss of life seems to have been confined to a parrot. An aeroplane circled over the stranded passengers about 9 o'clock yesterday morning and dropped a message conveying the information that a special convoy of motor-cars was on its way to carry them nearer their destinations. Tho twelve artists in tho company which is beaded by Miss Hogarth and Mr. Doyle lost everything they possessed, but fortunately tho properties required for the opening production, “The Family Upstairs,’ can bo replaced locally. A largo proportion of the equipment required was not shipped by the Manuka, and will arrive by a later boat. The members of the company suffered a serious loss in the way of personal effects, which .they have been collecting, in tho course of their tour, including some valuable gems which were highly treasured.

Mr. Doyle lost s »ie valuable papers [ connected with property at Home. In j conclusion Mr. Doyle said this was his] first visit to New Zealand. His entry , was-quite dramatic, even though it was unrehearsed, but'he could not say that he had any desire for an “encore” of'this description.

ARTIST’S SERIOUS LOSS PICTURES AMONG CARGO. COLLECTION VALUED AT £25,000. Wellington, Dec. 17. A-ste ward who bi ought in tea to Mr. E. Murray Fuller, the well-known New Zealand painter, on board the Maunganui this morning, also brought the artist some bad news when he told him of the' wreck of the Manuka. Some months ago in England Mr, Fuller selected pictures by famous presentday British artists'arid after showing about one-third of them in Melbourne some five or six weeks ago he consigned them by the Manuka for exhibition in the Wellington Art Gallery early in the new year. Save for a hundred, which were sent direct to Wellington, the whole collection, valued at £25,009, is now lying in the water in the hull of the Manuka. . “Many of the. painters are my personal friends,” said Mr. Fuller, “and helped me to make the selection. The pictures were the best samples of their work. A. number of them were hung in the Royal Academy this year and some have not been exhibited before. They were all very beautifully framed and took nine months to collect.” Amqncr the pictures lost were two oils by William Orpcn, “Resting on the Somme, 1918,” and “Night,” four oils and two water colours by the famous woman painter, Dame Laura Knight, whose studies of stage life are so well known, oils by Sir George Clausen, Sir David Murray, and Arncsby Brown, possibly the best of English landscape painters. H. H. la Thaugue contributed two oils, “A Provencal Forecourt” and “Sussex Meadows,” and the New Zealand painter, Sydney Thompson, was also represented. Harold Knight, Lucy Kemp-Welch and Harry Watson were other artists whose works had been gathered in to make a thoroughly representative collection of contemporary British art, and there were also etchings by Brangwyn, Nevinson and Dame Laura Knight. In spite of. his great misfortune, for he brought out the collection at his own expense, Mr. Fuller, whose last exhibition in 1928 is still pleasantly remembered, intends to show the hundred pictures which fortunately came direct to Wellington early in the new year. All the pictures brought out by Mr. Fuller were for sale, so in many cases the opportunity to acquire unusually fine specimens of noted artists’ work has been lost to New Zealanders.

HOSPITALITY AT OWAKA SCANTILY CLAD VISITORS. FOOD AND CLOTHING FOUND. Dunedin, Dec. 17. ' On hearing of the unfortunate plight of the shipwrecked folk the residents of E.ilclutha and the Owaka districts rose nobly to the occasion; Under the leadership of Captain and Mrs. Stone, of the C'lutha Corps of the Salvation Army,a committee was hastily formed and giftg.of clothing, boots and blankets, as well as offers of practical assistance, flowed in, so that when the first batch of passengers arrived in Owaka they found awaiting them warm, dry clothing and abundant hospitality. In Owaka it seemed, in fact, that every householder had thrown open his doors to the sufferers. The tradespeople and boarding-house proprietors were equally generous and did everything in their power to lessen the discomfort of the constantly-arriving and scantilyclad passengers.

No sooner was the position realised than practically every motor-car, bus and lorry within a radius of miles bf Owaka was off along the dreadful clay road which leads to Long Point, and although the owners knew what they would experience, they gave their services and the use of their cars willingly and brought load after load into Owaka. The first batch to arrive came by lorry and arrived at 11.30 a.m. They were at once billeted among the townspeople and at intervals varying from half an hour to an hour other cars came in, their mud-plastered wheels and bodies showing the struggle they must have had to get through. The last car load arrived in Owaka about three o’clock in the afternoon. In spite of their harrowing experiences of the previous 10 hours the passengers on the whole were wonderfully cheerful, but it was evident that one and all were pleased to reach civilisation, the comfort of a fire and a hot meal.

Traces of the trying time through which they had passed and the haste

with which they had had to leave the ship were very apparent. A great number were clad only in pyjamas, with only a ship’s blanket to give a little additional warmth. Before leaving Owaka, however, all had sufficient clothing to make them at least presentable and to .keep them warm, although many of. the ensembles could not be said to conform to the orthodox methods of costuming. Several members of the crow, clad in some instances only in a singlet and trousers, also reached Owaka, and were fed, clothed and looked after until tjie train, left. Practically all Owaka assembled on the station platform to say farewell to their unexpected guests.

i' WARM THANKS TO RESIDENTS. Jrst as the train was about to leave, Mr. R. S. McKenzie, of Christchurch, on behalf of the passengers, made a brief t speech, and thanked the townsfolk of I Owaka for their kindness and hospital- ; ity. 7 Mr. Wyrley Birch, of the American arid English Comedy Company, also spoke, “I am not a New Zealandfer,” he said. /“I am an Ariierican, and on behalf of other American passengers I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Never before had he seen such friendliness and hospitality as had beer extended to them that day. He would never forget it, and when he returned to America he would not forget to tell everyone about it. - Mr. Birch also paid a tribute to the behaviour of the captain, officers and crew, and characterised the coolness of the captain as amazing. “I was on the, last boat with the firemen,” he eaid, “and-1 want to say that I have never met a finer bunch of boys. Their utter disregard, of danger, their cheerfulness and their willingness to help everyone made one wish to shout out aloud, ‘God bless British seamanship.’” Mr. T. McGinness responded on behalf of the Owaka folk, and said that while they were not looking for shipwrecks it had done them all good to see the way the passengers stood up to their trying experiences. The train stopped at Balclutha, where again the wonderful hospitality of the country folk was made evident. Large tables had been erected on the platform, and about 50 women of the town weie in attendance with tea, cakes, hot pies and even steaming fried fish.

MANUKA’S LONG CAREER. RUNNING FOR 2G YEARS. The Manuka is a sister ship to the Union Company’s steamer Moeraki, which recently underwent an extensive overhaul at Auckland and is now m the Sydney-Fiji service. Both vessels are of the same dimensions, but the Moeraki’s grass tonnage is 4421, or 113 tone less than that of the Manuka. They were both built by Messrs. W. Denny and Bros.. Dumbarton, the Moeraki in 1902 and the Manuka in 1903. During her 2(> years of sea service the Manuka has been engaged mostly in the Melbourne-New Zealand passenger service, but occasionally she has relieved in the Sydney-Auckland run. Her last visit to Auckland was in February, 1927. Since that date she has been running a one-stcamer service between Melbourne, Wellington and South Island ports. On December 30. 1925, thg Manuka caught fire while lying at the wharf at Dunedin, and her passengers for Wellington were transhipped to the Mararoa. Practically no structural damage was caused to the vessel, but four prize rams from Melbourne were. smothered by the smoke. They were insured for £BOOO and were to be transhipped at Wellington for the Argentine. A number of cases containing motor-cars were charred by the flames.; The vessel carried a crew of 10G all told, and had accommodation for 3GO passengers. Captain Ross Clark w as. in command and he had with him the following officers: Chief, Mr. A. T. Adams; second; Mr. E. G. Meatyard; third, Mr. C. R- Carlyon • fourth, Mr. A. S. Smith; chief engineer, Mr. E. A. Griffith; sec-

ond, Mr. K. J. McLeod; third, Mr. L. V. Jellyman; fourth, Mr. J. Chambers; fifth, Mr. D. Gibbs; sixth, Mr. H. A. Amos; seventh, Mr. D. J. McKenzie; purser, Mr. F. S. Hamlin; wireless operator, Mr. J. Staimage; chief steward, Mr. R. H. Burns.