AFTER 14 HOURS

Taranaki Daily News, 16 June 1931, Page 9

AFTER 14 HOURS

RESCUES FROM PARITUTU YOUTHS CAUGHT IN A CAVE SAULED TO. SUMMIT BY ROPE PERILOUS DESCENTS MADE After being isolated 14 hours in a rocky niche about 150 feet above the sea on the north-western face of Pari? tutu, Messrs. Deiiis H. Budd, aged-20, -and John Fitzgibbon,' aged 22, were rescued from their ■ perilous predicament by 8 o’clock yesterday morning. They were hauled up-separately 400 feet to safety- in '“bo'sun chairs”, brought * <lO wu on ropes by Mr. B. Stephenson, Many fruitless attempts had been made by Mr. Stephenson and others throughout the night before it was finally decided to wait till daylight. Those to whom particular credit is due are the members of the Taranaki Alpine Club, the officers of the s.s. Kini, the men of the s.s. Opihi, and a member of the> crew of the m.v-. Taupata. The rescuers - exposed themselves to grave peril; but fortunately nothing more than very minor injuries was recorded. Both youths are on the staff of the Bank bf New Zealand, Budd being stationed at New Plymouth and Fitzgibbon at Waitara. Neither appeared to be suffering ill-effects from his trying experience. Budd is a son of Mr. and Mrs. P. Budd, Hawera, formerly of New Plymouth, and Fitzgibbon is a son of Mrs. Fitzgibbon, Wellington. After the Daily News went to press / yesterday morning, the rescue operations were continued by two co-operat-jng partits, one on the summit and the other on . the flat ground near fishingrock quarry. The borough storage batteries mounted on the electric truck proved of immense assistance. Operated by Messrs. G. A. Corney and C. Phipps, they were connected up with flood lights, the effective range of which was, thus greatly increased. Part of the face'of Paritutu was- clearly lit and the rescue work greatly facilitated. Some time after midnight the party on the summit decided to lower the marooned men to the base of Paritutu and asked for volunteers to climb around the rocks above the sea. A party of nearly a dozen made the trip, three of the men taking with them- a battery and flood-light to supply light on the other side of a ridge that had to be negotiated. Later it was decided to bring the youths, to the top, however, and the ffien were. recalled.. One of them, Mr. Ibbotson, reported that a rock dislodged by the ’’bo’suns . chair ” above had struck him. on the head and another had hit leg. He was not injured seriously. '. Several others, had narrow escapes in this way. ■ ■

THE RESCUE FROM THE SUMMIT.

At about dusk on Sunday evening Mr. W/Kehoe, thief officer of the Kini, left for the top -with rope. ! Letting out 20ft. 'ip “30ft. pf rope, one end of which was fastened at the top, he . let himself down and, leaning over the side, searched the seaward face of the rock. At about- the same time Able. Seamen G. J. Williams and S. Adams, of the Opihi, climbed about half-way up Paritutu and then, leaving the beaten track, the two sailors made their way precariously around as near as possible to the seaward face. It was a dangerous climb in the Half' light, as the crumbling rock did riot give a secure \ foothold. i

About two hours after dark a large partv had assembled on the summit. Mr. Kehoe and Mr. R. W. Lovell, captain of the Alpine Club, superintended the operations, of their men and were joint- . ly in charge of the party. Prom, the Kini there also W. H. Deeble 3 leading hand, and Mr. J. MacDonald, chief steward. There were three A.B.’s from the Opihi, Messrs. G. J. Williams, N. Crichton and S. Adams, while Seaman V. Longey, of the motor vessel Taupata, was in charge of the life line. Among the first of the' Alpine Club party were Messrs. W. Groombfidge, N, Lealand, N. Wright, T. Wright, R. Allen, H. Pitt, S.. White, 0, Ambury and H. Anthony.. About 78 fathoms of rope, blocks and a “bo’sun’s chair” from the Kini were rigged,, and about 8 o’clock Mr. Williams entered the chair and was lowered down the north-west face. HO was down for about three-quarters of an hour, swinging over the sea and ", searching the dark face of the cliffs. He was . drawn back, and after a short interval, during which changes were made in the tackle, he went down again. During his descents he lizard shouts ' from the. lost youths, but was not able to locateexactly 'where' they- came', from. About 72 fathoms of rope was paid out. In; his second descent Mr. Williams went down •-♦further :-to the west..* At about 10.45 he' made his last descent, when he was down the cliff for about three-quarters of an hour. • This time he-went further to the west than before, and when he was a good way down he managed to work himself to-' wards the east with his feet. He left thei chair then and holding only to the life line which was attached to the chair, he'worked his'way further'eastward along a narrow ledge to' sec if he. could locate the shouts he had heard previ°UDescribing his descents, Mr. Williams gaid that much of the time he was just swinging helplessly in the air and could gain no foothold at all. It was very dark, and in the turniw* chair it was hard to fend off from the rocks, with the result that..he received a few bruises. After he had been down the third time he was “just about gone in kllces. ,, ' 4 * In the, interim -it was seen that more rope would be required so Mr. H. Anthony and two other members of the Alpine Club descended the hill, and after * struggle carried back about 30 fathoms of signal line and 30 to 40 fathoms of heavy 2|-inch mauilla. A further 60 fathoms of heavy rope was taken up with the aid of Mr. Lovell. NEW OCCUPANT IN THE CHAIR. Another seaman from the Opihi, Mr. N. Crichton, made the next descent, , which took place at about midnight. He went down at a position about midway between Mr. Williams’ second and third descents. During the three-quarters of an hour fie was down Mr. Crichton received a very severe buffetting on the sharp rocks. Describing his attempt, he said he was spinning practically all | the time. As he reached the top he said he thought it would be impossible to get the youths until daylight, even if they were definitely located. “It was all right when you got down there,” he-concluded',but you would not have a chance of bringing them up. It was eerie on the top of the tall rock at midnight. The . rain showers had ceased, .but it was wet and cold and slippery, and? when they were not pulling on the cold hempen ropes the 20 odd men hid ii:’t he line of Maori holes that stretch across the top. To- •- wards the east the .lights of the town

spread in a wide crescent, and nearer were the long streamers and shifting beams of the searchlights passing to and fro as tho watchers behind them scanned the rocks. There was no moon, but the pale starlight was sufficient to show the wide expanse of sea and the shifting white lines of foam that roared in to the base of the rock. Every now and then signals weie exchanged with the men below. As the night wore on it became colder, the wind freshening. Work on the rope was carried on to the . rhythmic nautical shouts of the sailors and the rather weird adaptations of the alpinists. Volunteers for the fifth descent were not lacking, but eventually it was decided that Mr. Ben Stephenson, who has had wide experience of climbing on Paritutu, should make the descent. He was let down over the north-west face, and after a hazardous experience was able to locate the trapped youths and asked them if they could hold out until daylight. “The first descent in the dark was not a nice sensation,” said Mr. Stephenson. “I did not know where 1 was going. It was like a black pit below and the dark cliff face stretching upwards appeared to be terribly high. The lights from the bottom did not reach mo as I Was descending down the side of a horse-shoe ridge. Every now ana then it 6 ee; cd as if I dropped into a flax bush, and then again I would be swinging' out beyond the clift ~}ce. - the time 1 was wondering whether the life line was being caught up. At about 2.30 a.m. it was decided that ..the whole party should to the bottom of Paritutu for coffee, and in about half an hour the members assembled at the Sailors’ Rest andl on board the Kini. Various, plans were discussed and it was agreed that to lower the youths to the bottom would be impracticable, as the tide had tun - ed, and it .was resolved that another “bosun’s chair” should be taken to the top and lowered with the rescuer. It four o’clock the whole party moved off an-ain for the summit, after mstructionsdiad been left with those in of the searchlights to play their lights on the descending chair. The man in tlio chair was to flash a torch light every now and then to show where he was, as the tiny shape of a man was 'quite invisible against the dark face of the rock. When the party readied the top the two chairs were bent on and a descent was made by Mr. Stephenson. THE NECESSITY FOR DAYLIGHT .- Referring to this descent he eaid he followed down the ridge but the line seemed to get caught on every rock on the way. with the result that it was very difficult to maintain communication with the crooked and,, jammed, line. On thia occasion-iie reached a spot about 300 feet from where the youths were sitting. The lights from the shore ■were a great help, and they illumined the ridge all the way. It did not seem possible' to reach thededge on this occasion, so he decided to" come back. It was then about 5.30 a.m. and it was decided to desist .until dawn, which was about an hour off, co the party on the top retired to the Maori holes. The south-west wind had risen and the rescuers were almost frozen. . . . Just before sunrise the chair was lowered away with Mr. Stephenson, who carried the . second .chair slung over his shoulder. A sign had been received from the bottom indicating the ridge on , which , the youths were situated. He went down, about 20 feet "below the ledge and coo-ecd, and they Looked, out from the ledge. He then returned upwards and was- again loweredover the ledge and drew Fitzgibbon into the chair. The pull up, though very even and almost mechanical, was rather hazardous, as the signal-line whs caught up, and the result was that Fitzgibbon, receivedr-slightscuts and. bruises . as .lie ; was drawn W '•• . tWrought fliirfgce. the same time Mr. R. Allen was lowered by a rope about 30 feet down from the top, where he assisted by clearing the signal rope. . ■■ ■ Shortly afterwards Mr. Stephenson •went down for Budd and was able to bring him safely to the top at eight o’clock. On this occasion Mr. R. Allen went down to the edge of the first fall and was able to keep the signal linp clear in a very effective manner. “After the first descent it was not so bad,” said Mr. Stephenson, “as I felt as safe as a house in the gear prepared by the sailors' I was wearing woollen gloves and did not get my hands skinned at all. In bringing, up the last man Mr. Allen was of great assistance in keeping the line clear. The gear gave me every confidence. I was roped in so that I could not fall out, ■ “The men at the top knew their job and knew exactly how to handle the rope, up and down. It was like machinery, absolutely right in speed and an even pull.” Mr. ' Stephenson already knew the ledge on which the youths were caught, as about three weeks before the death of t Mr. J. Scanlon on Paritutu he and Mr. Scanlon had climbed down the seaward face over the ledge. “The work . of the ‘upland climbers’ was wonderful,” remarked Mr. Kehoe, “and without them things -would have been very difficult.”

experiences of rescued men.

Having climbed Paritutu about 10 a.m. on Sunday and walked along the. beach towards Oakura, Messrs Fitzgibbon and Budd' returned in the afternoon and attempted to climb round. the seaward side of the rock. Their idea* was to investigate a number of . caves, but this was frustrated by the incoming tide. They could not proceed further; around tjhe'base and therefore began to" climb. Being‘without a rope, they found conditions difficult, but managed to get round the dangerous points, after tying themselves together with an improvised rope made from a pullover, a woollen scarf and some flax. To add to their difficulties Budd had an attack of cramp, arid darkness was approaching. They decided, therefore, to take shelter in a niche in the rock. Both youths seemed none the worse for their experience following their rescue to-day. Fitzgibbon had the back of his right hand lacerated when making the ascent with Mr. Stephenson. When spegking to a Daily News reporter yesterday morning immediately after their descent with the rescuing party, they expressed keen appreciation of what had 'been done by those who went to their;aid.

The platform on which they were lodged was about sft 6in long by 3ft wide, said Fitzgibbon. A protruding ledge of rock roofed them in. They were fortunate in attracting attention in the early evening. After that they settled down to pass the time as comfortably as possible. Their retreat was Snug, except for some inconvenience caused by a spring at the back of the ledge, but later they felt the cold. A piece of candle Served to give them light until-about 10 p.m., and they were able to while away the time by reading Stalky and Co. An attempt was made to light some gorse,, but this failed because the material was wet. : In the meantime they found some comfort in the facts that floodlights were being focussed on the vicinity of their cavelet and that efforts were being made to reach them. A very welcome interlude was the appearance of a torch 50ft above them; the bearer was to the left of them and found it impossible to reach them in the dark. Throughout the night the youths -took

half-hourly turns at keeping wateh. They heard some of the messages that were sent to them, including that which told them another attempt would be made at daylight. Of the 14 hours they were marooned, Budd found the most'trying' time , that during which he was left alone on the ridge while Fitzgibbon was being rescued. PREVIOUS ACT OF BRAVERY FESCUE OF CREW OF WILTSHIRE. PART PLAYED BY MR. KEHOE. Mr. Kehoe, chief officer of the Kini, who with Mr. L. Lovell supervised the rescue operations from the summit of Paritutu, took a very prominent part in the rescue of 103 of the Wiltshire’s crew when the vessel was wrecked off the Great Barrier on May 31, 1922. At the time Mr. Kehoe was a seaman aboard the Katoa. The crew of the Wiltshire had attempted to get lines ashore repeatedly by floating them on timber. The Katoa’s landing party, seeing these efforts, climbed down 100 ft of an almost sheer drop to the face of the cliff and scrambled out to reach the lines where heavy seas were breaking in a thunderous roar.' All were nearly overwhelmed by each wave, as they lay flat on the rock, clinging with lingers and toes. At last the line floated near, but was caught in the rocks. Seaman Kehoe plunged into the surf, secured it, and got back to the rocks, narrowly escaping being hurled to death on the rocks by the immense seas. The life-line was carried up the cliff to a precarious position and the heavier line, by which means the men were rescued, was drawn up.