THE LOSS OF TIE STEAMER CATHERTHUN.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XXVII, Issue 8198, 10 August 1895, Page 2

THE LOSS OF TIE STEAMER CATHERTHUN.

DETAILS OF THE DISASTER, (Per Press Association.) Sydney, August 9. • An intense snuation is caused in the city by the loss of (he Catherlhun, accentuated by the uncertainty as to the fate of the missing people. Tho weather for the past day or so has been boisterous, and an angry sea was rnnning when the steamer left Sydney, Owing to tho isolated part of the coast where tho wreck took place very litt e intelligence is yel to hand. The survivors were very mnch exhausted when they reached land. No accounts have been received from them, The vessel must have been somewhat south of the lighthouse,as the keoper dd not see her. The tug just returned reDorts a high sea and no sign of the vessel or boats. She bad eighty-one on board all told, Accounts are conflicting as to the : number saved. i It is variously stated as 22 and 25, but , the latter is certainly the limit. [ Several coastal steamers passed Sdal ' Rocks during the day, and their arrival is anxiously awaited here to-night in the almost forlorn hope that they may have picked up a boat,

LIST OF THOSE'SAVED. The passengers saved are: Dr. Cope* man (of London), Capt. Fawkes (piiol), and Mr Crane, an official of the Eastern Extension Company. Thespot where the survivors landed is I twenty miles /rom Seal Rocks. SOME OF THOSE MISSING.

Amongst the missing are Mrs Hfiihias, wife of the Captain of a steamer trading in Chinese waters, who was formerly connected with Money Wigrams'Australian" Steamships, Dr. Anderson,' ship's surgeon, and a young Victorian doctor named Smith, who joined the ship at the 4asc moment. The hull was insured in London. The general cargo was insured for between £20,000 and £30,000. Those chiefly interested are Derwent, Tawan and Co., Canton, and' the China Traders' Society. There was £10,000 in specie on board. £5,000 was shipped at Adelaide, and the rest belongs to Chinese passengers. The goM was insured. There was one bag of mails from Wellington, and too from the Bluff.. Later. • Crane remained in the cabin to within a minute or two of the steamer foundering, when he went on to the poop and remained 20 minutes in the water before f beine picked up.Dr. Copeman was in the starboard cutter when she washed away. He^ clung to a spar, and then dropped into" the water, till picked up by the lifeboat. After examining the wreckage the ' lifeboat proceeded lo Charlotte Bay, • where a- trading cutter conveyed them to. Cape Hawke, ; Langfear, who was in charge of the i bridge, refuses to make any statement. ; i • After striking, the steamer continued her course for some distance. _ .; .It is supposed she struck a sliding [ blow on the e(k'e of the outer reef,-and : the'rocks ripped open her side, and sheswung off at a tangent and went ahead , till she filled with water, Off the outer rock there is a depth of 25 fathoms. ' - ! The.Mararoa, which arrived at 1120 [ o'clock last night, saw nothing even t'6 ' indicate.that a disaster had occurred, LATEST PARTICULARS.

, The tugsbavereturnedafter thoroughly searching the vicinity of the wreck for miles along the coast. They picked up a cutter belonging to the Catterthum, Beyond this there was no trace of the missing , people or wreckage. The survivors are doing well. Among the Chinese passengers .was a widow and four young children. Smith a passenger by the Catherthun was late • navigating lieutenant of the warship, Wolverine. He was going to China to seek amployment, and leaves a widow and son in Sydney. The Chinese passangers included a Melbourne merchant connected with the firm of Wing Tye arid Co., . going to China on pleasure. Captain Shannon's wife is completely prostrated; - ; Great praise is given to the Chinese crew for the way they stood to their posts and worked in the face of alinst insurinount" able difficulties to get the boats out. The National Shipwreck Society has taken in hand the task of relieving any distress caused by the wreck. _ l • Salvage operations will dep r nd on the depth of water over the vessel. If she foundered on the seaward side of < the rocks if is considered the depth will be too great to. permit of a diver working, but if the vessel was carried towards shallower water there will be a possibility of recovering the mails and the more valuable portion of the cargo. The underwriters await a report from the second mate. The Marine Board will begin an enquiry as soon as the survivors reach Sydney, where they are expected 10-morrow. ; ' Wellington; This day. The m il of August Ist for Hongkong, and the Bluff mails of July 20th and 29ih for the same place, were on board lha Catherthun.