WRECK OF THE STEAMER WILLIAM MISKIN.

Timaru Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 281, 5 February 1868, Page 2

WRECK OF THE STEAMER WILLIAM MISKIN.

We regret exceedingly having to record the total wreck of the screw steamer the William Miskiu, Captain Bain, which took place early yesterday morning on the beach about one and a half miles north of Timaru. The William Misfein has only of lato been put on the Timaru and Duuediu trade, being formerly employed on the West Coast, where she hud one or two narrow escapes from wreck having been ashore there on more than one occasion, but was fortunate enough always to escape with but little material damage. Yesterday, though, her usual goodfortune deserted her, for she now lies not only a total wreck, but ovory portion of her hull, spars, and rigging are literally smashed to atoms. The William Miskin made her appearance m the Timaru roadstead early on Sunday morning from Duuedin with passengers and a miscellaneous cargo, from twelve to fifteen tons of goods. The passengers were early that day put ashore, and the steamer lay at her usual anchorage waiting to discharge on Monday. Sunday was a fine, calm day, but the weather towurda evening looked threatening, there being heavy masses of cloud to seaward. On Sunday evening about eight o'clock it commenced to rain with wiud from the south-east. It rained heavily all night, aud early on Monday morning the wiud increased m violence raising a heavy sea. About 10 a.m. on Monday, the Miskin was observed to anchor further to seaward from the berth she had uulil then occupied. She was riding by a single anchor with about sixty fathoms of chain. The wind aud sea still increasing, a second anchor was dropped at about half-past ten o'clock. Between three and four o'clock m the afternoon seas commenced to topple over the vessel, and with every sea something or other was washed off the deck, till at last when she commenced to drag, the eteaxner's deck was almost clean swept — water casks, gangways, oil locker, waterelosets. galley and life-boat having all disappeared} The officer m charge, the first mate, (Captain Bain being on shore) had from 6 p.m. on Monday till 1-30 a.m. the following morniug kept the vessel under a full head of steam head to sea, but at that hour the steam failed, the constant seas pouring over having extinguished the fires. Just before the fires were put out, a heavy sea swept the deck, washing overboard one of the sailors, a man named John McDonald. At that time the crew were busily engaged m baling out water from the engine-room, as the pumps then were found useless. Even if all hands had not been bo engaged, it would have been impossible to have saved the poor fellow, as the sea was far too high to have rendered any effectual aid a Soon after 1.30 the steamer began to drag, and at half-post two o'clock the mate perceived that both cables had parted. On finding the steamer drifting hopelessly, and entirely at the mercy of the waves, the mate ordered the topsail and jib to be set to keep her steady and end on to the land. In an hour and ahalf after the cables had parted, the steamer took the ground within a few yards of the rocky promontory on Mr Belfield's property. Had the unfortunate vessel struck the rocks, a great loss of life must have ensued, as the rocks and cliffs behind them rise perpendicularly and would give but little chance of escape ; as it was however, the Miskiti was thrown almost high and dry on a shelving sandy beach, and all hands, to the number of twelve, without the least difficulty got on dry land. Immediately on striking, the steamer commenced to break up, and she was actually broken m two when the last man to leave, the second steward, jumped from her shattered deck on to terra firma. The men at once made for Mr Belfield's house, which is quite, close to the scene of the catastrophe, where they were hospitably received, and soon after they left for Timaru. We barn that at the time the officer m charge shifted the steamer's position, at 8 o'clock on Monday morning, no danger was then apprehended, as, although the barometer was low and filling, yet the storm glass on board the Miskin gave no indication of the approachingtempest. On this false security the mate rested, for there cannot be a doubt if he had gone to sea, all would have been well,

and we should not now have to deplore the loss of the steamer. At that hour there was nothing to prevent the mate putting to sea, neither wind or sea were sufficiently high to make the attempt at least dangerous, but afterwards, a few hours later it became impossible, and the steamer had to trust entirely to her cables. We hope that an inquiry into the cause of the wreck will be made, for it seems to us that with a little exercise of fore* thought the Bad catastrophe could have been averted. beach from Whale's creek to the rocky promontory above alluded to, presented a melancholy scene yesterday morning, the entire length being strewn with fragments of the broken-up vessel — iron plates, cabin furniture, parts of doors, planks, tea, chests, bits ofpassengers' luggage, tins of kerosine, 6c., dec, all m inextricable confusion. Of the Miskin itself nothing remains but the boilers standing upright m the sand, with a small portion of the Teasel's bows ; everything has been clean washed out of her. Not a vestige of a deck, or an atom of wood work is there — all is completely destroyed. Along the whole length of the beach where the remnants are thrown up, we found dotted here and there dead sheep and other animals. At first it was supposed they formed part of the vessel's cargo, but on enquiry we find they must have been washed down the Pareora or the Opihi riven, accounts of the losses sustained by stock-holders on the banks of those rivers having reached us. The wreck was visited yesterday by many hundreds of people, to whom the sight of » wreck has been, fortunately, hitherto but of very rare occurrence m or near Timaru./