THE ELINGAMITE TREASURE.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12906, 21 February 1906, Page 3

THE ELINGAMITE TREASURE.

UNSUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION. ("Auckland Herald.") Since the steamer Elingamite was wrecked* on the Three Kings Islands on November 9th, 1902, several attempts have been made to recover the consignment of specie which formed the most valuable portion of the cargo. The latest effort in this direction, and the last, it may safely be predicted, that will ever be made, is that undertaken during the past week by the party headed by Mr A. M. Gow, of Wellington, who had engaged Mr Leig'j, a skilful and experienced diver, and a complete and up-to-date plant was procured for the occasion. The Pelican reached the scene of the wreck on Monday morning. At daybreak on Tuesday morning, n start was made with the actual work of the interesting undertaking. The Pelican, by skilful seamanship, was moored over the wreck, and Mr Leigh, having his equipment in readiness, lost no time in making his descent. What remains of the wrecked steamer lies in 95ft of water, but Mr Leigh had no difficulty in getting down and making his search. His equipment included an electric submarine lighting plant, but, owing to the unexpected clearness of the water, he found that it was not necessarv tp use the light. He was thus able to proceed with his inspection satisfactorily. He made five descents, and thus obtained the necessary changes of position. He was thereby enabled to make a complete survey of what remains of the wreck. The story of what Mr Leigh saw. as told by himself to a "Herald" reporter shows that very little is left of the uuforunate steamer, beyond the fragments of the main body, resting on a rockv bottom between the two ledges of rock on which the steamer settled. The vessel is now completely shattered, " and." said Mr Leigh, "if she had been burst up with explosives she would not have been a greater wreck." At this point the action of the sea is very powerful, and there is a tremendous backwash, which has had the effect of breaking up all except the .most solid portion of the hull and machinery. Mr Leigh states that, with the exception of the engines,- which are lying on their side, no portion, of the wreck is more than 3 feet above the bed of the shelving rock. One of the boilers, on which Mr Leigh was standing during his explorations, now presents an egg-shaped form, and, judging from its condition, he is of opinion that iit must have exploded. The other boiler is flattened out. In the steel plates of the port bilge, which came into contact with the rock when the steamer struck, Mr Leigh found large gaping holes, through which he said he could have walked, and on looking at these he could' not but wonder that the steamer did not sink much sooner than she did. "And did you find no sign of the gold aud silver?" " Absolutely none; all trace of it has disappeared. The coins were in wooden boxes, enclosed in an iron tank or strongroom. This was situated on the starboard side, -where it could catch the full force of the sea. I located the spot where the tank had been, but the tank, as well as the coins, have entirely disappeared. I made a careful search amongst the wreckage, but I was unable to discover even a single coin to hand on my watch chain. The treasure which is worth more than £17,000, has evidently been swept down the shelving reck into deep water." During his inspection of the vessel Mr Leigh noted that the lever of the engines was standing " full speed ahead." The evidence at the inquiry, it will be remembered, was to"the effect that when the order "fullspeed astern" was given the engines were reversed, but that after making half a revolution, they stuck fast and could not be made to move again". It was further stated, in the course of the evidence of the engineers, that when the engines refused to move astern they were full-speed ahead again, this being the position in wbjeh, as already stated, the lever was found bv Mr Leigh. Mr Leigh states that the bow of the Elingamite bears only, a slight dent as the result";of the first contact with the rock ledge 'from which the vessel slid back, and was carried on to the rocks hearer shore, which sealed her fate. Mr Leigh is of the opinion that had the engines worked astern as the steamer was sliding back after touching the first rock, she would have escaped disaster. Although unable to find the lost specie the diver did not return empty-handed, from his visits to the wreck. In a protected corner of the port bilge alongside the engines, he discovered a number of tools, etc., and he has brought several of these away as souvenirs of the expedition. The collection consists of a number of gauge glasses, lubricators, hammers, and pliers, and* a rubber valve disc. The last-named article and the glass gauges are in a good. state of preservation, but the hammers and pliers -are a mass of rust, the wooden handles of the hammers having almost entirely disappeared. Most of the articles are also encrusted with, a coraline formation and other marine growth, and they form a very interesting representation of the ruins of the ill-fated steamer. Mr Leigh states that the only portions of cargo seen by him consist of a large number of coils of barbed wire lying in various positions about the wreck.