£2,397,000 of Gold Saved From Niagara

Timaru Herald, Volume CLI, Issue 22204, 23 February 1942, Page 4

£2,397,000 of Gold Saved From Niagara

Epic of Underwater Salvage

World Diving Records Created

By Telegraph—Press Association (P.A.) WHANGAREI, Feb. 22. DROBABLY the greatest story associated with the salvage of treasure from the sea was released to-day with the official announcement that an expedition has succeeded in retrieving ten tons of gold bars valued at £2,397,000 from the wreck of the Trans-Pacific liner Niagara which sank near the Hen and Chickens group off the entrance to Whangarei Harbour after striking a mine on June 19, 1940.

The Niagara was located in 438 feet of water and the depth at which the operations were carried out is a world record. The previous record was in respect of the recovery of the Egypt’s gold when Italian divers of the Sorima Company were occupied for more than four years at a depth of 396 feet to recover just over £1,000,000 worth of bullion. The Niagara salvage operations, which occupied 12 months, rank as an epic of the sea. They have been one of the best kept secrets in the history of the Dominion.

When the Niagara felt Auckland en route to Vancouver she had the gold in her strongroom. Immediately after the sinking of the Niagara investigations were made in Australia with the object of securing the services of a salvage company, and within a few weeks of the disaster the Commonwealth Bank had completed a contract with the United Salvage Proprietary, Ltd., of Melbourne, which, on December 2, 1940, began the unprecedented task. As a first step the Claymore, well known on the North Auckland coast for many years but then lying in Auckland’s “Rotten Row” rusting and inhabited by seagulls, was secured as the Company’s flagship. The hulk was put In the hands of engineers and shipwrights and under the direction of Captain J. P. Williams, managing director of the Salvage Company, she was converted into a serviceable salvage vessel. The location of the sunken vessel being problematical a long, laborious search carried out in a scientific manner was necessary. In the course of these investigations the chief diver of the Company. Mr John Johnson, of Melbourne, made a world’s diving record when in an observation bell he went down to 528 feet, a depth only surpassed by Beeby’s bathoscope. The wreck was located on February 2, 1941, and from then, save when wild weather made a respite necessary, the preliminary work continued until October 13, when the salvors were rewarded by bringing to the surface two gold bars, each £4230 in value.

Before the gold was seen in the sunlight almost unbelievable action had taken place in the depths of the ocean. The Niagara had been found lying on her side and in order to reach the strongroom it was necessary to blast a hole in her side sufficient to allow the bell and a grab to penetrate the wreck. The observation bell—a steel cylinder with a manganese dome, weighing 2S tons and capable of withstanding water pressure of 3501bs to the square inch — was used by the diver to take him to the wreck. The bell was fitted with a series of plate glass windows, through which the diver was able to make observations, the results of which he communicated to his companions on the Claymore by means of a telephone. The diver and the above water personnel were thus in complete touch with one another.

Skilfully Used Explosives When the diver had made his observations the task which confronted the salvage crew was to deposit a charge of explosives at the spot where they would destroy the ship’s plating and yet not endanger the strongroom which was the ultimate goal. The fact that the charge had to be lowered 438 feet indicates the delicacy of the operation. In order to avoid the possibility of accident, every charge when placed in position was fired by the diver, who in order to do this returned to the surface. The skill attained by all hands was shown by the number of blasts made in the course of a day, and so proficient did the whole of the company become that in calm weather salvage operations proceeded as smoothly as if the work was being done in a quarry. During this phase of operations Mr Bill Johnstone, a naval diver released by the Australian Naval Board, rendered invaluable service as a result of his technical knowledge of explosives and his experience under water in various parts of the world. Toward the end of the job the ascent from the wreck to the lifting of the bell lid alongside the Claymore took only eight

minutes, but the actual placing of the charges entailed most exhausting concentration for hours at a time. Although large quantities of explosives were necessarily stored on the Claymore, caches were made as a precautionary measure on one of the Chickens Islands.

Eight weeks after the location of the Niagara everything was in readiness to commence blowing a path to the bullion room. The first charge cleared away many .rivets and created a yawning hole in the ship’s side. The crew of the Claymore saw a wounded shark and the remains of a deck cabin floating on the surface, which was covered with oil gushing from the Niagara’s fuel tanks. After this initial explosion the work proceeded as well as could be expected during the winter months when storms were frequent and the Claymore, in spite of elaborate mooring devices, experienced difficulty in remaining over the scene of the wreck. On many occasions it was necessary to make for the shelter of Whangarei Harbour and altogether the storms which frequently buffeted the tiny vessel called for expert seamanship, especially In view of the top hamper In the shape of derricks and other heavy apparatus. The difficulties, however, were defied and by May 17 the hole in the ship’s side had been enlarged to 40 feet in length and 20 feet in width. C deck, forming the roof of the bullion room, was sagging, and B deck was in turn resting on C deck. This made the task of the salvors more difficult, for it was of utmost importance that no unnecessary damage should be done to the structure of the ship lest the bullion should be irrevocably buried. Two days later a total of 4501 b of explosives was used, bringing the aggregate up to 20001 b, while a similar quantity was required to cut away B and C decks from adjoining beams. Excitement of Success At this point Lieutenant Hains, for 40 years in the British Navy and a gunnery officer in the Battle of Jutland, was consulted by Captain Williams with a view to solving problems in regard to explosives at such a depth of water. Thereafter not a single failure was experienced in the hundreds of charges fired. Step by step the salvors moved towards the bullion room and it was an exciting moment when the delicately placed charges blew away the hinges on the door without disturbing the contents of the room. To the divers’ delighted eyes there came the sight of boxes of gold. Excitement on the Claymore increased when the grab brought to the surface two boxes, each containing two bars, the total value of which exceeded £BOOO. A moving picture record of the great event was taken, as was another when a few days later the Claymore arrived at Whangarei wharf and discharged gold to the value of £BO,OOO, which was duly lodged in the strongroom of the Bank of New Zealand. A Sydney message states that in the course of the salvage operations divers counted no fewer than 150 mines spread around the wreck. The divers also succeeded in recovering intact some German mines. A British Official Wireless message says that news of the salvage was conveyed to the Commonwealth Government by Mr Curtin, who said that the British Admiralty has asked New Zealand to investigate the salvage of the Niagara. Captain Williams designed his own equipment for the salvage in which he had the assistance of the Royal Australian Navy.