The Big Dredge and the Omapere.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5819, 7 January 1887, Page 3

The Big Dredge and the Omapere.

A VISIT TO THE SCENE. AN AWKWARD PREDICAMENT. [Special to the " Stab."] DUNEDIN, Jan. 7. The Star's reporter who visited the sunken dredge says : — I paid a visit at 2 p.m. to the epot off which the wrecked dredge is lying, which is opposite the point where the two guns of the L. Battery are located, She lies about 200 or 300 yards off the shore. She is very much down by tne bows, and with her stern, even at ! high tide, quite «ut of the water. At low tide her position looks even worse, for her fore part has sunk so deep into the Band that her bows are completely submerged, and there being no support for her after part, which jj contains her engines, there is every possibility of the weight of these breaking her back, in which case her remains would be of little value. During yesterday gangs of men have been hard at work, stopping up every apperturo on the deck through which water could get into the engine-room, for if that once tilled the combined weight of water and engines would undoubtedly part her in two. She having been struck by the Otnapere in a part that is now under water, it has not yet been ascertained what the injuries are that caused her to fill so rapidly j but a person who was standing at the Battery, fully half a mile away at the time of the collision, and had his attention drawn to it by hearing the craßh, informs me that the dredge began to go down by the head within three minutes. Captain Stewart it extremely reticent about the whole matter ; but it is believed that when he steamed away after the collision he did not intend running her on to the bank where she now Ueß, it being simply - ridge of rand, and it consequently following that a part of the vessel must in all probability be without support. She is at the best in a very precarious position, and * large mm of money will have to be expended before i she oan be reinstated, if ever that is done. i She is wholly uninsured, the Harbour Board, I understand, not insurimg any of their plant. IKB OMAPBBS lies alongside the George street wharf, and i beyond a scraping and an ugly hole, large j enough for a man to crawl through, on j her port bow, and a somewhat similar > scraping without any hole on her starboard ! bow, she has suffered no damage. All the ~> harm done is above the waterline, and it | will not cost much to repair her. | A VOBMAL INQUIBT. i was opened yesterday by Mr Hackworth, i but being only a preliminary one it was of r course private, and none of the evidence : given ia obtainable. The fact of both bows i of the Omapere having been grazed, seems i to Bho w that she ran right into the dredge j in which case the latter must , have had a big hole knocked lin her. There are no means at present of ' ascertaining to whom blame is attachable, . but it seems singular that snch a collision should take place in broad daylight, even , when the two vessels were rounding an Island. Captain Smith, of the Omapere, declares that the dredge was on the wrong t side.