A DISASTROUS COLLISION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5583, 5 June 1896, Page 2

A DISASTROUS COLLISION.

SINKING OP A BARQUE BOUND FOE NEW ZEALAND. [From Our Correspondent.! LONDON, Afbil 23. The -well-known Glasgow barque Firth of Sol way will never be . seen in New Zealand waters again. She lies fathoms deep in the Irish Sea, as a result of a collision on Sunday night last. And, sad to tell, out of the twenty-four Bouls.on board the ship when the disaster occurred only nine live to tell the tale. The Firth left Greenock on Thursday afternoon, bound for Dunedin with a general cai'go. She was in charge of Captain' Kendrick, whose wife and daughter, a little girl of seven summers, were accompanying him. It was their first voyage, and Mrs Kendrick lost her life because of her devotion to her husband. The captain, it seems, underwent an operation for a severe complaint a few weeks previous to his appointment to the Firth of Solway, and was still far from well when the time to sail arrived. Circumstances compelled him to take the voyage, however, and Mrs Kendrick resolved to accompany him as nurse. The voyage opened pleasantly and uneventfully, but on Sunday night, or rather on Monday morning, at about 2 a.m., whilst the captain was below, a steamer's lights were seen ahead, and ten minutes later the two vessels wore in collision. The steamer, a London vessel, the Marsden, cut the barque almost in twain, and . she sank in a few seconds. Many of her crew were below at the time of the impact, and the majority had no time to get hofcl of life-belts before the Firth went down. The night being dark the boats f rom \ the Marsden had considerable difficulty .in picking up the survivors, but in half an hour they had secured nine. Further search, in the neighbourhood proved unavailing, and amongst those missing were ■ •the captain's wife and his little daughter, who, like the master, had been asleep below when the crash came. The captain himself was roused by the shock and rushed on deck instantly, but so fatally deep had the Marsdea's bow cut into the Firth that her forecastle head was under water when Kendrick reached the deck. Next moment the captain fqnnd himself under the water, and his senses were fast leaving him when he was picked up by the steamer's boat. The survivors beside the captain were James Wilkie, first mate ; James Blackwood, second mate ; Alex Mac Leer, carpenter j Neil Smith and James MacKellor, seamen ; and three apprentices, Rob Smith, Alex Ord and Adam Brown. The lost fifteen included Charles S. Steward, Rene Perdvian, Henry Justinian, James Murphy, George Barry, Carl Thomson, Christian Christiansen, David Grunn and John B. Foster (all seamen), Harry Webb the ship's cook, and. Thomas Collingwood and Christopher Finlayson, apprentices.