LOSS OF THE MATAURA

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6090, 29 January 1898, Page 5

LOSS OF THE MATAURA

ALL ABOARD SAVED. United Press Association— By Electric TelegraphCopyright. Beceived Jan. 29, 0 a.m. LONDON, Jan. 28. All aboard the Mataura were saved, and are proceeding homeward by the Pacific Company's steamer, Orcina.

PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. Our shipping reporter writes as follows : — It is rather difficult from the very brief particulars of the loss of the Mataura, to form any very reliable surmise as to the causes which led to the disaster. It seems clear, however, that some accident must j have befallen the ship long before she j approached the Sonth American coast. Under ordinary circumstances the Mataura would take about twenty-two days to steam from Wellington to Monte Video ; and as she was wrecked when yet some six days' steam from the port named, it seems certain that some mishaD had previously occurred to her machinery. This idea is strengthened from the position of the wreck. The point where the vessel is said to have struck is exactly twenty miles to the southward of the entrance to Magellan Strait, so it is evident that Captain Milward had the strait as his point of destination for the time being. The dangers of navigation there are, of course, fully recognised by commanders, and, therefore, it i 8 fair to assume that no attempt would be made to enter the strait in anything but fine weather. This and the fact that Captain Milward has always been regarded as one of the most capable navigators in the company's employ points to the fact that it was not to any mistaken idea of his exact position that the disaster must be attributed. The probable cause then must be sought elsewhere, and nautical men at Lyttelton are inclined to think that to some ■ accident to her machinery was to be attributed the loss of the ship. In all probability it will be found that she was pretty well unmanageable, and was attempting to get into .the track of the many steamers which now pass through the Strait. A northerly set is experienced in the vicinity, which runs very strong indeed near projecting headlands, and if the vessel was unmanageable there she would be carried, to the northward by the set and eventually find the shore. The point where she struck, Sealers' Cove, is twenty miles to the southward of the ■ entrance to the Strait and the position where the boat containing Captain Milward and his passengers landed. Sandy Point, or as it is now more generally known, Punta Arenas, is situated just 200 miles inside the strait. It is the port of call of the steamers going through, and is in direct communication with Monte Video. This would make a passage of 220 miles for the boat, but once inside the strait the water would be comparatively smooth, and as the wind usually blows from the westward, the passage should be easy of accomplishment.