HEAVY GALES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6486, 15 May 1899, Page 1

HEAVY GALES.

— . ♦ TREMENDOUS SEA NEAR \VEL-_NG-TON. DAMAGE TO THE TA_t__P UNA. i A SEAMAN WASHED OVERBOARD, j THE MOKOIA'S l3t__ . . - ___.EREEN-E_ OF PASSENGERS. „ [From Oor Correspondent.] •'; .V_.LLINGT_*N, May _3. \ People here were prepared to hear of; some disaster _n-sea or land, owing to tfhej tremendous southerly gale prevailing; throughout test 'night, causing houses to' r ock -violently, to the terror cf their in-! mates, and threatening to sweep away 4>he ! fragile tenements perchedLprecariously tjpon. the 'hillsides. The tornado swirled and eddied round the corners of the streets, _ausr! ing wayfarers to clutch frantically at "their head-gear, or ; carrying.- them before the : wind: ;-with^ their .distended mackintosh es,flutiei_og: '.f-^l-*. ' w ™^,.^? the sails of a 'ship ihdistres.. A, _ »% e tree 'itf Government" House Grounds, on the Sydney; Street Mdc, was violently l uprojoted,. -and fell with a great <_crash.: Some aolatetir Wellington prophet has volunteered the statement through the -•Press that the. .rind gauge only registered, within three day/s, a velocity of some 200---miles, -finding consolation in the fact that on isome former occasion it had actuallyattained a velocity of 800 or 900 miles.! This reminds m& of a . story, related in the House by. the Hon W. Swanson. In the course of his. peregrinations about the city, he Jj^pened to meet the local meteorologist/ and asked him to furnish some particulars as to the velocity of the wind. The man regretted his inability to furnish any information on the subject, the- wind gauge having been blown away into tlie adjacent gu%. Where was the wiriA^gauge when the amateur meteorologist found only 200 miles :in twenty-four hours? The latest weather report/ however, states that the yelocity of the wind for the'twenty-•lous-hours ending, nine .'o'clock this morning totafled 510 mil es, ; mostly during the night. The rainfall- for 1 twelve days ______ totalled 4.88 inches. The Takapuna, on the passage _from New, Plymouth this morning was about a mile from the Heads, running before theisoutherly gale, with a veiy heavy sea, when she wa. suddenly struck on. the starboard quarten by a huge-sea, reaching, as high as the captain 1 .), bridge. It knocked down (the chief officer and several others who were standing •on _he shloon deck .on the port side of the smoke-room, and carried overboard Andrew Hfighson,_a' seaman. aged about .hirty, a, hati_h of .the Shetland Jslands, .wiio, so far .as. is known, had hoielatives in thai colony; The mail boat and.gig" were .badly smashed/ .and; _&erfmaat safe and: deck hsMnper 'were '. earned. 'away. ' ' 7 • .'''""•■• Captain Grant states, that hei itras oh the bridge at ; the \ tame of xhe accident, but from This position he cnnld see nothing of it. He describes the ■.sea. as the -worst he ever coming, into Ifellingtori Heads. The wave which. (Caused tha damage rose as. high as the bridge, and some, heavyspray went over it. Patrick M'Grath, lhmp-trimmer r says :' — I was standing with the chief officer, Mr . .Wil_Uams, .Charles JacErbs (chief .tteward), Alexander Hughson, and, a mam .named O'Brien on the port side of the saloon-deck, hear tfce smoke-room, at about 9350 this morning, when a veiy heavy sea struck the vessel coi the starboard quarter. We made a grab for anything we could hold on by, ..but were: all^taken off *j__.._feet. Wah'ad no time fo save ourselves. ; Hughson cadght -the full fforce of the sea; -and was _sashed fcovdrbojtid. The rest picked themselves sap. Mr Williams was struck by a decfe._eat, Vfaut- escaped with a severe cut on i___e ja\y injmSes-to his legs. '' I alfeo interviewed Mr Williams in his ,-Caj.bin. H_* treated bis inj_nes lightly, ;He says that" 3ie remembers nd_hing of 'ho\f _tei; accident happened, the. sea struck the yljjpso sudae'nly. Mr Williasns is under the care of DrTiHenry. j JiMr Jacobs,' chief steward,-,, was the first to perceive the danger, und called out to his .companions " Look out. r l__s combag'toXi ■ _ap*-.pf;- us;*^<3nst as a hnge^een momtrtaid .of .water swooped dov__ nppjc the _t_r|boaihd.quaiteiPvand rose over the saloon__ck toi^the'foot -.'the captaatfs Abridge. lAt *he«aajpfe tii_e»; Jacobs made a dash for the' smoking _oom,. followed fay M'Grath, "S-hoj-got?jammed-i_ -the doorway. ihu*_ was aftertv ; wafds'>extricar___i by the steward. Whseiil tlhe -wavejihad exhausted itself' the chief' officer v>was :fonnd with his boßy half-^'*ay t_rou^i-the raiite, hanging on^by his left! aim. 'B feing extricated from .his peril ons position' her- was '-Sound to be Muly bruised i on _he*.bhin, t aiid -sr ith some injuries to the} .'legs. -Sis escape*'_*o_i being _w"6Howed up ! . in . -he.r^aye w*»,-_iarvellous. ;.,Th<)ug^ there ; waiilii^lei ,^oom i;td ,'doubt:| : t3_*at- .Hu^l^ni; !qf ''tite'ye.s_eh-was ordiered by Gapt^i Grant, but- 'di^ >co«rse';Tev^*sd ! no .sigia _ fr'the sea;'mani'; ;Tl_is vremaaiß; .-were ... foonii > washed ?a_shoreliih^J.ara_ilii: _fJay " dturing iho afternoon. The damage to the. Takapuna consisted of two 'boats 'being stove to piecesSpn the starboard 'quarter, the front dav'its^twist^d and benft, damage to < deck-fittings, .and a quantity cf -^ases of tallow and ofther deckhamper being "nvaShed-* verboard. The veas_l _xperienc_ d the full f orce->of the gale during Ac night, and work in the engine-room ;was carried--on with mti6h rdifl_«nlty. In the /centre of the strait one of we' valves Jurist, 'but*fiie chief eagineer, rlSr Brown, _ffectiid temporary repairs, and •iffter a delay ot' three quarters of an'ho_c' tuie vessel was _Bse to resume her passage, present ; .he urraingements of tlhe steamship companies are seriously disar- 1 •ranged, and many _riinor incidents of risksji encountered by Other vessels are reporte'd.| The -Wpartpre of the Hotemahana for Lyt-| telton is delayed until 15 p.__ on Monflay,) ■and 'the departure __._ever._l other vessels has 'been postponed, .pending an improve-) .ment : in the 'weafcber. 1 „ [Peb Press Association.] WELLINGTON, May 13. ! During the passage ef the 'Mokoia from Lytt-lton, and when she -was nearing Wellington, -a tremendous sea 'hrdke on board, and washed two women -paeengei-- for some distance along, an aU^ywray. ' sui^i buried several Children, up to their necks in water. The oflair 'haippened .about Kinefcy minutesbefore h«r arrival .■:■, 7; '■'..'....-'..• . ; Several 'sni-iltr coastal^^^b-ats a.re but- no araiiety is felt,; as'all'aire'bfclieved j- to -be . sheltering _a bays in the strait. 7 '■'■ All outdoor sports had -to be abandoned ibo-day.'. ■■/■•' SHIPPING MOVEMENTS EFFECTED. WELLINGTON, May 14. The southerly gale which began _n Tlnrisdjiy at midday has" continued with unabated fury, but this afternoon shows signs of faking off. The weather has been bitterly cold, and rain has fallen almost without intermission until noon to-day. Tlie shipping in- Wellington has been seriously interfered mdth, and there las. been no.de-

parture Siftce Friday afternoon. ThO W____ j nui arrived from the south yesterday evening, but made several ineffectual efforts to go to _ea before reaching the hetffrs, and then 5t wiis decided to come on, and she is at 'anchor well down the baS-bOiir. The Ri-Ston, which attempted to Cleave for A*c_lah_ on Thursday 'hut is still '■ at anchor near Sdameij's Island. The southern trip of the Bbtomahliha was abandoned, and she will not'ho w. ; l_S.ve for Lyttelton until to-morrow Wening, The Rotoiti •. should have left yesterday afternoon for' New Plymouth and 'Ohehifiiga, ? taking the; Wellington, southern,' Nelson and, Westj Coast portion of the outward San Francisco h mail, but the mountainous sea 'running atthe heads prevented her 'leaving port. The! Rotorua, which came :in yesterday ' fro_i< Nelson, had a rough passage across, and! used her oil bags With good effect. The; Rotorua brought some of Nelson's Sani Francisco mail ba£s. The Haupiri y from: Nelson and West Const, which had the; West Coast, San. l?ra_cisco mail . on b_a_d, had' been. sheltering i\nider Long Island, and yesterday started to come across; bht on ■ nearing TleadS, ' was _K_ble to pick upj the entrance, ahd w_s. headed .for the south. She v^s in. company -with/the Bruuner and M'awhera. ' Both" the litter* followed her example. This morning, on the .weather cleaning somewhat, . the .Hatpin's head was turned _6r Wellington, and "-she reached! pott ..«?_' shortly before two this afternoon. She, too, tised oil*bags with satisfactory results, but did not escape seathtes, "a portion of the railing being carried away on either side. The captain reports that the sea in Coolc Strait during Saturday was the worst he haid seen during 'fifteen years experience on the coast. "Tie -Mawhera arrived from nfeout 4.45 p.m. She had a lively exerience in the Strait, and took: on board a large quantity of water, btft. only very slight damage was done to the "ibulwarks. Tlie Rotoiti will endeavour to get out at live o'clock tomorrow morning. The Mokoia's departure for Sydney _ias been delayed, but she may make _,n attempt to get away tomorrow morning. As the ~R oioiti was unable to leave with the southern San Francisco mails the Postal department arranged for a special train to convey the mails *o New Plymouth, and this left at noon to-day, and will catch the 'Gtairloch at N_w Plymouth. A portion of iJhe Nelson mail ahd the whole of the mails from the West Coast of ibe South Island; which missed the train, will be .sent wia Brindisi. . At th. ip&uest on _fae body of Aiidre*-* Hughson, ilois. off the Takapuna yesterday, the evidence showed that the unfortunate man must Shave gone straight overboard. Mr W___a_»}; chief officer, .had an exceed, ingly narrow, escape, being nearly throfigh the railings; iand in ah .unconscious cpndir ■tion when -rescued .by Charles Jacobs, chief, stewatii^and !M ? Cs?.th,j- lamp 'When.'Hughison'-s body 'was.' 'washed ashore 'ijfc'Tras • ____i3._£ the heass-y sea. boots which he had on, at the time of the. accident, and this appears _o suggest that he . must have made a desperate attempt to reach ,__■■ shore. A vei*dict that deceased haa been wa_ied oweifboard, and tSiafc death was the result of Tmisadvehtur^, was; returned. Mr .Williams is progressingfeis weli'as r ___ be .expected ainder the circumstances. '-;'-' • _ Despite ,the severity of the f gale : no damage is sxeported in toWn beyond the smashing of a few windows.