MAROONED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17566, 17 June 1925, Page 12

MAROONED.

A ROCK WITH A COFFIN. FOUR MAORIS WREKCED. (Special to the “ Star.”) BLENHEIM, June 16. The extraordinary misadventures of a Maori funeral party are the subject of a remarkable story which has obtained circulation iu the Sounds. One day last week a launch in charge of Mr Joe Wells, and containing a party of four other Maoris, left the French Bass for Nelson to secure the body of a rela.tive who had died there, the object being to bury their kinsman close to their home. The' launch reached Nelson without mishap, and the coffin was duly taken aboard and a tlart made on the return journey. The launch engine, however, began to give trouble, and despite all the efforts of the party on board the frait vessel was swept on to the rocks off shore a few miles from Nelson and badly holed. Tho craft began to sink a,t once, but the party succeeded before she finally foundered iu placing tho coffin on a pinnacle shaped rock, and they all managed to scramble oif to this refuge before tbo launch sank. The rock was a very small one, and was situated well off shore, so that as the tide began to rise tho party found themselves in a. very precarious and dangerous position. Tneir reverence for the dead, however, was so strong that the coffin was given pride of place on the highest point of their haven, where it balanced like a seesaw, the party having to hold it in position. As the tide rose the rock became almost entirely submerged, and there was just foothold for the unfortunate men, who were up to their waists in water clinging to the granite and to each other, and taking it in turns to hold the coffin in position. Heavy waves broke right over them from time to time, but the men doggedly stuck it out, spending fifteen hours, including a cold and bitter night, clinging to the rock and holding their coffined kinsman beyond the re-acli of the waves. Twice in that period they were all but overwhelmed by high tide, and though the position at low water was not so dangerous the men were still foot deep ixi water, and in their saturate*! ga.rment.si found tiho winter’s night a frightful ordeal. They had nothing to cat or drink and. worst of all from their poit of view, nothing to smoke. The coming of the winter's dawn showed nothing in sight which offered a chance of Tescue, and the party were in the last stages of exhaustion and despair when at nine o'clock in the morning the ketch Comet lioro ill sight and rescued them and the precious coffin. 'They had been on the rock srom six o’clock the previous evening. Captain Nalder, of the Comet, did all possible for the starved and frozen party, who were suffering badly from exposure and hardship. Most of them have already practically recovered from the ordeal, though Mr Wells is stated to he very seriously ill as a result of the misadventure.