NIGHT IN BOATS OFF TREACHEROUS COAST

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18947, 18 December 1929, Page 10

NIGHT IN BOATS OFF TREACHEROUS COAST

Passengers Passed Through Long And Painful Ordeal

QUICK THINKING AND PROMPT ACTION

AVERTED DISASTER WHEN VESSEL STRUCK.

(By the Star’s ” Special Reporter.)

BALCLUTHA, December 18. XXrORST of all the ordeals through which many of the ’ passengers from the wrecked Manuka passed was the long and weary row m open boats to the safe landing place that was eventually found. At times there was driving rain, the fog persisted and shivering women and children crouched and huddled together for protection while male passengers and seamen scanned what land they could see and strove tirelessly at the oars. To some of them the prospect of getting ashore seemed hopeless.

Three of the boats were comparatively fortunate. Within three hours they had discovered a shelving heacli and were taking steps to make themselves comfortable till dawn. Of the other boats, at least two drifted to the northward, and their situation for a long time looked desperate . With a strong tide running against them, the men at the oars, ill-clad, tired and wet, became exhausted. The survivors already on land were beginning to give them up as lost. At this stage the resolute courage of Captain Ross Clark averted a tragedy. With a fresh crew replacing the men he had first directed to the beach in his boat, he went in search of the two missing boats. The first streaks of davlight helped him to see where they were. Tow ropes were thrown, and soon the last of the Manuka’s passengers and crew had joined their friends at the pathetic little encampment on the beach.

Describing his experiences, Mr F. S. Oliver, of Holly Road, Christchurch, said: “ Our boat was one of the last to leave, and we were ordered to look for a landing place. We came back and under the second officer returned to the vessel and waited until all were off. That wait was the worst experience of all. The ship was rocking and liable to come down on us or sink and drag us under. She was swaying and crunching. It was terrible to watch her. Xn the Boats. “Once everyone was clear we made for the land. The first boat got to the beach at 4.30 a.m. and the last at 6.30. There were fifty-two people in some of them. “Further excitement was caused when one of the boats began to leak three miles from the cove. It had been bumped against the side when being launched, and the occupants were quickly waist deep in water. Their plight became known and by the light of flares and torches the women were transferred to one of the sound boats and the men to another. When the captain’s boat got to the cove two of the other boats were still a long way off. One was four miles back and making no headway against the swell. Captain Ross-Clark landed his passengers, got a new crew, went back and towed in first one boat and then the other. His example was inspiring and though the crew were exhausted they got everyone ashore, young people, old people and children. “It was an experience we don’t wish to go through again, but I shall never forget the captain’s bravery and coolness. He had no life belt on when he jumped into the water from the vessel at the last. Then there are the officers and crew and the hospitable people of Owaka. Words cannot thank them enough.” NOT A WHIMPER. Another Christchurch passenger was Mrs Hamer, of 10 Brown’s Road. Her story in the main was a tribute to the courage of others. “There was not a whimper,” she said. “Though it was a time of great tension everyone was cool, collected and sensible. When the passengers got the order from the officers, ‘Do just what we tell you’ things moved like clockwork. It was wonderful to see the crew taking charge of elderly women and little children and helping them into the boats. No one lost his head. The captain was a hero and the two stewardesses were heroines. They did their duty and more than their duty nobly. One passenger could only get about on crutches. He was helped carefully into a boat, so was a baby ten months old. As for the rest of us when the captain tdld us to go for it we shinnied down the ropes into the boats. That we all landed safely is a miracle. “All of us are grateful to the people of Owaka, who gave food and clothes ■without stint. Others motored us through and helped us all in their power.” THE DISEMBARKATION. Mr 11. V. Smith, a commercial traveller, of Christchurch, said: “The first sensation as she struck was a sudden bang and shock. There was a terrific impact against the rock. Then she stopped dead. After that everyone rushed up stairs. There was slight confustion for a minute, but it was quickly over. Officers and men did their best to reassure the women, and it was entirely due to the splendid work of the crew as a whole that disembarkment was achieved without loss of life. It has to be remembered that the boats on the starboard side could not be lowered. “When the passengers had assembled on deck the order came for women and children to go first. The boats got away, but a number of the officers stayed aboard. As we left the captain shouted out that we had to try to find a landing place. Our boat pushed on, and after a lot of manoeuvring and sounding we got close in to what seemed a suitable landing place. It turned out eventually that it was so. Then we went back and informed the captain. “All the boats were mustered bj> means of flash lights, and we yelled for everyone to follow us. Fortunately we 6truck the right landing place, otherwise there would have been disaster. “To look back on it now is dreadful, but no one could help admiring the orderly method and precision with which everything was carried out at such a critical time. The worst of it is that most of us have lost valuables and papers. All my price lists sent out from England have gone to the bottom. That will hold me up for three months.” A GOOD SAMARITAN. “I was in the chief steward’s cabin when she struck, 5 ’ said Mr F. W. Duncan, formerly of Christchurch, and now Otago Central representative of

Sims, Cooper, Ltd. “There was a pretty severe bump, and I said to the steward ‘My God! She’s struck a rock.’ We both rushed on deck. The officers and men took charge of the situation, and they worked wonders. There was no commotion, no screaming and no hysteria, and though it was dark, with a heavy swell on, we got away on the boats without mishap. It was remarkable to see how everyone worked together. To think that 300 people got away safely under such conditions is amazing. We were cold, wet and hungry when we got ashore, and I can tell you that I have never enjoyed a cup of tea so much in my life as one I had

at six o’clock this morning. Mr I. D. Calder, the only settler thereabouts, brought over milk, boiling water and tea, as well as all the dry clothes he could lay his hands on. He w T as a good Samaritan.”

“ THE WOMEN WERE WONDERFULLY CALM.” MR R. S. M’KENZIE TELLS OF HIS EXPERIENCES. From Our Special Reporter. BALCLUTHA, December 17. Mr R. S. M’Kenzie, the well-known land agent of Christchurch, said. “I had a top deck cabin amidships and had just finished reading and turned in. I had scarcely closed my eyes when I felt a grating thud. I hopped out of bed and ran along the deck. Looking over the side towards the land I could see a towering cliff within what seemed to be a stqpe’s throw. I ran back to the cabin, roused my wife and we made a lightning change from night attire. Fortunately we put on some warm clothing, as it was a very cold night, while unfortunately for many of the passengers they left the ship only lightly clad, and afterwards suffered severely from the cold and damp exposure. Everything proceeded calmly, passengers going to the boats as directed by the ship’s officers. The vessel was beginning to list badly to seaward. “What amazed and pleased me most was the wonderfully calm manner in which the women especially conducted themselves. When the boats were lowered the passengers had to get down the side of the ship by a ladder. Owing to the swell the lowest rung of the ladder was frequently several feet above the boat. In such cases those in the boat could only grasp the legs of those coming down and trust to luck to land them safely in the boat. “My wife led the way over the side into our boat, in which, when we left the ship’s side there were thirty-five women and five men. “I wouldn’t go through last night’s experience again for the best money in the world. The tide was running out strongly, and there was a big swell, although fortunately the sea was fairly calm.”

PEOPLE SING TO RELIEVE TENSION. EVERYONE COOL AFTER VESSEL HAD STRUCK. From Our Special Reporter. BALCLUTHA, December 17. Mr B. W. Speechly, of Melbourne, was on his way to visit relatives at Palmerston North. “ I was the only passenger on deck when she struck,” he said. “ There was a thick fog and you could not see anything ahead. We were going at what seemed to me ordinary speed. The third mate, I am told, was on the bridge at the time. The time was six minutes to eleven, and the fact that the lights stayed on helped to prevent a catastrophe. The sea was not rough, but there was a heavy swell, making disembarkation difficult The officers lifted the ladies down the ship’s side, and we men, or most of us. had to drop 30ft at the stern “ The wireless operator, Mr Staiv nage, remained on board with the cap. tain until' the very last. Like that of all the other officers and members of the crew, their conduct was of the highest possible standard. Mr Stannage was wireless operator on the aeroplane Canberra when it found Kingsford Smith, so he has had some thiills in his career.

“ I may state, to show the coolness that prevailed, that someone was playing the piano in the second saloon 3 quarter of an hour after she struck, and people were singing 4 It’s a Long Way to Tipperary/

“After getting ashore we built great fires and put up the sails of the boats as awnings. Under these miserably clad women and children sheltered. Fishing boats came round at 8.30 from Tautuku. With them was Dr Stenhouse, who attended to a seaman with an injured leg.” « “LUCKY THERE WAS NO STORM.”

Mr Reginald Roberts, of Melbourne, and stage manager of the American Comedy Company to play in New Zealand under engagement to Fuller’s, Ltd., said:— “ I was one of the fortunate passengers who were dressed when the wreck occurred. It was marvellous to see how everything was done and how the women behaved. No one lost his head. The crew were bricks. It was lucky there was no gale or storm or none of us would have got ashore. I was told by a settler that this was the first night for eighteen years that conditions off Long Point were calm enough to permit of the \ landing of boats. Usually the seas there dash in with tremendous force.”

Among others who expressed heartfelt gratitude to the officers and crew were Mr D. E. Stacey and Mrs Stacey, formerly of Auckland, and now about to take up their residence in Wellington- They had their two children with them, and when Mr Stacey began to relate the narrow escape of these little ones he was unable to continue, because of deep emotion. A PLUCKY WOMAN. “As soon as she struck the crew were at their stations,” said Mr W H Blailue of Surrey Hills, Melbourne! bile tilted up and everyone knew it was a case. She gradually sank on the starboard side, and then it was a case of minutes. The port side boats were quickly lowered, and the rest you know. Something should be said not only of how the crew behaved on the wrecked steamer, but how they looked after us on land. We owe our lives to them. In one incident after the alarm had been sounded, Mrs Regge, of Wellington, who was returning home with her daughter, Betty, aged four, played a prominent part. While people were standing to with lifebelts on she went into the second saloon and started at the piano. In a moment people ™ er f singing popular choruses. I hat helped to keep their spirits up. OWAKA PEOPLE WERE WONDERFUL. PASSENGERS EXPRESS GREAT APPRECIATION. From Our Special Reporter. BALCLUTHA, December 17 been shortly after noon the ill fated Alanuka presented a tragic sight. Only the bow was sticking up. Water was pouring through the port holes and cabin doors were banging under the lorce of the waves. Long Point is a bleak headland with a nasty reef jutting out for at least sixty yards. A more desolate spot would be hard to imagine. Even when the passengers landed their plight was wretched, with only one house in vicinity. It was some time before dry clothing arrived and extra food supplies. Fires, however, gave generous warmth to the shivering passengers and crew. Once word was sent to Owaka twelve miles away, more help was quickly forthcoming, but the shipwrecked people had to walk a mile and a half across sodden paddocks to lorries and motor-cars. One or two hitches occurred, but by two o’clock all the refugees, with the exception of a portion °f the crew, were being cared for by the hospitable Owaka folk, who welcomed them with open arms, hot meals and dry clothes. Shortly after four o’clock a special relief train, steam-heated, carried the refugees from Owaka, arriving in Dunedin this evening. On the journey the refugees were given further hot meals at Balclutha.

The scene on the Owaka station just before the relief traiq pulled out was a striking. one. The townspeople had gathered in large numbers, and the refugees were busy expressing their gratitude for the kindness of their hosts. They were easily distinguishable from the townspeople by the nature of their attire, many of the women being clad in men’s socks and shoes and other male garments. In order to express the general appreciation of the goodheartedness of the Owaka people Mr Wyreley Birch, of New York, who is visiting New Zealand with the American Comedy Company, addressed a word of thanks from the carriage platform.

“I want to thank you, good people of Owaka,” he said, “for your wonderful kindness to us all.”

Then continuing with emotion Mr Birch added, “I was in the last boat with the firemen, and they are the finest bunch in the world. God bless British seamanship and the captain and officers. Yes, sirs, I think that captain the coolest and most wonderful man living. I have never been in a wreck before, and words fail me to express what I think of them.” Mr R. S. M’Kenzie, of Christchurch, in supplementing these remarks, referred to the heroic way in which the women had faced death. “When we have mothers and women like them we can be very proud of them,” he said. “The captain, we all agree, is one of the finest men in the trade, and our sympathy goes out to him in this most unfortunate occurrence.”

Mr I. Maginness, replying on behalf of the Owaka people, said it was good to see the way in which the people from the wreck had stood up to their trying ordeal. The wonder was that some of them were there to tell the tale. The Owaka people had risen to the occasion before and were always ready to do it again. Amid cheers and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” the relief train left Owaka at 4 p.m. ROCK TORE HUGE HOLE IN FOREPEAK. OFFICERS PRAISED BY MEMBERS OF CREW. From Our Special Reporter. BALCLUTHA, December 17. Members of the crew, on being inter, viewed, all spoke in terms of the greatest praise of the officers and the conduct of the passengers. They commented on the fact, however, that assistance from other vessels did not arrive for eleven hours after the first radio message S.O.S. was sent out, the Kawarau and a Dunedin tug putting in an appearance. When the ship struck, most of the crew were in their bunks in the forward quarters, and many of them were thrown out by the impact. The rock on which the vessel struck tore a big hole in the forepeak, large enough for a man to walk in by. According to instructions, the crew

i proceeded to their posts, many of them lightly clad. The ship’s baker, an returning to the vessel, had his leg torn by a piece of iron, necessitating several stitches by Dr Stenhouse, of Owaka. This was the only injury of importance, through several of the passengers received bruises through being struck by oars in the hands of inexperienced oarsmen.

As far as is known, the ship's cat went down with the vessel, but a whip, pet which was taken on board in Melbourne was seen to jump into the water, and about two hours later was found swimming, and was pulled into a lifeboat. The first boat landed on the shore at about four o’clock, and the last boat was brought in at 7.30, having lost direction and drifted towards the

Nuggets, the light from which was mistaken for a ship, and rockets were sent up to attract it. The boat contained about fifty passengers. The captain went out to look for the boat and found it, with the oarsmen pratically exhausted. There was great relief when it was brought ashore.

Special mention was made by members of the crew of the manner in which the third officer got the women down the Jacob’s ladder, and of the work of the engineers, w;ho did not leave the engine-room until it became waterlogged. The firemen and stokehold crew on duty also stood by their work until they were ordered on deck. All the men speak with pride of the wonderful calmness of the captain in giving orders and directing operations till the last moment.