WRECK OF THE SHIP PLEIONE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 11748, 19 March 1888, Page 2

WRECK OF THE SHIP PLEIONE.

. « RUN ASHORE NHiR WAIKANAEj

DBATa OF A SEAMAN.

TtfJJ CARGO PERFECTLY SA'FB. (Now Zealand Times, March 17). Early yesterday morning information i»a 9 received in Wnllmton that the ship f leionc from Londom, had gons nsh^re on tbs b«»ch near Waikanac, 'Iho neivg create.l* great eontalion in the city, although tha additional informßtion that all hands were iiife had « roismring'eirest. Weregrttta c»y, howr.Ter, that this h not fo, f«r a ocaman nainpol Qourgo Betehaw waa drowned while the put gangers and crow wcro mnking their way to th» eboro. The first intimation of tko disnbter was rcc»ivod through tho Manavr»tu Knilwoy Comp3nj'« station, havinir boon tolrpboncd in by the guard in charge of tho north train. He received tho information from Mr Stewart, i a»ttl»r living in the locality, who was charged with a telegram from Oaptniu A Oulbort, of Iho Pieioa*, to tbe local ofliopc of Shmrr, Svrili, and Co, Btitinjf that tho ship had got ajijoro iniide Kapiti, and thai ths pa.Bierjgerß -vrsre being got BBboro. Tiie Mtinawatu Bailway Company at midday detpatohed a epeciul train, by which Messrs A. Peirce aud Hoggarrl (repr'seating the agentß for the vessel) and Dunn (Lloyd'a a«en ij), and Captain Gray (repramiting iho Customs Deportment) proceeded to the icene of the wr<:oi, U-aving the line at Waikanae ttition and cutting aoroig to the beach, a distanoa of about four mi.'e>. ' Later in the d»y the ordinary train, which left at 1,50, carried a number of gentlemen interested in the vejsel, who, afior a very adventurous journey,' reached the »osne of tho wreck a little before aix o'clock. Our ipecial reportar, who took the first train to thb looality, andreturaod last night, found tha Pleione lying almost broadside on, at about three miles beyond the mouth of tho Waikanae, at a point jußt beyond the northernmost point of Kapiti. An she lny there, less than 300yds from the shore, with topsails net, eho looked, if not like " a painted (hip upon a painted ocaan," at least sb though there was nothiDß whatever the matter with her. Slia had driven straight in, noso on, at first, ucd though the shifted & little afterward end came a list further in, she maintained an upright pOiitioD, and no one unacquainted with her condition would have supposed her to be aground. All around her, howerer, tbo sea was breaking pretty heavily, though comparatively light, inasmuch ui it was only half.tidu. la thac position she lay late last night. The fi«t mate, Mr Gray, very kindly furnished our rsprejoutative with full particulars of the wreck. The Fleione, it may be staUd, wa« 84 day» out from London, having mads a smart trip. She h»d fine weather for a good part of the tlip, but eDouutered at tho liieuwim a heavy •westerly gale, which followed her all the way, Thursday night wai a particularly black one, and the dirty weather, with a thick tog that was hanging over tie sea, appears to have prevented Capa tarswell light being aijhted. Certain it is, however, that very shortly after 2 o'clock yasterday morning land was lighted waioh Cftptnin Culbert, thrown out of hi» reckoning by th» weather, took to be St»Dhe*'B Island, but whioh was really Kapiti." The m»te, beiDg called up and asked hit opinion upon the question, eaid it appsared to him that tho land was Stephen's Ishnd. At this time the vessel wa? making about ten knots an hour, and was Sunder the three topsails, f.ireeail and jib j and a stiff nor'-weitorly $»le waß bsnind her, with a very heavy sea running. There was a half- flood tide at the tima. The mate had hardly spsken when they heard the aound of breakers ahead of them. The captain -at onoo gave the order to haul up the. foresail, pregaratory to heaving to, but ifc was too late, for before tho jail could be tiken in the ship grounded firmly in the sand. A scene of confusion followed, aa might have been expected, but txcellont order was maintained, both 'passengers and crew bahnvinjt tplendidly. The officers, iadeed, speak very highly of the oouduct' of the passengers, who were five in number — a married couple and a ■ingle man in the saloon, and a married couple in the eteerago. Finding that the Bhip wasfor present purposes decidedly safe, the captain deoided to wait for daylight before leaving her, in order that ho might ascertain his exact position. He , was as yet uncertain where he was, for, taking the land he saw to be Stephen's Island, be expected to run down to and pass Kapiti, and look out for Tho Brothers, light. As daylight broke, however, he found that he was on shore on the W»ikanae beach, near where the ships Hyderabad and the City of Auckland, the ba/que Fusilier, and the three-masted schooner Manukau had mot wi'.h a similar fate. Aa toon as it was fairly light it was decided to get ths paseengera and crow ashore. The firat boat that Btarted filled at once, and tbo lifeboats were brought into requisition. The' first that loft was under the ohargo of Mr Gray, tho first mato, and he was followed by another boat under tbe captain, and a third under the seeond mate, Mr liidiard. About half the distance betweon the vessol and the ohoro the captain's boat oapßiz^d, and all its occupants, including tho pasoengera, were thrown into tho water. The mate at onoe put back and assisted in reseuiug them, though the task was a very diffioult one in tho face of tho heavy breakers. Indeed one of the lady passengers was not rescued until sho had been washed on to the sand iu verj shallow water. An j*.B. named Q-eorge Bahhaw, who was in tbe boit, wa» not to bo found, and tha ocoupauts of tho boats were reluctantly compelled to leave him to his fate. Belshaw was an elderly maDj and it is supposed that tho weight of his olotbe>, of whioh ha had a great many on, kept him down and prevented him from either striking out for himself or signalling to his comrades. With taw exception tho whole of the patsengers and orew reached the shore and landed safely on the boaoh. There it was found that Captain Culbert hed snffered considerably from tbo shook and exposure, while Mrs Foster, the lady who had boen buffeted about by the wav?j was also in a bad way; ' Landing upon the beich on a cold, wet morning, with a outtini; wind attacking thorn, Iho party's condition; was not an enviable one, and they., iff once aet about looking for shelter. Mr Lidiard went along aahore t3ward tho Waikahao river, and whs fortunats enough to meet two of Mr Field's men, who give information to tboi' master of the occurrence. Mr Hold's response waa a generous ona, in praiso of which it would be impossible to speak too highly. Uo carao down with all possible speed, anc! had officers, crow, aud pas-fa-sore eunroyorl to hh house at the mouth of tho river. He™ their wants were Attended to in a most hospitable and hearty way. Xhe invalids rsceived careful attention, and all tho othoru -pcre fed and comfortably housed. Iq few instances, wo venture to sayi have people in neoJ mot with such a good Samarium .as Mr JMd , fllr Wi Porata and tho natives living in the vioinity >vero shortly nn'ihs btnyh, "and they alsa did ill tbey could lo assist tho shipwrecked party. lJuring tho day Mr Gray mado several trips off to the ship, and reports everything safe and in good* order as fur aa the cargo in concerned'. Ho Bounded ths well at 4 o'clock yeHorday afternoon, and found that thoi'ii was ni watsr. It wag dead low water at thii tijr.c, and tharo tvps 4ft of ■wai.or unier tie sliip'a lee. The whole of tbe crew's peraonil iff.jets wara brought to shore and tho Imtchoj wero fastened down. 't'hore is every probability of tho oargi b'ing brought to ahore all right— ao muoh so !hat as far as present evidancea go, the coraiauooa some of whom, we. believe, aro receiviug their season's drapdvy, &c, mny r-ot. content. Nothing has os yet b en decided n.3 to Ihs method by which ihe stuff shall be gub to tho shoro, but it h alinoat certain to he tbo tamo iw (A )t adopted in U>.< ovo of -h.i'Vjof J iick xn !, ; Jinn Ijr, \\y nnn u, (if Ito fro i) tlu mas*.* ; tt:vl, '.Ihe ywsi'.Hvi ur tha jhij>

for a Bteamor to go alongside, and remove ths cargo. As to the vessel herself, there seems to be n» probability of her bsing got off. Since she first strnc'i she was driven in acme three or four fest, and appears' to be settling into the sand, a proem which will b« facilitated by the heavy northwesterly wind prevailing there. It may b« mentioned that Knpiti was the first land that had been lighted oinco the ship left Jtojlnnd. Belshat is tho second mau who hid died on ths voyage, for whilo in fchs Bay of Biscay n teaman was wmhfd ovsrbourd and drowned. Th« Pltione was a flret clast iron ship MRisterad Al nt Lloyd's. Sho was almost » nanr-rasao!, hiving boon built iu 1876 by Mejsrs A. Stephen and ''on, GHa«gow. Her registered tonniigo was 1092 tons. Xho value of thn cargo was estimated to bo worth about £35,000, and that of the vessel about £15 000. The hjur incoa havo not yet been made up. (FftOSI OUR ttWH OJRUK3POiVDEKx). VPeMilkgto?, Marh 18. Mcaars Powe and Co. this afurno.m raooivfld » tolmrram from the Boena of tha j -nrc^k of the Pleinno It/ofatas that tho fihip was in rawch tJie bhiho position ua vesterdfty, sud has made a h>le in the sand f»r hereslf. Littl* hope ii entertained of gfitling the vessel off, bufe aa she is not ma&iog water moßt of tho cargo will be saved.