TAHITI’S CAREER ENDS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 347, 19 August 1930, Page 7

TAHITI’S CAREER ENDS

ROYAL MAIL STEAMER SINKS PASSENGERS AND CREW TAKEN OFF BY VENTURA PARCELS ABANDONED; SIX LETTER BAGS LOST WELLINGTON, Aug. 18. The Tahiti sank at 4.42 p.m. (Ventura’s time) according to Union Company adviee. The captain advises that all the passengers and crew are safe aboard the Ventura and the latter is now proceeding to Pago Pago, where the Tahiti’s Islands passengers and the crew will be disembarked, the Ventura thence going to ’Frisco with the Tahiti’s American and European passengers. The Secretary, G.P.0., advises as follows:—“Tahiti mail: Six letter bags lost in transit and fifty bags wet, otherwise all letter mail safely transferred to the Ventura. Newspapers, pa/kets and parcels abandoned. ’ ’ The Union Company announces that the Maunganui, at present engaged in the New Zealand-Sydney service, will take up the Tahiti’s running in the San Francisco service. The Marama, at present laid up at Wellington owing to slackness in the intercolonial passenger service, will take the Maunganui s place in that service. The Maunganui will commence her new running from Sydney on October 2, the date on which the ill-fated Tahiti would have left on her next trip to hrisco. The Marama will pick up the Maunganui’s running in the intercolonial service from Auckland, leaving that port on September 26 for Sydney. The Tofua is returning to Nukualofa and is due there on Wednesday morning on her run round the Islands. She win call at Pago Pago and pick up the Tahiti’s officers and crew. She is now to leave Suva on August 30 for Auckland, where site is due on September 4, three days later than usual’.

STORY OF MISHAP SHaPS race to rescue ) The first radio message telling of the I accident was received -bythf head’otf-1 fice of the Union Company’ ift'WdlHfig*- • ton shortly alter 4 a. hi- on Satilrdiy: *■ The message which was necessarily’tersestated that the ship ha’d lost "her st'af-1 board propeller at 4 a.m- The only other news -was that the ship was making’ mdic water through the shaft aperture. Radio communication became difficult soon after the first message, the coming of daylight limiting the range of the ship’s wireless apparatus and about 11 hours 'elapsed’ before' idrfh’ef ’ ad vice was received. i That the mishap was indeed serious, was indicated by the receipt at 3-15 p.m. ‘ •f another radio message from the caster of the Tahiti, stating that the’ .rater was gaining in the after part of■ the ship. Every effort was being made to cope with the inflow but it might be. necessary to consider abandoning the ship that night. There was very little that could be: done to assist the ship so far as New Zealand was concerned. The Tahiti had i left Wellington at 3 o’clock last Tues-* day afternoon on her 1800 mile run t Rarotonga. When the mishap occurred she was over 1300 miles away and still 460 miles to go to reach Rarotonga, where she was due under ordinary circumstances, yesterday afternoon. There was no nearer land and there is not even a harbour at Rarotonga, where j the mail steamers lie at anchor and where the landing place is guarded by; the Awarua Reef, which has accounted' for the loss of several fine ships. |

Response to Call But the radio S.O.S. message had done ■ their work of summoning assistance I from the wide expanse of the Pacific. At first it was thought that the nearest steamers were the Union Company *s Toffia, which had left Suva on Friday, for Nukualofa, and the American mail steamer Centura, bound from Sydney via Suva to Pago Pago, Samoa on herway to to Honolulu and San Francisco- i These ships took in the call and atj once headed to the assistance of the; Tahiti. They were hundreds of miles I away, however, and at their best rate of steaming could not be there for two j days- The Tahiti?s plight was such that! she might be gone long before theyl could reach her. Away to the eastward of the Tahiti’s course, however, a stranger had taken ‘

■ in-the radio call- This was the Norweg- ■ ian tramp steamer Penbryn, deeply , laden with a cargo of raw sugar from ' Cuba on July 11 and after coaling at ' Papeete was plugging steadily along m j about nine knots. Bhe was due to reavft i .Auckland about next Thursday. Tne .; Penbryn was about 200 miles awav .j. when her company received the Tahiti’s call for help, relayed from the Chatham -j Islands. The master promptly respond- . I ed by altering his course and announer- ln g that he was making his best speed ’ to the liner’s stated position and hoped to reach her early on Sunday afternoon , a day earlier than was possible for elth- , er the Ventura or the Tofua. [ During Saturday evening radio ad-:-vice was received from the Tahiti that , her position was unchanged and the weather was continuing fineThe passengers and crew were all , well and were remaining on board. Ar- > • rangements were being made to trans ■: fer the former to the Pen Dry n when 1 she reached the Tahiti, about 2.30 p.m. , I on Sunday and for the Norwegian ship to stand by until the Ventura and Tofua reached the scone to-day.

Disquieting Nows A few hours later, however the situation changed for the worse the following message broadcast by the Tahiti to nil stations being intercepted by Wellington radio station: 11.51 p.m. (New Zealand time): SX No. 3 engine-room bulkhead given wayPosition, 4 p.m-, latitude 26deg. 27min. south; longitude ]66<leg. 05min- west. ! ! 11.55 p.m. (New Zealand time): Abandoning ship. ; Following this disquieting news, messages were received yesterday morning stating that the ship had not been j abandoned and that the position | more reassuring. The Penbryn at 5 a.m. was 90 miles from the Tahiti. ! The Union Company announced that the passengers would be transferred , when the Penbryn arrived. The crew would also be taken off for the nignt, but might return to the ship this morning. Everything was in readiness for the transhipping. There was water in the engine room of the Tahiti, but it was I being controlled by the ship’s pumps. ■ The wireless apparatus was working • well yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon further messages ’• were received indicating that the Tai hiti was still afloat but that the Pen- | bryn would be several hours late in ; reaching her. At 6.20 p.m. the Norwegian ship reported by radio that she I would bp up to the Tahiti in about an hour’s time. All was then in readiness

to transfer the passengers. The weather was overcast but fine. Penbryn Standing By A later message received about 9 p.m. by the Union Company stated that tae Penbryn had reached the Tahiti and was standing by. Apparently the liner was in no immediate danger, because the message announced that the passengers would not bo transhipped in the darkness, but would remain on board the Tahiti awaiting the arrival of the Ventura, which was expected to reach her about 8 o ’clock this morning. Mr C- McCaskey, the Tahiti’s wireless operator is a nephew of Mrs George Gardener, of Christchurch. His parents live at Hillcsden, Marlborough.

WEATHER PROSPECTS

DR. KIDSON’S remarks I Per Press Association ) WELLINGTON, Aug. 18. Asked his opinion with regard to the weather conditions likely to be experienced in the vicinity of the Tahiti Dr. Kidson (Director of the Meterological Services) said that there was no warrant for p suggestion emanating from Auckland that bad weather was possible. The absence of recording stations in that area made it hard to tell the exact condition prevailing or likely to be expreienced, but the indications pointed to the weather in that locality lieing better than had been the case for some time. There was no reason for anticipating any change for the worse for some days to come. The winds being experienced would be light to moderate trade winds.

CAUSE OF BREAKDOWN. DOCK OFFICIALS MYSTIFIED. Received Aug. 18. 8.10 p.m. SYDNEY, Aug. 18. Officials of Morts Dock; where the Tahiti was last overhauled, arc unable to offer a theory as to the cause of the breakdown, from the limited information available. They are mystified by tho overwhelming inrush of water when the watertight door should have checked it and saved the engine room. They can only surmise that the break is of an unusual character, doing such sudden and extensive damage that the engineers were powerless to cope with it. No accident producing a similar result is recorded.

CAPTAIN CONGRATULATED SAFE TRANSFER OF PASSENGERS 1 Per Pre.is Association. I WELLINGTON, Aug. 18. The following radio message was sent by the Merchant Service Guild to the master of the Tahiti: “Congratulations from the Merchant Service Guild of New Zealand on the successful transfer of all to safety.’’