Calliope Dock Sensation

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume VI, Issue 1800, 28 November 1906, Page 2

Calliope Dock Sensation

Particulars of tlie Calamity Two Workmen Drowned Largs Number of Men Injured (Speoial to tho Daily Telegram.) Aucilind, ttii day. The aooident to the Shaw Savill Conn pany'a largo cargo steamer Mamari in the Oalliopo Dook, wh'oh caused tho drowning of two workmen and eorions injuries to many othors, oroalod a great sonsation in the city yosterday, Tho *essil herself had a very narrow osoapo from serious injury Tho Mamari had entered the dook at high water for tho purpose- of boing repainted, As the tido recedod nearly fifty mon wore busily engaged in washing the hull as a preliminary to painting, when, without tho slightest warning, tho huge bulk of the five thousand ton atenruor slid bodily forward about fQur feet and settled down upon tbo dock bottom, Tho wator at the time, 11,45 o'olook, reach to about tho vessel's bilgo keels, but whon the Unman settled down in suoh an appallingly Budden manner, the extra dißplaooment raised a commotion similar to a tidal wave, which swept bookwards and forwards in tho narrow basin, overwhelming tho workers in a terrible fusion or drifting pootoons and broken timber,

_ Tho mon who had been scrubbing tho iron hull, dipping their brushes in a plooid tido, wore in an instant engulfed in a aeeth* ing wator turmoil which swopt them help, lowly against the oiment Bides of the dook and throw thorn back to the iron hull with terrible force. Few escaped injury, and at least two men wore either killed or drowned,

Tho causa of tho aooident cannot be definitely ascertained until the Mamari has been undooked and an examination made of the dook bottom, but it is evident that oithor tho conorele bottom subsided under the heavy weight of tho ship, or that .the massive centre blooks, four feet high, proved for once unequal to tbe'slrain imposed by tho vessel's koel, and tilted forwards, allowing tho hull to tuddecly drop soveral feot,

It was with a crashing noise that the bulky vossol made the fatal forward raovo, and the wonder was that sho did not rip out all the wooden shores' which propped her in an upright position, A Niuiber of shores fell, but luokily the majority held, and a worso disaster involving moro human lifoaud a heavy damage to pioporty, would have resulted. Tho Mamati fortunately kept thoperpondicnlar position, and the men who wore struggling in the wator were mercifully sparod the terrible death of orushing botween ship and dock side.

Captain Moffstt, master of the Mamari, said he had just gono round the ship and said to tho mate that when the water got a little lowor thoy would all go down under the bottom, It was a Inoky thing for tho slrp's company, addod tho oaplain, that the accident bapponod when it did, for had it happened a quarter of an hour later, they would have all boon under the bottom of the vessel, and the afMr might havo been far more serious than it was. Asked as to tho ciroumstanoes of the accident, Captain Moffat said that when tho supports collapsed there was about ton feot of wator in the dook. The acoU dent caused tho boat to drop, and she thon shot fo'ward for a short distanoe. Tho water seemod to aot as a cushion, and a hasty tximimtion made shortly after revealed tho fact that the vessel had apparently suffered no serious damage. Ab soon as she men were got out of tho dook it was again filled with water for tho safety of tho vessol, The Mamari was floated out of tho dock in the aftotnoon, and will go biok lator.

Looking liko a hospital ship, with a row of blaokot.covored bandaged figures on dock, tho p.s. Osprey brought the injured aoroßS from the dook to the Auek« land wharf. Hero thoy wero atlendod to by a numbor of ladies, who did all possible to ease thoir sufferings while the work of transferring thrm to vehicles ior oonveyance to the district hospital was in progress . Both local ambulances wore requisitioned, and in addition a numbor of the injured woro conveyed to the hospital in cabs, some able to sit up, others lying at full length across the oabs, TWO MEN DROWNED Tho men drowned were :- R. Clark, painter, aged 22, livhj in Ponsonhy, nnmarriod, W. May, pointer, aged 22, also livinp at Ponsonby, and unmarried, TEE INJDUED MEN The injutios of tho mou who wero received at tho Hospital are as follawa:Arthur Taylor, contusion of hips, William Henry Smith, oomminuted fraoturo of tho right leg and fraoturo of the knee cap, Rossnol, scalp wound. Cairns, abrasions to anklo Gilmour, injuries to shin and back, Miohaol Weslorn, irjurios to anklo and eca'p wounds,

Chatlos Humphrios, injuries to tho right thigh;

Charles Flanighon, bruists on tho right leg.

F. l'ovntin, soalp wounds and bruises lo tho back ol tho hoad.

S'anloy Aiwlln, bruises, Joseph Henloy, bruises to the loft log, _ Mayall, injurios to the head and suffering from tho ef&ols ol immersion end also iulovnal injariea, Goorge Knox, bruises to the bond and scalp wound.

James Anderson, contusion of the back in the lumbar region, Tho most seriously injured men are Smith nnd Mat all, whose condition is regarded as critical,

Besides those admitted to tho Hospital, many other workmen have suffered minor injuries, THSINQUEST Tho bodios of Clark and May were searched for by diver?, and wore ultiuiatly recovored, The inquest on tho decoased mon opened this forenoon before Mr Kettle, S M ,■ and a jury, Tho Mapiatra'o staled that the inquiry would probably bo lengthy, as an exhaustive investigation was necessary to ascertain the oause of tho acoident. Tho jury then proooeded to the dock to viow the soone of the aocident, After the dock had been inspected by the jury, the inquest was adjourned for a wffik. An examination shows that tho dock is not injured in any way, Tho aooideut whs apparently due entirely to the blooks on whioh the Mamari rested giving way, It is suggested that tho blooka were disturbed when tho Kaikoura was being nndooked, just previous to the Mamari entering