THE STRANDING OF THE ELGINSHIRE.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume IX, Issue 15, 9 April 1892, Page 380

THE STRANDING OF THE ELGINSHIRE.

(SEE illustrations.) It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and even a shipping calamity like the stranding of the Elginshire at Normanby is giving a financial lift to some good colonials. The astute gentleman of Timaru who bought the frozen mutton for a mere song has, so ’tis said, made many hundreds per cent, on the amount he risked in the speculation. The operations of stripping are now progressing. The circumstances of the occurrence are well known to most. The Home liner went ashore at Normanby, near Timaru, on March 7th. There was a thick fog over the sea at the time of the mishap. The steamer is jammed between two rocks forward, and there are rocks along both sides, and the vessel’s stern is lifted from two to two and a-half feet above the proper level. The attempt to pump the water out from between the double bottom shows that the outer skin is greatly damaged, and the fact that water is in the inner two chambers shows that the rocks have penetrated through the inner skin too. Three tugs made most strenuous endeavours to get her off, ami the steamer's great screw churned the waters of the bay madly in efforts to aid them, but it was all in vain. Cargo was jettisoned, but this did no good, and it was finally resolved to sell the meat and strip the vessel. Our illustrations depicting the Elginshire on the rocks, the appearance of the bay, and the attempt to tug the great steamer into deep water are fiom sketches and photographs taken on the spot.