WRECK OF THE UNION CO'S NEW STEAMER.
ALL LIVES SAVED.
[per press Association.] Wellington, October 1. — News has just been received here that the Union Co's new steamer, the Mapourika, has been wrecked at Greymouth.
The crew and passengers were saved.
The Postal Department has received the following telegram from Greymouth: — "At 1 a.m. the Mapourika went ashore on the North Tip Head and now lies on the north side of the North Groin with her bows on the rocks. It is stated that the steamer was approaching the river from the south, and when between the two walls a blind roller carried her right across the bar; her bows struck the north wall and her stern swung in towards the beach. The circumstances and position are similar to the stranding of the Mawhera years ago. The Mapouriki's position is a most critical one, and it is exceedingly doubtful if she can be floated off, as she has several holes forward. A north-east wind would cause her to break up very quickly. There was twenty-two feet of water on the bar, and it was a clear night and the bar not rough. All the mails were saved."
Wellington, October 1. — Mr Stratford, S.M. at Greymouth, wires to the Justice Department that the Mapourika has a hole in her bottom, and three feet of water in one hold. He fears she will become a total wreck.
There will be no preliminary Customs enquiry into the stranding of the vessel. Mr Stratford, S.M, and two Nautical Assessors will hold the usual Magisterial enquiry.
The Haupiri, which leaves at midday for the West Coast, is taking the Union Company's foreman and a staff of workmen and all necessary gear for the purpose of attempting to get the Mapouriki off.
Greymouth, October 1. The Mapourika was struck by an immense blind roller, her stern going completely out of the water and her screw revolving in the air, carrying the vessel along on the top of the wave. She refused to answer her helm and struck the north tip head heavily.
Captain McLean, finding it impossible to clear the wall, gave the order full speed astern, thereby preventing the vessel going on the riverside of the wall and becoming a total wreck.
The effect of this was to carry the Mapourika north of the training wall and throw her upon the beach where she now lies.
The boats were lowered and the passengers and mails landed.
The damage to the vessel consists of a couple of holes near the bow and the hoisting of the stern almost in a similar manner to the injury to the Wainui, when she struck the Beef Barrels.
There is a considerable quantity of water in the lower hold.
Steel hawsers have been run out with the intention of getting the vessel broadside on to the sea and away from further damage on the rocks.
The Mapourika left Nelson for Westport and Greymouth on Thursday, and was due in Wellington again on Monday next.
Captain McLean, who has command of the vessel, brought her out from Home. He was formerly captain of the Penguin, and before then was an officer of the Takapuna, in which capacity he was a frequent visitor to this port. -Taranaki Herald, 1/10/1898.
The mishap at Greymouth to the magnificent steamer Mapourika is a public calamity. To the Union Company the loss must be a severe one, and the injury that must result to the West Coast trade in general cannot at present be accurately estimated. Whatever the primary cause of the accident was, real sympathy will be felt for Captain McLean who is well known as one of the most courteous officers in the service. His abilities as a master needs no better proof than that he was selected by the Company to hold the post of master of such a splendid vessel. Such a disaster, needless to say, was quite unlooked for, and from one end of the colony to the other sympathy will be widespread with those whose enterprise has been so rudely rebuffed. We can only echo the general hope that the steamer may yet be got off without serious injury. One thing is certain. It will take Greymouth a long time to recover from the effects of this catastrophe. Hitherto the Greymouth bar has been held in doubtful repute but henceforward it will be regarded with greater disfavour than ever a veritable Inchcape Rock. Thousands and thousands of pounds have been squandered in the vain attempt to make the harbor navigable for large steamers but the stranding of the Majounka shows that the scheme is altogether impracticable. We greatly fear that Greymouth will never accomplish its ambitious aim of becoming the leading maritime town on the West Coast. -Inungahua Times, 3/10/1898.
Wreck of the Mapourika.
(Continued from Page 4.) (Per Press Association). Wellington, October 3. The Post understands that Captain McLean, when he took command, had explicit instructions from head-quarters to take no risks with the Mapourika, as she was a valuable boat, and there were no insurance on her. If necessary it was better for him to err on the side of over-caution.
So far it is not intended to send the Wellington tug Duco to assist the stranded vessel, as plenty of towage power is available at Greymouth.
Mr Daniel, the Union Coy's foreman, who is at the scene of the accident, has sent the following report to the Company: — About 60ft of water at dead low water at the bow and about 3ft at the stern. Damage: The stern is twisted from the 9ft mark downwards, very like the Wainui. The plates on the port side are very badly holed from the stern to the centre of the bottom. The fore hatch under the chain locker is knocked in. One large hole is just on the after side of the chain locker, breaking away the edge of the ballast tank. Another large hole is just at the end of the fore cabin, close to the edge of the ballast tank into the hold. Another large hole is just clear of the ballast tank into the hold, just opposite the centre fore hatch. All this damage is on the port side. All the frames for about 20ft under the fore cabin are bent and broken. I have taken up all the lining near the damage. The holes being 3ft or 4ft under water at low water, heavy sea and shingle are rushing through into the hold. I have great fear of being unable to stop the holes even to float into the river at high tide, there being 15ft of water in the fore hold. The weight of water against the bulkheads broke the flanges of the water-tight doors, admitting the water into the engine room. I am strengthening the doors this tide, and hope to have them finished by the next tide for steam in the engine room. If it is possible to save the vessel in her present condition she can be repaired as good, as she lies well sheltered from the south-west. .All preparations are being made to protect her from the northward. If it is not possible by tonight's tide to stop the holes in the bottom with the prospect of taking her out to sea, will use every means possible to bring her broadside on the beach with the prospect of eventually launching,"
The magisterial enquiry has been fixed for next Monday at Greymouth, Captains Marciel (of Christchurch) and Bignall (Harbour Master at Hokitika) have been appointed nautical assessors. -Thames Advertiser, 4/10/1898.
THE LOSS OF THE MAPOURIKA
The Union Steam Shipping Company have met with a specially hard piece of ill-fortune in the wreck of their fine new steamer the Mapourika. Built specially for the Wellington West Coast trade, she was of a superior tonnage and much superior appointments than any boat hitherto in the service, and although only a few weeks in the trade she had earned very favorable opinions from the travelling public, her speed being great, and her arrangements for both cargo and passengers being a great step in advance. And yet, alas, here to-day she lies stranded in an extremely dangerous position on the Grey River beach, and serious doubts are entertained as to whether she can be extricated from her present unhappy plight. It is a piece of great ill-fortune, and one which, we feel sure, will earn a good deal of genuine sympathy for her enterprising, yet unlucky, owners. The official enquiry has yet to be held, and we cannot therefore, with fairness to Captain McLean, indulge in any theories as to the causes which led to the disaster. The captain has had great experience on the Coast. He has been skipper of the Penquin and the Mawhera, and has a host of friends in Picton, who must have heard with sincere regret of the mishap. No one better than Captain McLean had a more intimate acquaintance with the Coast and the dangers of the bars at Greymouth and Hokitika, and it is difficult to conceive how the disaster can be due to any carelessness or culpable blunder on his part. We trust that the bad reports we have heard as to the chances of the vessel's getting off the beach may prove to be unfounded, and that before the week is out the Mapourika may be safely out in blue water again. The disorganisation of the service caused by the mishap must be a heavy loss to the Union Company, to whom we again tender our regret at so untoward an affair having happened. -Marlborough Express, 4/10/1898.
THE MAPOURIKA.
(Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, October 7.
Mr Daniels has wired that a diver examined the Mapourika this morning, and found her very much knocked about in the fore part. There is a large hole underneath the fore hatch, which it is impossible to get at from the outside. He intends fixing a temporary bulkhead, with the view of displacing the greater part of the water, and allowing the vessel to float. There is now about 6ft of water in the hold at low water.
The latest weather report from Greymouth states that a fresh north-west breeze is blowing, with considerable sea on the bar, and a slight fresh in the river. In her present position the Mapourika is fully exposed to the wind and sea from this direction, and if particularly violent she must incur great damage. Her position now is a serious one. -Otago Daily Times, 8/10/1898.
Some miserable puerilities in respect to the loss of the Mapourika and Greymouth bar were allowed to appear in a Reefton paper that showed a narrow and unneighborly spirit. They might fairly even be considered spiteful, and left the writer open to the charge of rejoicing over the misfortune of a sister town, for such a catastrophe as the loss of so fine a vessel cannot be regarded otherwise than as a misfortune, though it will have no more effect on the character of the bar than the thoughtless and splenetic remarks of the witless Reefton scribe. The history of the bar for the last 15 or 16 years settles that point, during which it has been safely worked by all classes of vessels, several of them much larger than the Mapourika. We did not deem it necessary at the time to take any notice of the comments referred to. The Inangahua Herald of yesterday has the following sensible remarks upon the occurrence: — "There can be but one feeling, and that of regret, throughout the colony at the disaster which has befallen the Union Company's valuable new steamer Mapourika. To say that this regret is equally shared by the residents of Reefton is unnecessary, and the only excuse to be offered for so doing is the inflammatory comments here and elsewhere which had better been left unsaid. Smarting under such a calamity an irresponsible Greymouth resident might be forgiven if he had been betrayed into undue warmth of expression, and certainly the duty was not incumbent upon Reefton to throw in a reminder that the catastrophe went to show that the Grey Bar, as indeed is the case with all bar harbors, under certain conditions must be dangerous. New Zealand records prove that from the wreck of H. M. S. Orpheus on Manukau bar to more recent experiences on the West Coast of this island. A very striking instance, which will be readily seen by our Greymouth contemporary, if he refers to the back files of the, ARGUS is afforded by the s.s. Bruce at Greymouth as showing how, despite all ordinary care suggested by experience and seamanship, misfortune may easily overtake a vessel and crew. In the case of the Bruce her master had crossed every navigable bar on the Coast hundreds of times. At nightfall there was no indication that the surf was likely to be exceptionally rough, but later when the ill-fated Bruce took the bar she encountered a heavy swell, was cast ashore, and in a few hours abandoned. As the writer we quote from truly observes, all bar harbors are more or less dangerous, just as all coastal navigation is attended with more or less danger. But because a vessel is lost occasionally here and there along our coasts, they are not discredited as being dangerous to commerce. The world is full of risks and dangers in many lines of business, but these risks must be taken. Trade and commerce cannot be stopped. So will the shipping business of the port of Greymouth go on as it has gone on ever since it was made a navigable port and accessible in nearly all weathers, except when flood or storm prevails. -Grey River Argus, 13/10/1898.
The Mapourika is now considered to be absolutely safe from the sea. Yesterday Mr Daniels got permission to make a cutting in the south wall to launch her. He estimates she will be again in the water in about eight weeks. The damage will be about £6000. Mr Campbell, chairman of the Harbor Board, with other numbers and leading citizens, visited the vessel and conveyed to Captain McLean the sympathy of the residents of the district at his misfortune, expressing satisfaction at the result of the enquiry, and a hope that the vessel would be continued in the trade and in command of Captain McLean. -Daily Telegraph, 21/10/1898.
A Greymouth bard has singled us out for the special distinction of immortalising us in deathless poetry. We feel immensely flattered, and rejoice exceedingly, that our innocent little allusion to the dangerous character of the Greymouth bar should have been the occasion of ushering into existence a poet, who might otherwise have perished in inglorious embryo. Now he has emerged into the fall light of day, and lo! the universe is flooded with song. Truly is it said that "Great events from little causes spring," and "Out of evil cometh good." The Mapourika, after all, was not sacrificed in vain, since from the wreckage has sprung forth a genius. This fact alone should, to a certain extent, reconcile the Union Company to the loss of so fine a vessel. -Inungahua Times, 22/10/1898.
Fortunately for posterity, the poem which flooded the universe with the song of the Mapourika has survived.
Composition by a Modern Campbell
(From Friday's Argus)
When Greymouth's sun was setting low, in ruddiest tints of ruddy glow,
Enshrining mounts bedecked with snow -
The beauty of her scenery.
Long, long the streets of folk were swept, And Greymouth, peaceful Greymouth slept —
e'en errant louts had homeward crept
From wonted pranks of devilry.
And ne'er a calmer night could be, For peace reigned o'er the land and sea —
Out shone the moon in heaven free
From clouds enrolled in revelry.
But Greymouth got an awful fright, When the bells rang at the dead of night
And many awoke to view the sight
With eyes a rolling rapidly.
And hundreds rushed in haste and saw, the Mapourika on the shore,
With flashing lights of thunder roar
in dire stress of signalling,
Full many thought how such could be, For never did a calmer sea
Break on the shore so peacefully,
Viewed with the moon's tranquility
With such a sea and such night - What brought the vessel in this plight,
What put her left instead of right
Where runs the river steadily? -Inungahua Times, 24/10/1898.
PERSONAL.
Captain McLean, of the Mapourika, arrived from Greymonth by the Haupiri yesterday morning en route for Dunedin. On Monday evening last he was presented with an illuminated testimonial from the citizens of Greymouth, Mr M. Hannan making the presentation. Another testimonial from those who were passengers on the Mapourika on the night of the accident is being prepared, and is to be forwarded to the captain as soon as it is ready. -NZ Times, 28/10/1898.
News of the Day
Captain H. McLean, of the s.s. Mapourika, is at present, with Mrs McLean, residing at Rangiora, The anxiety of the past few weeks appears to have been very trying to him; but he has received congratulations on all hands upon the manner in which he handled his vessel to save the lives of the passengers and crew, and it was with much satisfaction his many friends received the news that the finding of the Court resulted in the return to them of the captain's and officer's certificates. Both were exonerated from all blame in connection with the stranding of the Mapourika. -Press, 1/11/1898.
THE STRANDED STEAMER MAPOURIKA
Operations at the Mapourika are going on slowly but steadily. Yesterday she was lifted 16 inches with appliances equal to 2000 ton lifting power, but further apparatus has been sent for. It is understood that Captain McLean has sent in his resignation. -Taranaki Herald, 1/11/1898.
WELLINGTON NOTES.
(By Telegraph—Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, this day.
Owing to great demands made on the railway rolling stock in consequence of shearing operations the Department, finds much difficulty in providing for traffic. Captain McLean, late of the S.S. Mapourika, denies a report that he has sent in his resignation to the Union Company. -Auckland Star, 28/11/1898.
THE CAPTAIN OF THE MAPOURIKA.
Captain H. McLean, of the s.s. Mapourika, has received notice of his dismissal from the Union Company's service, and intends to take up land. Captain McLean had fourteen years' experience in the positions of second mate of the Mararoa and first mate of the Takapuna. As one of those who did not go on strike he was placed in charge of the Janet Niccol from which he was promoted to the Mawhera, and he was for a time in charge of the Pukaki. He brought out the new vessel Rotoiti, and after being in charge of the Penguin, was placed on the Mapourika. In connection with the stranding of the vessel, the Court of Enquiry entirely exonerated Captain McLean from blame. It is because of the inexorable rule of the Company that when a boat is wrecked the Captain must be discharged, that Captain McLean leaves the service. -Press, 14/12/1898.
The launching of the Mapourika yesterday morning brought with it a sense of extreme gratification to every one in Greymouth. This was deepened still further when it was seen what a splendid job had been made of the repairs. Few looking at this splendid boat as she now lies alongside the wharf, or anyone unacquainted with the trying experiences she has gone through could possibly have any idea of the buffeting she had to face and the severe injuries she sustained through her encounter with the rocks of the north tip-head. She looks as complete and well finished as when she first steamed up the Grey River. Her bow is as clean and sharp as when she left the builder's yard. It is almost difficult to imagine that her shapely bow was only some five months ago torn to pieces and crushed out of shape, with a great yawning opening and holes along the side that. would take in water enough in five minutes to swamp her, while her plates along one side were dented and wrinkled as if they had been so many sheets of zinc. At first glance at the condition of the vessel on the morning of the 1st October last, many thought that nothing could be done to rescue her from the dangerous position in which she was lying and reinstate her in the condition she was in before the deplorable accident which so nearly ruined .her for ever. But a more hopeful and healthful state of affairs soon supervened after the arrival of Mr Daniels, the Union Company's marine engineer. He came accompanied with a large gang of men and the appliances which his experience had taught him would be necessary. He at once set to work and was not long before he had the vessel out of danger from the treacherous sea and placed securely on the crown of the beach out of harm's way. One of the most anxious and difficult parts of the undertaking was to get the much-battered vessel out of the beating surf and place her on dry land. The work of several days would not infrequently be completely neutralised or destroyed altogether by a shift of wind or a heavy sea coming home, when sandbags and ways would be covered feet deep with shingle in a few hours, so that a fresh start had to be made. Very few save those who worked at the refloating of the vessel have any accurate conception of the trying nature of the experiences that had to be gone through at that stage of the work, and during which Mr Daniels must have had a most anxious time. A few days ago a Dunedin telegram informed our readers that the salvaging of the Mapourika was the greatest work of the kind that had been done in New Zealand. We think it might have stated in all Australasia, for we are unaware of any more important work of salvage having been accomplished in any of the Australasian Colonies. "All is well that ends well," says the national poet; but had it not been for the engineering skill of Mr Daniels we are afraid that the beautiful new steamer would have left her bones on our beach and given us at the same time a legacy of bad odour to the reputation of the port. We are therefore glad to congratulate Mr Daniels on the success and excellence of his work. Nothing could be more creditable or admirable than the way in which the vessel has been restored and once more sent back to her native element. The Union Company are fortunate in commanding the services of a marine engineer like Mr Daniels. -Grey River Argus, 11/3/1899.
Local and General
A correspondent wired from Christchurch last night in reference to the opening wool sale of the season, that in Messrs Matson and Co.’s catalogue of 2100 bales the half-bred clip of Captain McLean (late of the Union Company’s steamer Mapourika) topped the market at 13 1/4d, the pieces bringing 10 1/2d. -NZ Times, 24/11/1898.
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