PORT CHALMERS.
ARRIVED.
January 9. — Rainbow, steamer, from the Taieri, at 4 p.m.
January 9 (at 8 p.m.)— Sarah and Esther, schooner, 78 tons, Down, master, from Auckland with cargo of timber; seventeen days on the passage, and weather very severe during the whole time. While off Cape Saunders, on the 9th, three of her crew were struck by lightning, and one of them (a man named David Macher) seriously burnt on the left side.
January 10 (at 10 a.m.) — Geelong, steamer, from the North.
The s.s. Aldinga may be expected hourly, Captain Maclean having stated his intention to be back here in 13 days, and we know that he is likely to fulfil his promise. The Aldinga sailed from here on the 28th December.
Passengers per Zoe, from Hobart Town: Cabin — Mr. Paget, Mr. Godfrey, Mr. Clayton; three in steerage.
The "Foam." — We have been requested by Messrs. J. Daniels and Co. to state that their name should have appeared as agents for the brigantine "Foam," instead of that of Mr. Merridew.
SERIOUS INJURIES FROM LIGHTNING.
On Thursday afternoon a serious accident occurred off Cape Saunders, on board the schooner "Sarah and Esther," while making for Port Chalmers.
Three men, who were employed on deck, were struck by lightning. One of them lost the use of his arm, another was thrown down, and the third received severe burns over the whole of one half of his body. As soon as the schooner dropped anchor, Capt. Downs fetched Dr. Halley on board, who dressed their wounds and administered restoratives. We learn from the doctor that the shock, though severe, is not likely to prove fatal. Attention should be directed to this accident, because there seems to be an opinion among the old residents, that lightning in New Zealand is unattended with danger. A portion of the flannel shirt worn by the man who is so severely burnt has been forwarded to us for inspection. It presents a completely charred appearance. -Otago Daily Times, 11/1/1862.
Dunedin, February 5th, 1862. To the Editor of the Daily Times.
Sir, — I have seen Mr. Kingston at Port Chalmers yesterday, and he advised me to send you the enclosed, that you would kindly support this humane action, which will greatly oblige me. Yours truly, Thos. S. Dowses, Master of the "Sarah and Esther."
To the charitable feelings of the Shipmasters, Agents, and Owners of Dunedin and Port Chalmers. David Magher, one of the seaman belonging to the "Sarah and Esther" — one of the three men that was struck by lightning on the evening of the 7th of Jan., when off Cape Saunders, on her passage from Melbourne to this port, and is now lying dangerously ill in the Hospital, having no friends in the colony, requests the assistance of the humane and charitable.
Donations will be received by Mr. John Ogilvie, Shipping and Commission Agent, Dunedin, and Mr. James Galbraith, Port Chalmers. -Otago Daily Times, 8/2/1862.
Some alarm, and a great deal of amusement, was created on Saturday by an incident attending the launch of a schooner intended for lightering purposes, which had been built by Mr Isbister for Mr Edward Perkins in the vicinity of his slip in Carey's Bay, where the stern-wheel steamer Tuapeka was lately constructed and successfully launched. Mr Perkins had been liberal in his invitations for the occasion and numerous guests assembled both on the shore and on the deck of the vessel to witness the usually pretty sight of a vessel being launched. Up to a certain point the scene was thus made rather attractive, and the pleasure of the spectators was at its height when the vessel began to move, when the young lady who was deputed to name her broke the bottle on her bow, and when the burgee exhibiting her Welsh name "Cymraes" was unfurled. Unfortunately, just at this moment a hitch occurred, and there was nearly being a painful tragedy. From some reason or other the vessel, which was being launched broadside on to the water, did not go off evenly. While the bows took the water, the stern hung, and the ways being rather steep, the effect was to cant the vessel so much over on her side as to precipitate several of those on deck into the water and others into her hold, all of them being knocked off their feet and considerably alarmed, as also were the surrounding spectators, who were in momentary expectation of seeing the vessel turn keel up. The first person to come to grief was Captain George Thomson, Marine Surveyor, who was precipitated overboard, and, becoming entangled with the vessel and floating wood about her, caused a great deal of alarm to his friends, and some amusement to hardened spectators by the peculiarities of his action in the water. Another person, Mr Griffiths Jones, had the same ill-luck; and there is no saying what might have happened the two men had not Sergeant Mallard, of the Water Police, with exemplary pluck and gallantry, jumped in after them, and assisted them both in keeping head above water. Of those who remained on board, the worst-fated was Capt. Leys, formerly of the brig Tyra. There were a number of children on deck, kept together by some ropes and planking, and tended by Capt. Gleadhow. As the vessel lurched, Capt. Gleadhow and his young charges were thrown down, his face coming in contact with a stancheon, and receiving some severe injury, including a black eye. Noticing their danger, Capt. Leys, regardless of his own safety, released his hold and rushed to save them from getting over, and probably under the vessel, when her way was suddenly checked by her coming in contact with the lighter Sarah and Esther, and he was hurled head-foremost into the hold, and against the sharp edged timber of her bottom. When raised he was found to be bleeding from numerous slight wounds and excoriations about the face, and he was so severely shaken and bruised that he had to be conveyed ashore in the Water Police boat; he has since been confined, and is suffering considerably, though his injuries are not so serious as was at first supposed. By these and other accidents, a good deal of alarm was temporarily created among the spectators, and the participators in the launch, but, as it was discovered that no irretrevable risk to life or limb had been incurred, there was an agreeable change of feeling, and Perkins's launch is accepted as the liveliest interruption to the chronic monotony of the place, which has for a long time occurred. -Otago Daily Times, 14/3/1864.
All of the immigrants excepting the single men — 55 in number — were disembarked from the Carnatic yesterday, and removed to the Quarantine Station. They were, together with their effects, placed in the ship's boats and towed to the Island by the steamer Result. The single men will be removed tomorrow morning, by which time the lighter Sarah and Esther will have been fitted up to receive them. She is to be moored off Goat Island, on which, as we stated in yesterday's issue, the immigrants are to be employed in erecting suitable barracks as extra accommodation for quarantined persons. -Otago Daily Times, 4/3/1874.
We hear that the Provincial Government has purchased the lighter Sarah and Esther, for the purpose of converting her into a prison hulk. Latterly the vessel has done duty as a sort of quarantine station at Goat Island, and now she is to be applied to a kindred purpose in a moral sense. She is to be taken into dock to-day, to be caulked and otherwise prepared for her new occupation. -Otago Daily Times, 10/4/1874.
A new prison hulk is being prepared at Port Chalmers for the convenience of prisoners who are working at the Deborah Bay Road. The hold of the vessel is open from stem to stern, and is sufficiently lofty for a man to stand upright with ease. This part is fitted up with two rows of bunks all round, being 28 in number, with two small cabins at each end. On deck there are two houses built of weather-boards, one intended for mess room and galley, and the other is the warders' room or cabin. The top of the deck houses serves as a promenade on which the warder on duty will have a complete command of the vessel's deck. -Westport Times, 5/6/1874.
The Gazette, issued yesterday contains a proclamation declaring that the hulk Sarah and Esther, now moored off Tahita Point, in the harbor of Dunedin, is to be used as a public prison. -NZ Times, 25/12/1874.
VISIT TO THE PRISON HULK.
The alteration of the arrangements in the heretofore application of prison labour at Port Chalmers by housing the hard labour gang in a floating hulk, moored near the scene of operations, has been attended by a very marked success. In the first place, the time that was lost in daily conveying the prisoners from and to Dunedin, has been saved, whilst the men go to their work fresher, and therefore more competent to perform a good day's labour than was the case when they commenced the day with a long walk from the train. The other day we visited the hulk, where she is moored in Redcliff Bay, below Pulling Point, and obtained a progress report from Sergeant Ferguson, the officer in charge of the gang. He stated that the progress of work had received marked acceleration since the alteration above mentioned, and that nearly seven miles of road, the greater part of it pitched and metalled, had been completed. We noticed the road had reached a point nearly half-a-mile beyond Pulling Point, rather better than half way to Hayward's Point — the terminus. The road is finished as it goes along, the advance party forming, whilst the men in the rear pitch and metal. We have many times commented with favour upon the undertaking, and are glad to see that its accomplishment is not by any means situated in the far future. We believe that the work will be finished in a twelvemonth, possibly sooner. We boarded the hulk just as the men were about to dine, and procured from Sergeant Ferguson a few statements respecting the routine followed on board that may be of interest to some of our readers. An inspection of the hulk revealed the fact of order and cleanliness being in the ascendent since she was placed in commission. She has been improved by the addition of a new lower deck laid upon the old one, and also by the erection of extra sleeping places and the construction of a handy locker or two and other conveniences. The lower deck is where the men sleep in two tiers of bunks running round the sides. Each bunk is furnished with a mattreass and abundance of bedclothes. Dry, wholesome, and comfortable are terms that may, with truth, be applied to this part of the vessel. Ingress to and egress from the lower deck is by a narrow gangway in the strong iron grating that guards the hatchway. The gangway is closed at night by a door grating. The hulk is housed in nearly throughout her entire length, and the fore part of the house, which is immediately over the hatch way, is where the men take their meals. Tables and benches are fixed at the sides, and opposite each man's place is a peg on which he hangs his hat. The day's duties commence at six o'clock, when the men are turned out, and — half an hour later — partake of breakfast, which, instead of the porridge common to prison fare, consists of tea and bread, and a little something with it. The Sergeant said that the tea was thoroughly appreciated, and appeared to do the men more good than stirabout. Meantime the boats, of which there are two, are hauled alongside, and at half-past 7 the prisoners step into them and pull ashore. They leave the boats in single file, and work at the road until noon. Then follows the call off to dinner. Again the boats are manned, and a return to the hulk is soon effected. There the dinner is found to be ready, and we can vouch for the liberality of the dietary scale. Each man's allowance, consisting of a couple of substantial slices of beef, a large slice of bread, and three large potatoes, placed at his seat at the table in a tin plate, and is flanked by pint pannikins filled with savoury thick soup. By the time the tables are laid, the men, who have had a few minutes' breathing space in the fore part of the vessel, are ready to sit down. The strictest discipline is preserved during meal times. At a signal from the Sergeant, the prisoners filed into the house, and seated themselves one at a time at the table, each man hanging his hat on a peg as he sat down. Then when all were seated, the Sergeant called "Attention," and all rose, whilst he uttered a short grace. Appetites sharpened by healthy labour were not long in disposing of the good fare provided, and when all had finished, they again stood at attention whilst thanks were returned. The balance of the dinner hour was spent by the men in the fore part of the hulk, and those amongst them who used tobacco were permitted the dear luxury of "a good smoke." "Then you allow them tobacco, Sergeant?' we observed. "Yes," he replied, "they receive one plug a week, and are permitted to smoke three times a day — after each meal." The dinner hour having expired, the men reenter the boats, go on shore, and work until four o'clock — sometimes earlier, sometimes later — according to the weather. They then return to the hulk, partake of the evening meal the same as at breakfast, and file into their sleeping-place down the narrow hatchway when darkness sets in. The silence bell is rung at the usual hour, eight o'clock, and quietness reigns until morning. The prisoners number 34, but four more could be accommodated. To guard them there are the Sergeant-in-charge, and five warders, of whom one is told off for night duty. "The prisoners are easy to manage," said the Sergeant; "we have no extra trouble with them, and they work well. They go to Dunedin every Saturday, to obtain a change of clothing, and bathe themselves, and return to the hulk on Monday morning." The Sergeant remarked with pardonable pride upon one or two economical reforms he had effected. "A great deal of expense has been saved somebody," he said, "in the matter of water supply. When we first took possession of the hulk two large water tanks, which were filled from the water-boat, were on board, but I soon sent them ashore and procured half-a-dozen ten-gallon kegs, easy to handle, and with these we supply ourselves from the creeks on shore." Immediately abaft the prisoners' eating room the cooking-house is situated, and abaft that again are the officers' quarters. Having partaken of a cup of good tea with our friend the Sergeant and wished him the speedy accomplishment of the "Bay road undertaking," we bade adieu to the hulk and returned to Port Chalmers. -Otago Daily Times, 2/8/1875.
The prisoner, Alexander Nicholson, who met with an accident to his spine while bathing near the prison hulk in Port Chalmers last week, died at the Hospital on Thursday. An inquest was held on Friday, when the Jury returned a verdict according to the evidence. Deceased was a native of Nova Scotia, and came out last year in the ship "Thomas Stephens" as boatswain. He was 29 years of age. -Bruce Herald, 10/2/1880.
A GALLANT ACT REWARDED.
In our last night's issue we made brief reference to the meritorious act of a prisoner named Edwards, employed on the prison hulk at Port Chalmers, who swam off the bulk and undoubtedly saved from drowning a young girl named McKinnon. On the matter being reported to him by Sergeant Ferguson, Mr Caldwell brought it under the notice of the visiting justices (Messrs John Logan and J. Brown, J.P.’s), who at once telegraphed to the Minister of Justice recommending Edwards to His Excellency’s favorable consideration, on the ground that such an act of gallantry should not be allowed to pass un-rewarded. We understand that a reply was this afternoon resolved from the Minister for Justice ordering the immediate liberation of the prisoner. Edwards was sentenced on the 1st inst. to a month’s imprisonment with hard labor for gambling on the racecourse on show day. -Evening Star, 18/12/1880.
The prison hulk which has been moored at Port Chalmers for several years, where the prisoners have been doing shine very important work in and about that neighborhood, was to-day removed to Portobello, on the Peninsula Beach road, for the purpose of widening and repairing the whole of the Beach road, which has become of late very dangerous, owing to the increasing traffic between Dunedin and Portobello. The very picturesque Beach road round by the Quarantine Island, where the prisoners have ben working for some time, has not been completed, which is a source of very great discontent to the inhabitants of the Port; but we have reason to believe that another gang will very shortly be sent down to complete that work. -Evening Star, 12/4/1881.
NARROW ESCAPE FROM DROWNING.
A very narrow escape from drowning occurred in the harbor lost night. It is usual for one of the warders and a prisoner to come from the Prison Hulk, lying off Macandrew’s, to Port Chalmers to meet the 2.30 p.m. train, and convey back the provisions required for the next day’s use. Yesterday afternoon Warder Andrew Binney, with a prisoner named Paget, took the provisions in the boat and started for the return journey. It was blowing hard from the S.W. at the time, and at about 5.15 p.m., when at the entrance to the cross channel off Kilgour Point, the boat filled and sank. The two men at once struck out for the shore, about two miles distant. It being ebb tide the men drifted on to the sand-bank. Knowing that it was useless to remain there, as the receding tide would wash them off and carry them up harbor, they renewed their attempt to gain the shore, and succeeded in reaching Goat Island at seven o’clock. They had been in the water for nearly two hours, and both men were nearly exhausted. After some time their cries for assistance were heard by James Holden, a fisherman, who sent a messenger to acquaint Sergeant Hanlan with what had appened. A constable was immediately despatched to get a boat and crew from Mr Innis, but it was soon learned that their services were not required, as Holden, with praiseworthy promptitude, had gone to the men’s assistance and taken them off the island. The warder and Paget left the Port for town by the 9.45 p.m. train. -Evening Star, 4/4/1882.
THE PRISON HULK.
The harbourmaster reported that on the 3rd inst., at 9 a.m., the prison hulk was found to have 4ft 2in of water in the well. She had not been pumped out from 7 p.m. the previous evening, and she was pumped dry in three minutes. He considered her a very tight vessel, and that it was better for the health of the prisoners and all on board that she should make a little water, as it kept away bad smells. If a weight were put on her forward she would draw less water. — Referred to the Works Committee. -Otago Daily Times, 12/6/1885.
THE WORKS AT THE HEADS.
The costly and extensive works which the Harbour Board have undertaken at the Heads has now progressed so far as to make a visit of inspection particularly interesting. Yesterday Mr G. M. Barr, the engineer, was joined in his periodical visit to the works by a small party, which included Messrs E. Wilson, J. T. Mackerras, J. L. Gillies, Phillips (gaoler), J. Baxter, Simpson, and a representative of this paper. The weather was exceptionally fine, and with the tide favourable, the Reynolds made a quick trip down, reaching the Heads at about midday. To those who have not visited the spot since the works were commenced the change is very striking. The large desolate flat known as the Northern Spit is beginning to look actually populous. The prison hulk is moored near to the shore for the accommodation of the 40 odd convicts whose labour is employed,; and dotted about the flat are a number of neat comfortable houses, looking rather as if they were intended to form the nucleus of a favourite watering place. The best of these residences are those erected for the inspector of works (Mr Stephens) and the chief warder, who has charge of the prison contingent. There are also one or two stores and boarding-houses combined, which provide food and sleeping accommodation but — by special arrangement — no liquor, and there are a handful of smaller buildings, mostly erected and occupied by those who are in some way connected with the harbour work, to say nothing of a collection of tents and huts nestling in a hollow near the beach.
The immediate cause of all this activity is seen in the shape of a pier-like structure jutting out seawards-with a slight inclination in the direction of Taiaroa Head opposite. This is the commencement of the enormous mole which the Harbour Board have undertaken to carry 4000ft out into the sea with the view of thereby confining the wandering waves within more correct and. proper limits, scouring away that bar which has so vexed the soul of the public generally, and making Otago Harbour the best and safest in New Zealand. To be strictly accurate, this massive timber structure is not the commencement of the mole. It is merely the means by which the thousands of tons of rock, which will compose the said mole, are to be precipitated into the deep, there to settle into a massive impenetrable wall that will defy the action of wind and tide for all time. Another possible means would have been to employ barges to deposit the material, but for many reasons the wooden staging is preferable. From the character of the staging alone a very good idea of the magnitude of the work it obtained. The structure is some 40ft in width, supported on piles of ironbark driven firmly into the sand, a span of 22ft being allowed between each. Sir John Goode's original plan provided for 25ft spans, but as Mr Barr, by adopting the lesser space has avoided the necessity of underbracing, the alteration results in a considerable saving. The crossbeams and longitudinal sleepers which form the superstructure of this staging are very massive, as they need to be for the weight they have to bear. They carry three lines of rails, along which trucks pass laden perhaps with some 50 tons of stone, which is tilted over en masse into the water below. As the visiting party yesterday reached the extremity of the 1000 feet of staging so far constructed, they had an opportunity of seeing one of these little consignments discharged. A locomotive driving before it nine or ten trucks came travelling up, and one after the other the well-balanced receptacles were tilted up, and the contents sent thundering down with a vibration that shook even that substantial structure. The 10 trucks were each loaded with about four tons of stone. In seven minutes this mass of 40 tons was snugly deposited beneath, and engine and trucks were away to the quarries for a fresh load. This rock, which is being used for the formation of the mole, is purposely quarried in blocks of varying size. There is a quantity of quite small stone, mingled with blocks weighing up to seven tons — the maximum lifting power of the crane employed at the quarry. The smaller material is specially useful in the way of filling in and binding the wall, while the heavier blocks of course give it weight and solidity. The quantity of stone that will have been deposited by the time this gigantic work is completed is almost incalculable. The mole is to be constructed to a level just above high water mark from end to end, and of course as its height increases the width of its base will spread proportionately. At present, with the staging 1000ft out, the depth is about 14ft at low water. The mole will have grown to some 30ft in height by the time it has reached its limit of 4000ft, and its base will then probably be some 150ft across — a truly enormous mass of stonework. The work so far as it has at present been pushed has not reached the extremity of the beach current, and until it has reached the regular tidal current no difference can be expected upon the bar. As soon as this point is reached, however, a gradual improvement should become noticeable. Before leaving the staging, it may be mentioned that although iron bark imported from New South Wales has to be used for the piles, the superstructure is entirely of native timber. Black pine was used for the first 500 feet, but Mr Barr then concluded that the red pine, a much cheaper timber, would be sufficiently durable for the purpose, and this has since been employed. The engineer estimates that it will last for some eight or ten years in its present position, far longer than is required for the completion of the mole, which it is hoped to finish within about 2 1/2 years. The Harbour Board, by the way, contract for the material and construction of the staging, and the work which they retain in their own hands is therefore merely the quarrying and depositing of the stone.
Leaving the staging and following the line of rails leading to the quarries at the northern head, a fuller idea is obtained of the amount of work that has been got through. Until the 4th August of last year not a shovelful of earth had been turned, and now a railway, involving a considerable extent of embankment has been formed between the quarries and the staging the length of rails laid being close upon a mile. This railway rises from a flat a couple of feet above high-water mark to a level of 18ft, the gradient being about 1 in 100, up which the locomotive employed can without difficulty take 10 loaded waggons, each carrying three or four tons. Of the two quarries, that which is called the northern quarry, is worked by the prisoners, and consists wholly of basaltic rock interspersed with softer layers of volcanic clays. The men work under the surveillance of three or four of the warders, one of whom parades, rifle in hand outside a small sentry-box placed just opposite the face at which the prisoners are employed. The second quarry, near at hand, is worked by free labour, and 16 men are at present employed there. This rock is very similar to Port Chalmers stone, although it is not so crystaline or brittle. It is the stone commonly called volcanic breccia. There are two steam cranes at work in the quarries. One of five and one of seven ton lifting capacity, and a third (five-ton) will be available in a few weeks' time. Just at present stone is only being obtained from one quarry, as the prisoners are employed conveying debris and refuse from the northern quarry for the formation of a track across the low-lying flat between the works and the southern boundary of the north spit. All the stone which has so far been used has been obtained by three large blasts only and a few smaller ones. Immense quantities of rock have been dislodged at each blast, and to give some idea of the amount of material available one quarry alone - that worked by free labour - can send out about 500 tons a day.
Altogether, an inspection of the works gives a very satisfactory impression as to the progress that has been made. As already stated, not a not a spade had been put into the ground until August 4, 1884, and the staging was not commenced until the 22nd September. It is more satisfactory still to know that the work is so far keeping well within the engineers calculations, and that his total estimate (£86,000) may, if all goes well, be regarded as perfectly safe. -Otago Daily Times, 20/8/1885.
Lawrence White, one of the men who was sentenced to a term of hard labour for being concerned in the Nenthorne outrage about 18 months ago, and who was charged with insubordination in the prison hulk at Otago Heads, has been sentenced by the Port Chalmers magistrate to ten days' solitary confinement. The Dunedin magistrates decided that they could not deal with the case, as the offence was not committed within the limits of their jurisdiction. -Evening Post, 3/4/1886.
THE GAZETTE.
The following superintendent collectors of agricultural districts are appointed: — For Waitaki, Waihemo, and that part of Waikouaiti north of Waitati Stream, Mr Andrew Thompson; for Vincent, Maniototo, and Lake County, Mr Richard Kiefer; for Peninsula, Taieri, and part of Waikouaiti south of Waitati Stream, Mr R. B. Martin; for Bruce, Tuapeka, and Clutha, Mr Peter Farrell. The honorary corps of the Otago Guards have been disbanded. The hulk Sarah and Esther, at Otago Heads, has ceased to be a prison. -Evening Star, 7/1/1887.
RESPECTABLE OLD AGE.
Formerly the prison hulk in Dunedin Harbour. This old relic is now a boat shed and dwelling on the waterfront, Port Chalmers. — Hicks, photo.
An ancient craft of considerable notoriety in pioneer days is now experiencing at Port Chalmers the final stage of a lengthy and varied career The Sarah and Esther was her name when, as a topsail schooner, she traded to Otago Harbor. Subsequently she became in turn a harbor lighter, a prison hulk, a boating club shed, and finally a dwelling-house. As a harbor lighter she was at one time in charge of Captain Edie, who was afterwards master of the harbor steamers Samson and Iron Age. He was captain of the Mararoa when he left the sea to take up the position of shipping master in Sydney, where he later was promoted to be head of the Marine Department. As a prison hulk, after her lightering days, the Sarah and Esther was in charge of Sergeant Ferguson, and the prison hulk lay at anchor at various places in the harbor while the prisoners were engaged in forming the harborside roads. When not further required for this purpose she was acquired by the Queen's Drive Boating Club as a boating shed, and amongst those who brought the vessel from the Heads to Port Chalmers to convert her into a rowing shed were Mr W. J. Putnam and Mr H. Cameron. It was from this hulk-shed that Anthony Palamountain and James Dow, two very fine oarsmen, rowed in the Nil Desperandum. After a time the rowing club went in for a more handy shed, and the now decrepit Sarah and Esther was sold and converted into a dwelling-house. This morning Mr A. Innes, who, by the way, is a returned soldier — a main body man, started to pull down the Sarah and Esther dwelling-house, and her destined end is firewood. -Evening Star, 31/10/1917.
