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White Wings Vol I. Fifty Years Of Sail In The New Zealand Trade, 1850 TO 1900

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Petane Beach, Napier, has been the scene of several big wrecks, starting with the Royal Bride in 1863, but the greatest disaster chronicled occurred when the ship Northumberland, a vessel of 2095 tons, was driven ashore. There was loss of life indirectly connected with the wreck, but the crew of the Northumberland all got ashore safely, although Captain Todd had a narrow escape. the Northumberland, a Shaw, Savill Company ship, had recently arrived from London via Lyttelton, having on board 1000 tons of English cargo and 4000 bags of wheat and other produce shipped at Lyttelton. It was on the 10th May, 1887, during a terrific gale, that the ship was wrecked. On the evening of the previous day one of her anchors parted and she commenced to drift towards the shore. She was pulled up by the second anchor, and a spare anchor was also put out, and held. At night everything appeared snug. At 4 o'clock in the morning, however, the anchors commenced to drag. All attempts to save the vessel were useless, and she rapidly swept on to the beach and was hurled shorewards broadside on. The Weka laid by to pick up a boat which had been lowered from the ship. This was the only boat lowered, and contained the younger members of the crew. Just then a terrible accident occurred. The Boojum, the Union Company's launch, steamed under the lee of the ship to take the boat's crew on board, but got into the breakers and in a second was turned bottom upward. She was manned by Captain Setter, Engineer J. Martin, and Seaman Keevington, volunteer Seaman G. Bain, a landsman, and Archibald Waddell, a cordial manufacturer. the Northumberland lifeboat, which had just been manned, pulled to the scene of the accident, but succeeded only in saving Martin. A rope was thrown from the ship to another man, who was hauled half up, when he fell back exhausted, and was drowned. By this time large crowds had assembled on the shore, and attempts were made to send the rocket line on board, but the lines proved rotten, and would not carry. The ship was now within a hundred yards of the beach. A plank attached to a light line was floated from the vessel, and secured after great efforts by two men named Forne and Lynam, who went into the surf with ropes round their waists. The light line being landed it was easy to send a strong cable on board, to which a cradle was rigged. About 4.30 the work of rescue commenced, there being then thirty-one souls on board huddled on the forecastle, the sea making clean breaches over the vessel. A difficulty occurred through the cradle lines breaking, and the darkness set in, making the work still more difficult, but by 7 o'clock all were landed, Captain Todd being the last to come on shore. Fires were
Northumberland On The Beach.

Northumberland On The Beach.

lighted on shore, and spirits supplied to the men as they landed, exhausted by their buffeting by the heavy surf. In a very short time the masts of the Northumberland went over the side, and the next morning only a small portion of the ship showing the bowsprit was visible. The hull of the Boojum also came ashore about the same time. During the early stages of the gale four passengers on the Northumberland were taken off in a small steamer.