Typhoid Breaks Out.

"We had been only three or four days at sea after leaving Portsmouth, when typhoid and typhus broke out amongst the immigrants, and we had a very bad time of it for a while. Then food and water and coals ran short, and after passing the Cape of Good Hope, Captain Holdrich decided to put into Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, for fresh supplies. So short were we of fuel that the day we made the bay the crew had to saw up some of the spare spans on deck to keep the condensers going."

The rest of the run was fairly good, and Auckland was reached on July 15, 1876. The barque was met at Rangitoto Reef by the port health officer, and as there were then some cases of typhoid, and 67 cases of measles aboard, she was sent into quarantine at Motuihi, where she remained for five weeks.

During the voyage from England to Auckland there were no less than 16 deaths on the Bebington, and the passage was generally such an unlucky one that it is no wonder the passengers remember it as a very grim episode in their lives.

the Bebington in 1879 made another long voyage of 135 days to Wellington. The ship Dunedin, sailing a week after the Bebington, met with similar weather conditions during the passage, Which was generally favourable, and sighted the New Zealand coast forty days before the Bebington. the Lutterworth, sailing also from London for Wellington, exactly a month after the Bebington, arrived a day before her.

During the voyage of the Bebington to Napier in 1874 some of the crew were aloft on one of the yardarms. One of their number, when spoken to, made no reply. Upon examination it was found that he was clinging to the spar, and was quite dead. His comrades said that he "died in harness." The ship put into Dartmouth on August 2 to repair condenser, leaving the following day. On October 29, during a severe gale, a heavy sea broke on board, injuring two of the sailors at the wheel and causing damage to the ship.

the Bebington had another stormy passage to Lyttelton in 1884. Shortly after sailing on February 11 she encountered a fierce gale, during which a heavy sea broke aboard and seriously damaged the steering gear. With great difficulty a jury wheel was rigged, and the vessel was able to proceed. The gale continued, and on the following day some cases of acid broke adrift and had to be jetti-page 174soned. The ship strained continuously throughout, the cabins were flooded with water, and other damage sustained.

the Bebington's records outwards were:—