The Collision.

Mr. James D. Knowles, who was a cadet on the Zealandia when she collided with the Ellen Lamb, and visited Auckland in 1922, kindly supplied the following details of the disaster:—

"the Zealandia left London for Wellington with first, second, and third class passengers on June 4, 1877. In Iat. 21 N., on July 7, at midday, she met the barque Ellen Lamb. Both ships were closehauled, the Zealandia on the port tack and the Ellen Lamb on the starboard tack. About midnight, while on the opposite tacks, the two vessels met, and as the Zealandia was running starboard tack the Ellen Lamb, according to the rule of sailing craft, should have given way.

"the Zealandia struck the Ellen Lamb about amidships, and cut her almost in two. The former vessel, with a large hole in her bow, soon found the watertight compartment filled, while the Ellen Lamb went down in three minutes, taking with her eight men, including the captain. The weather was calm, thus enabling the men of the Zealandia to lower the boats and so rescue seven of the men off the Ellen Lamb.

"A temporary shield of sails and boards was made sufficiently strong to cover the gap in the Zealandia, and the fore-watertight compartment held until Rio de Janeiro was reached. On reaching this port the cargo was taken out of the fore part of the ship and placed aft, thereby raising the bow. With the assistance of men from a British gunboat a fire was built around the cut-water, and kept burning while the stem was straightened and the bows replated.

"The topmast, topgallantmast, and jib-boom, which had been carried away in the collision, were replaced by a firm on shore, the repairs taking six weeks.

"the Zealandia had been out from Rio de Janeiro only two days when smallpox broke out on the ship, but was, how-page 108ever, confined to the forecastle. Two deaths resulted from the outbreak."