SAD BOATING FATALITY.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 366, 19 October 1889, Page 3

SAD BOATING FATALITY.

SIX LIVES LOST. Sydney papers to hand contain accounts of the yachting accident in Sydney Harbour by which six young people lost their lives. One of the number was an Auckland girl named Ada Gilberd. It appears that last Monday week a numerous party of young men and women went out sailing in the twenty-two feet half decker Irene, starting from Press's shed, at Woolloomooloo Bay. There are supposed to have been twenty-one persons in the boat. When off Bradley’s, at about 11.30 o'clock, the mainsheet by some means getting jammed, failed to run, The boat heeled over and capsized, precipitating all its occupants into the water. Some vessels in the vicinity hastened to the rescue, the Port Jackson Company's Manly steamer Brighteide picking up seven of the struggling people. Of these three were ladies, three were men, and one was a boy. The sailing boat Edith also rescued a number of the party, and landed them at Bradley's Head, where they were treated with the greatest consideration by the keeper of the quarantine station there. Two of the young women, named Nellie Thomson and Cis Inman, were very much exhausted, ihe former dying shortly after being landed. Miss Inman received every attention, and after some lime began to show signs of improvement. From Bradley’s the party returned to Sydney. Those who were rescued by the Brightsine were treated with great care, till they had recovered sufficiently to return to Sydney. Information of the sad event was not received by the police until half-past 2 o'clock. They proceeded with their launch to Bradley’s, and removed the body of the young woman to the North Shore Morgue, where it was subsequently identified by her father. On an enquiry being instituted, it was found that the party consisted of the following :—Nellie Thompson, Polly Fahey. Stewart, Polly Jones, Kate Thompson', Ada Gilberd, Kitty Toope, May McCarthy. Cis Inman, and Messrs W. Golding, S, Ford, C. Pople, 8, Kirkpatrick, G. Alman, J, Johnson, E. Dearing, E. Croft, H. Jones, H. Kippax, P. Stewart, and Herbert Croft; It was not till nearly midnight that it was definitely known how many of these were safe, but it was then soon ascertained that all but six had returned. The names of the missing are Polly Fahey, Polly Steward, Ada Gilberd, Kate Thompson, and Horace Kippax, Numerous boats were about at the time of the accident, and it was considered possible that those who were not at Manly or Bradley's might have been rescued and taken somewhere else. Subsequently it transpired that they had been drowned, Herbert Orott is said to be oompetant and welt accustomed to sail a boat. He states that the mainsheet was not made fast, but on attempting to let it run he found that the brace was jammed, thus preventing the sheet from running free, Three other capsizes occurred in the harbor about the same time. The Miss Maude, a 22ft. half-decker, went over with nine or ten persons in her off Double Bay. All of them were rescued. The Fairlie, another halLdecker, capsized near to the Irene, and at the sama time, Her crew were rescued without having sustained any injury. Mr J. Booth’s yacht Portia also capsized between Watson and Chowder bays. She was towed into Taylor Bay by the steamer Birkenhead and all hands saved. On the day following the disaster the following notice appeared in the obituary columns of t he Sydney papers: — “ Gilbkud. — October 7, by. boat accident in Sydney Harbour, Ads, the beloved daughter of Henry and Susan Gilberd, formerly of Auckland, New Zealand, in her 23 rd year,'!