SINKING OF THE S.S. AUSTRAL

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1202, 1 December 1882, Page 2

SINKING OF THE S.S. AUSTRAL

Sydney, 13th November. | Diving operations were resumed j to-day at the wreck of the Austral, when : a careful examination was made, and : the search for further bodies continued. ; The whole of the crew are not yet accounted for, some of them being still missing, with regard to whom there is reason for supposing that they have been ; drowned though it is yet possible some of thbm may have deserted after the vessel came into port. The divers are embarrassed in their work by the interior construction of the vessel nevertheless the greater part has been thoroughly searched. No alteration has taken place in the position of the vessel since Saturday. A rumor was afloat to-day that on the 6th instant an accident occurred .while- discharging cargo at Circular Quay which should have suggested that the coaling of the vessel, under the circumstances was a difficult if not dangerous work. Evidence will doubtless come out at the i inquest which will prove or disprove the alleged iucident, which is spoken of in marine circles as having an important bearing upon the disaster. Those on board at the time of the disaster do not favor the theory advanced that the water entered by the valves, as, if such were the case, the vessel woald not have heeled over, but" gone down upright. They adhete to the opinion that it was the entrance of water at the port-holes that sank her. Arrangements are being made to raise her at once, as it is feared she may sink deeper, and in that event it might be impossible to float her. The inquest on the bodies recovered from tho B.s. Austral commenced this afternoon. John Murdoch, captain of the Austral, deposed that he arrived in Sydney on Friday, the 3rd insi After discharging cargo at Circular Quay, he hauled off to x entrat Bay on Monday 9th inst The dead body numbered i, now lying at the dead-house, Circular Quay, and viewed by the jury in his presence, Vas that of John James Perkins, who was purser on board the Austral, lie was 29 years of age, an I nglishman by birth, and to the best of witness* belief a single , man. This was bis firet voyage. He joined the ship in ! ondonin September last "! h" dead body nu mbered 2 was thpi ..

of a man named Phos. Alexander, a native of Nairn in Scotland, who was . aU ■f- 22 years of age. c was ref riger- I ati:g etii»:'i(!er on board the ship. The bocb^s 7!nrr:l>.-;:-=.d 3.4 and 5 respectively wore thoss of three Lascar seamen, ( ho .vere (.-m proves on board the :• p :vs tiinrut-:-.?. it less did not x .'-.v tli.ni -lam s. Tlr. 1 '^ " ■'"•'*'• • d.-rvl rii h<-r moorings shortly after f->nr o'cl:;x; ' •.*"• •■ 1 v ' •. ■ i taking ii-.. /■ i h - !*al "■■»«> 1J »- \v<;rf.;'ou'if' ;.«'".' •■ - v- = * ' s-i;-Mc? ••>' the clivers sped%k> m,.- :>y ■•' i r - (t * purpose. Tim huh or c-' 1 . • ■ > v• '» the exception or the c'-i.*.: v 't~'-' and the port side of the bridge, was entirely under water. >t low w"l> r there was a depth of ei^'it ov ni •r fathoms where tho ship islying. He was present on the high pait of the bridge on Saturday afternoon, wh.ja the bxly 01 John J. i erkins was found by oue of the divers and brought out of the ship to the surface, and he was ulso present when the dead body of Alexander. Cue engineer, and those of the Lasc" , were subsequently 'found Uy the divers Charles Harrison, a diver, in the. j ship's employ, said he was engaged on Saturday afternoon to go down into the A astral to make search in the cab|in of the purser for his body. After openiug the door of the cabin, which : was full of water, he looked in thf bed, which was unoccupied. He looked all over the room without seeing anything of the man, when, as he was turning round to come out, he saw a chair floating overhead. He then saw a man's legs. He caught hold of one of thelegsandpulledthebody down. The body was dressed. He got it out, and i bringing it to the surface, delivered it Ito the police. The dead body was sitting in the chair, the head resting : against the 1 deck. John Sutherland deposed that he was a diver, in th« employ of the Orient Steam Navigation Company. On Saturday and yesterday he was em--1 ployed searching for dead bodies in the Austral. Yesterday he found two bodies in a cabin on the spar deck. The cabin was shut. He found one body in another adjoining cabin, which was also shut 'be fourth body he found on the main deck. He took these, lxxlies to the surface and gave theoi over to the w^ter police. r Charles Fredinal Eichler deposed : On Saturday afternoon at about six o'clock he was called to examine the dead body of a young man, apparently 30 years of age, named Perkins, who he was informed, was the purser of the Austral. There were no external marks of violence, on the body, which presented the usual appearance and symptoms of death from asphyxia by drowning. Yesterday afternoon, at al>out two o'clock, at request of the police he I examined four other dead bodies lying !at the morgue, Circular Quay. One was that of a white man about 30 years of age, said to be James Alexander late refrigerating engineer of the Austral. The other three were were the bodies of colored men, Lascars. AH these bodies presented the characteristic features of death by drowning and bore no marks of violence. At this stage, the coroner, having authorised the burial of the bodies, adt journed th« inquest until nine- o'clock a.m. to-morrow.