THE NAPIER TRAGEDY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 27, 29 December 1932, Page 8

THE NAPIER TRAGEDY

Per Press Association. NAPIER, Dec. 29

Although the sound of the harbour crash, in which several lives were lost, had been heard on land as far away as Hospital Hill, the arrival of a drenched, exhausted figure at tire Port police station some, ten minutes after the collision was the first definite indication of the peril into which the HI men aboard the Doris had been thrown. It was Air Janies Joseph, of Wost.shore, who, finding himself flung clear of the vessels, lrit out at once for the shore and arrived on land to summon assistance lor those whose lives were still in danger.

Although in a state bordering on collapse Mr Joseph was able to give sufficient details regarding the location ot the vessels and the seriousness or the position There was an immediate rush to the rescue. 'Within a few minutes the quay was crowded with distracted womenfolk and children. Those who were out there in the darkness waited with fortitude for the rescue launch to leave the steps. It was the launch Naomi, which was hurriedly prepared and which within ten minutes was set at full speed for the point which the tragic collision occurred.

It was indeed fortunate that the tug Coralie was following close in the wake of the Doris at the time of the accident and on the arrival of the .Naomi it was seen that the Tu Atu and tire Coralie were close together. Those in the latter vessel had immediately set to work to rescue the men who had been thrown into the water. Eleven were on board the tug. The Naomi searched in the vicinity for some time but failed to find any more survivors. Shortly afterwards •she lott for the land with those aboard. The launch waited at the quay, but there were many tearstained faces seen as wives and children waited in vain for husbands among those who climbed wearily to the landing place. Spurred on by the anxiety of those on the crowded quay, the crew of the Naomi again headed out to the slightly rolling sea, Sergeant Claason and Constables Sutherland and Chalmers being among those on board, and alter searching in a wide sweep for some time the body of Mr Medea If was discovered a quarter of a mile away, having drifted for that distance with the tide. He was immediately hoisted on board and artificial respiration measures were applied and on returning to the quay further attempts at resuscitation were made. Dr. W. D. Fitzgerald being greatly assisted in this by helpers organised by Mrs Claason and Mrs Hanks. Mr F'alvus, from the vessel Port Brisbane, and Mr L. Hawke, of the staff of the Union Steam Ship Co., applied themselves ceaselessly in an effort to restore life to Mr Medcalf, but without avail. Meantime tlie Naomi continued to search until

SORROWFUL SCENES AT QUAYSIDE

SEARCH FOR BODIES

alter three o’clock, when the search was abandoned until this morning. It was tho Tangaroa that discovered the second body, that of Mr Wilson, which had drifted a distance of three miles between the time of the accident and (5.30 this morning, when he was located. A continuous search was kept up from then onwards and shortly after 10 o’clock the body of Mr Woods was located and picked up in tho roadstead. The body of Air Cooper was also found in the roadstead shortly after mid-day.

It is feared that ail ten are dead GREAT RESCUE EFFORTS.

If willingness and human effort could have been answered in measured terms of reward for the endeavour made, the occurrence which has shocked Napier would have been retrieved from becoming a deep tragedy. Promptness and thoroughness marked the searching and rescue work which followed the capsize of the Doris, hut it failed unfortunately to save the lives of any of the ten men for whose safety there were fears immediately alter the first reckoning of the survivors had been made.

Three vessels were engaged in an intensive searoli less than half an hour after the Doris was struck. The Napier Harbour Board's launch J’onui, under the harbourmaster, Captain H. White Parsons, spent an hour and a half cruising within a short distance of the spot where the Doris had sunk. Messrs .Richardson and Co.’s tug Kuri, under Captain Blundell, which had been standing by awaiting the arrival of the Tangaroa from Wairoa, began searching immediately the plight of the Doris was observed, and the work was aided by the Westshore ferry under Mr A. Martin. All three vessels were cruising in the roadstead until the early morning hours, but none of the ten men unaccounted for were saved. Private launches, rowing boats and small dinghies joined in the search shortly after daybreak, and the roadstead was dotted with small craft covering a wide area. A tew minutes after eleven o'clock an aeroplane piloted by Plying Officer A. C. Gerrand, of the Hawke’s Bay and East Coast Aero Club, accompanied by Captain Smith, official observer ol tire Napier Aero Club, swept over the area surrounding tho spot where the Doris capsized. The ’plane returned shortly alter mid-day, however, reporting that no trace had been seen of any of the seven men then missing, and that the search had been rendered difficult by reason of discolouration of tire water. It was decided, however, to send a ’plane out again this afternoon.

Everything possible was done for the comfort of those men who reached the shore or were later brought in by any of the vessels engaged in the rescue work, and food and drink were provided by Mrs Clawson, wife of Sergeant Claason. of the i'ort Ahuriri police station, and by Mrs E. Hawke.