The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-07-12

man mine was struck and double ex
plesion followed, the British inter-co,
lohial passenger steamer Wimmera
sank of the north coast Of New Yea.
land ON the night Of June 26, accord.
ing TO the first detpils, received in Ho
hoiulu Of the tragedy, n which twenty,
nine. men, women and children lost
their lives, ana over 100 others SUI
fsred unusual hardships before reach.
ing land. :
II has been established fully that
the ship sunk was the Wimmera, bound
from Auckland, New Zealand, sgd,
.ney, Australia, with 141 persons
aboard, and not the Maheno; a sister
ship, which was first reported here as
having been sunk py the mine.
British admiralty reports issued in
Auckland said the steamer was sunk
by "an external explosion. Passen.
gers arriving here from the south say
Il Is generally known that the mari
time disaster resulted from the strik.
ing VI win INV
waters Of !the Southern Pacific have
been strewn. ",
Details reaching here of the sinking
of the Wimmera, and the consequent
loss of life, are fully eonfrmatory of
the report that the Germans have ear
ried the war, especially against ship.
ping, into the Pacific again this year.
Waters strewn With Mines
From time to time reports have been
received and published from the south
ern British colonies that German raid
ers had been sighted during the last
few months in the South Pacific, a re
port which a high official Of Australia
denied to American officials.
Following the raider reports came
the news that mine fields had been dis.
covered in New Zealand waters, in
which the mines were of the latest
German anchor type.
How these mine fields had been
planted has not been established, al
though suspicion has pointed to neu-
trial" ships or German ships which
have succeeded in passing as neutral
ships, rs did the raider Seadler, when
boarded in the North Atlantic by a
BTltlSn OnlceT DeCuhSe VI ltS NOINo'
gian eamOufiage.
No news of the sinking Of the Win
mefa was allowed to reach the outside
world through the news agencies. New
Zealand papers carry accounts of the
disaster, but all reference to the cause
is confined to the explanation that it
was IAN external explosion
Were Two Explosions
Wimmera passengers say that prior
to the sinking of the steamer there
were two distinct explosions. In two
minutes alF the fights on the ship were
distinguished, but there was no panic
among the passengers or crew.
"The women and children behaved
magnificently. The vessel kept an even
keel for about ten minutes and then
settled by the stern. Then her bows
rose about fifty feet in the air and the
vessel plunged" one of the rescued
passengers says.
The Wimmera was struck near the
stern, and the social hall was smashed
to pieces by the mine explosion. The
fact that the vessel kept an even keel,
and the wind was toward the land,
helped materially to lessen the magni-
tude of the disaster, it is believed.
Ofic ers Go Down
Other details reaching here are that
it was a moonlight night when the
ship was sunk, and there was fair
sea. The captain, first officer, chief
steward and several others remained on
the ship to the last, an apparently
went down with her. Four persons
were rescued from the sea, including
the chief engineer who walked off
the deck as the ship sank. One boat
was swamped and one was stove in.
The difficulties that arose in persons
getting clear of the vessel were prin-
cipally due to inability to get on deck
after the lights went out. One family
of eleven and one of seven were all
saved Fourteen stewards and all the
stewardesses were missing from the
first boats landed, but some of them
reached shore in other boats after
wards. Most Of the stewards who were
saved climbed through a skyEght to
the ships deck. One of those saved
was a Mexican, who was in the steam
er tunnel at the time of the explosion.
Travellers Assisted
The report that timely assistance
was rendered by trawlers in the vicin.
ity shows that the waters off the north
copst Of New Zealand were being
searched for mines ut the time Of the
accident.
There were eightyfour persons in
the first boats to reach the New Zen
land cOastline, all of whom were clad
in night attire and without footwear
of any kind. They then had to walk
and crawl over eight miles of rough
hill country to reach the home of Il
sheepfarmer, where they were given
every assistapce possible by the farm
ers and the Maoris in the vicinity. AT
ter their arrival at the sheep station
the ships assistant purser, acrompa
MED by Maori, rode seventeen miles
to telegraph the news of the sinking
of the Wimmera. All those reaching
the sheep station were well after their
narrowing experience, but very foot,
sore and tired.
Food and clothing were secured for
the eighty five survivors, fifteen Of