South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), Tuesday 14 March 1899, page 6


THE QUEENSLAND HURRICANE.

NUMEROUS WRECKS. GREAT LOSS OF LIFE. BRISBANE, March 13

Hie steamer Warrego, wluch was dispatched to the scene of the recent humcane for the purpose of rendering assist?nn- in »n\- of the shinwTecked crews, has

returned to LooKtowu. one repons iu*t the 9chooner» Sagiatta, Silvery Wave, .Admiral, and Meg Merriles were totally wrecked, while the Tanvara, which went ashore, had been refloated. The Crest of the Wave was dismasted. The schooner* Wive and Aladdiu stood the gale, and arc safe. It is estiniated that the lo*s of lite is 400. Amongst the whites dro\vned arc Messrs. K. .1. Jefferson, ot, Hull; J. Nicholas, A. II. Outridge, R. B. Murray, H. Outri.lge, and E. At t how-. The Olive b class during the storm receded lroin 29.60 to 29.10. 'lhe wind came at tirst from the south-east by east, and changed during the storm frora'east to north to soutn-wesl, then to the west, and dually died away in the north-east. . Mr. X. CS. Vidgen, of the Olive, m searching the beadi from Hinders to Barrou Point, found tlut the natives were burying the dead at Bathui-t Bay, wLere there was a forest of sunken luggers' masts. lhe Sil-.cry Wave went down at a o clock on Sunday morning. One Malay, who liad »Uved* on board, came ashore on a pUuiK. All* the SagiattaV boatu were lort. InirU-en tiorpoiscs were found 15 ft. up a cmi at Flii!d*w. The itonn w:w niging on JNiluidav niglvt and Sunday morninp. it «? leiiued from Howk-k's Grouj) to the «UdUr.el Keck lightship. ii-«vr,,n The lctal llanaseK of the A.L-.-. toiniwny have received a telegram from t.ieir ;iger.ts at Towas\ille as follows:— The Warrego, which arrived thus morning, reports having searclwd the island and reefs and found that S7 boats 5 schooners, and a liglftshiii, with about V'A) lives, wre lost during the late hurricane. The Uaireco roui.^136 boat* and 3 schooners anchored safily in Hinders Bay.' , Mr. Jefferson, who u- reported to be drowned, was inanagiug r«»rtucr ot tie Silverv Wave fleet. ? The' following telegram has been received bv the Under Secretary and *uprnntendent of Telegraphs from the olncer in charge ax. Cooktovn:— 'Wamgo returned from scene of wrecks tlus. morning. Authentic reports state that 14 white men and about 400 coloured men were drowned, and M luggers and 6 whoonen V;7«ked. The damage is estimated at toO.000. lhe Channel Island lightship «-d *our rae? were lc.»t at Douglas Spit. A coloured man readied the fhore with two women aucr ftu-immine for four day*. The_ beach u

,trewn with ucau nsn, siuims. ^»u u»ua. A telegram from the Harbourmaster at L'ooktown was received about 5 o clock this iftcmoon by the Tortmaster, Captain Almond. It reads as follows:— 'It is consiicred, after conferrrin« with Mr. Bennett, in officer on board the White Star, that the Warrego could accomplish no good by loing further north than Flinders Island. [ have instructed the captain of the Warrew- to return to Cooktown, where he arnred at midnight. The White Star left Flinders Island for Cape Melville at 7 a.m. Dn Sunday. It was arranged to go from there towards the reef north-east from Pipeo Island and search north. This was not done because the steamer passed here nt 6.30 on Sunday evening between Muriluk and Lookout Point, steaming south. It is useless searching south of Harrow Point. At 12.40 on Saturday sighted the 'teamer Victory, and hade her stay. I signalled her to come alongside. After receiving a report from Pilot Cole* I instructed the captain to proceed soutii along the coast as far as Barrow Point, searching the beach. L'aptnin Porter, «-t' the Crest of the Wave, states that he saw the lightship at 11 p.m. on Saturday nt the anchorage*. -The barometer then stood at 27 in. The general opinion is that the lightship foundered at her moorings, and that all hands were drowned. The water is too dirty to send a diver down. The captains of the pearling fleets say they never exiwrieuced such weather. They believe that from 360 to 400 coloured men v.erc djrovnied, besides the following white men:— Captain Jefferson of the Silvery Wave: Captain Murray, of the iSagiatta; Mosrs. A. J. Outridge, II. Outridge, and one man, mime unknown; Captain Powell, of the schooner Xorth Wales, and two men: the uiptain of the Channel Rock lightship; and Messrs. II. Atthow and J. Nicholas, of the Silvery Wave. 'The following vessels Jiave been reported lost: — The whooners North Wales. Sitsiatta, -Silvery Wave. Admiral, Waittera. Meg Merrilees, forty-rive luj-'sers belonging to the fleet, and fittceu IkJoncinu in various owners, about twenty sw-jtnuiinc-hoiits, and the Channel Rock lightship. I have buried fully sixty l-odies. but only one white nun, Mr. H. Outridge.' Mr. G. H. Itennett, Sub-Collector ot Customs at Thursday Island, who accompanied the Government stc;tmcr While Star on a relief e.\|icdition, has telegraphed to Captain Almond the following details:— 'We left Thursday Island on Wednesday ami searched from Capo ftedmouth .southward to Cooktown. The schooners Meg Merrilies and Weivera. the luggers Two Brothers, Rosa. Martha, 1'cgasus, Givnnna, Peeress. ?Sprig. Jennie, and Yamuta arc totally wrecked. Nine lives were lost iu the Givanna, Peeress, and Sprig. The crews of all the others were saved. The White Star came front Pelican to Port Stanley, in the Hinders Group, this morning, and found the schooners Olive nnd Aladdin safe and uninjured. The schooners Sagiatta (8 luggers), Silvery Wave (13 lu-nrers), and Crest of the Wave (15 luggers) were totally lost, with about 230 mc:i, im-hiding the white people mentioned in previous telegrams. I estimate the total loss of life at over 300, but not over 350.'

There arc many turioni ...ting.* sold in the Russian markets, and one can buy eels and snakes and rhiekens' le»;s. Limbs' feet arc sold as a groat dainty, and calves' feet are boucht for .-nuii.