209 



ready for the other diver, who got dressed and went down at 2.40 p.m. to hook 

 on Nos. 14 and 15 ; succeeded in opening three port-holes, and cut away and 

 screwed up Nos. 14 and 15, put lashing on the rail, and came up after being 

 down eighty-five minutes. The ' Storm Bird ' arrived from Wellington with 

 some bars, etc., as the after lengths had been found 4 feet to 8 feet too short. 



" Saturday, July 31 — Strong N". wind and rain all day, one diver went 

 down at 9.25 a.m., as soon as the hooks were altered for the scupper hole, 

 down thirty-eight minutes ; came up and reported the hook too large for the 

 hole ; made it smaller at the point, and then diver went down at 11.12 to put 

 it in, down forty-three minutes, came up and reported the hook half way in, 

 and could not get it any further. 



"The other diver got ready and went down at 12.45 p.m., he drove it up 

 and wedged it with three iron wedges, down sixty-five minutes and came up 

 to refresh : went down at 2.10 to find the middle scupper hole, found it and 

 put hook in half way and could not get it further in, nor out again ; down 

 fifty minutes, came up and could not go down any more to-day." 



By the 7th August, all was ready to try a lift, and on that day we find 

 the journal saying : — "Weather fine all day, commenced at 12.30 p.m., sunk 

 pontoons by letting in water; connected on at 1.30 p.m., and screwed all the 

 bars tight, and began to pump out at 2.45 p.m., assisted by the whalers from 

 the Sound. Vessel began to lift at 3.30 p.m. ; all the water pumped out at 

 4 p.m. The pontoons rose considerably, two of the after logs of the fore 

 pontoons sprung, being undersized ; hove in by the ' Ladybird's ' windlass as 

 the tide flowed, got ahead 50 feet, and ceased at 8 p.m." 



This was the first lift, and rather an exciting time. The lift got was 

 about 5 feet, of this 3 feet was due to the rise of the tide, and 2 feet to the 

 effect of pumping out the pontoons. 



When she first started out of her bed in the mud, the pontoons stai*ted or 

 jumped up nearly six inches ; before this start the deck of the pontoons was 

 1 4 inches out of water on the inner side, and 2 feet on the outer. (Usually, 

 however, it was afterwards found there was none of this jerking up, but a 

 steady lift.) The following days the same mode of procedure went on. 



" 12th August — 4 a.m., commenced to connect bars to screws, and screwed 

 down about 10 inches ; at 6.45 began to pump the water out of pontoons, and 

 with the tide lifted the bow up about 5 feet, but found the bank with a greater 

 rise than was expected, which makes the after end difficult to ground, hove 

 ahead with some of the men, and the remainder finished pumping ; at 

 12.30 p.m. found the anchor, in heaving ahead, ' come home ; ' could not heave 

 any more until it is lifted, and placed farther in shore, with one of the pontoon's 

 mooring anchors to back it." 



They had now got the wreck hauled ahead close to the rise of the steep 

 bank, and went on lifting and hauling until the bows got well up, while the 

 stern got to the foot of the slope, not very much higher than it was originally. 



On the 17th August, they sounded and found the vessel to be 26|- feet 

 higher at the bows than at the stern, being about the angle of the bank at this 

 place. On Saturday the 21st August, they found as the steamer settled down aft, 

 that she slid down the bank for 1 6 feet ; so they concluded that she would 

 have to be lifted over the bank by the screws only. 



They now began to put more men on the screws in the after pontoons, so 

 as to lift the stern a little more than the bows, at each lift, so as gradually to 

 get a more even keel on the wreck, and as they did so, hauled the stern side- 

 ways on to the bank, as well as hauling her ahead ; the log going on thus on 

 the 25th and 26th : — "Divers commenced to take off some of the long lengths 

 of the bars. 



" 30th August — 6 a.m., commenced work ; fine clear weather. 



