After Many Mishaps

Vanikoro Logs Reach Australia After Many Mishaps

AFTER an extraordinary run of mis fortunes, the small steamer “Paul Carl” reached Melbourne in early June, with the first post-war cargo of Kauri logs from the Vanikoro Timber Company, Santa Cruz.

It also carried 40 tons of trochus shell from Mr. Bill Jones, of Reef Island.

When the ship tied up at South Wharf, Melbourne, she had a crumpled mast, bent derricks, a dent in her bow, a sap ling for a radio aerial, and the sick wife of the second engineer badly in need of medical attention—she had become ill five days previously and an ambulance was waiting to take her off.

“Paul Carrs” troubles began when loading logs at Vanikoro—a five ton log snapped the main stay of the main mast, which collapsed and bent the steel loading derricks. The crew rigged a wooden jury mast for the radio aerial and the ship sailed.

Two days later it called at Noumea where there was a delay of five days while four of the crew were down with malaria. They sailed on May 31, leav ing one of the crew still in hospital and 200 miles off the Australian coast ran into bad weather which caused them to lie-to for two days. When “Paul Carl” finally reached Melbourne, something went wrong with the tug they had signalled and she crashed into “Paul Carl” leaving a dent in her bows.

The Vanikoro Timber Company, which cuts valuable kauri timber on Santa Cruz, is a Melbourne company. Although Australia is so desperately short of good milling timber, post-war difficulties have made it impossible for the company to produce any timber for years.

It is understood that the “Paul Carl” will return to Santa Cruz to lift other cargoes of logs.