The Sinking Of The ' Wahine'. Poem by Michael Walker

The Sinking Of The ' Wahine'.



The roll-on-roll-off Lyttleton-Wellington ferry
entered Port Nicholson at 6am, sailing to the Underworld.
The crew felt the blast of a tropical cyclone which hit
the 'Wahine' almost a knockout blow as she swirled,

Striking the hard cold rocks of Barrett's Reef low.
The passengers were calm at first, kept in the dark
as the captain knew panic would spread like an epidemic,
if the news of flooding in the vehicle deck were known.

Captain Robertson decided late to lift anchors from the reef.
The 'Wahine' drifted past Point Dorset, the point of no return,
as the ferry started to list to starboard quite steeply.
After mid-day the captain gave the order to abandon ship, starboard side.

The lifeboats and life rafts were frantically filled
when most passengers scrambled overboard on those lifesavers,
or clung to life-rafts, sailing to Seatoun or Eastbourne.
Most of them made it but fifty-one unlucky ones did not.

The victims drowned at sea or perished from the cold on shore.
Selfless volunteers dragged the desperate from the churning surf
to the sands of safety, where some of them would survive the ordeal
thanks to first aid resuscitation and late medical treatment.


-Revised 7 June,2017.


-10/11 April,2017.

The Sinking Of The ' Wahine'.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Topic(s) of this poem: sea
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
The inter-island ferry 'Wahine' capsized and sank at 2: 30 pm, just east of Steeple Rock, then crashed heavily down to the seabed-on 10 April,1968. A later Government Inquiry found that the freak tropical cyclone, high waves, and nil visibility were the main cause of the disaster. They also found a communication breakdown between the captain andand the rescuers onshore- the harbourmaster and Civil Defence. The result of this dithering was that the rescue craftleft too late to sail to the 'Wahine'. So the captain was not fully cleared of blame, though he did keep his captain's licence.
I have to wonder why Captain Robertson did not send for rescue boats earlier. Why did he wait for several hours before giving the order to abandon ship? It is certain that rescue craft should have been by the 'Wahine' much earlier, whether the fault was the captain's or Civil Defence on shore, it was a crucial factor. Exactly when the captain should have given the 'abandon ship' order is harder to say. It is easy to citicise with hindsight and when you were not actually in the crisis, I think.
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Simone Inez Harriman 12 April 2017

The year of the 'Wahine' disaster was April 1968. It seemed so much was battling against them, the errors and the elements which contributed to this terrible tragedy. A well written poem of this sad occasion.

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Michael Walker 12 April 2017

Thanks for your comment Simone. I actually changed the wording again today and this will be the final version.

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