, " f : ■ the' teAß_^Bi in - svmm : -Z | -.••:■ habbqubh; -^{£Z I On Monday, Dec. 26," another disastrous boating fatality' was added to .the. ? already long list of catastrophes; which haye" hap pened in Port Jackson. A party of about j forty-Bix persons, belonging totheLeich- I ha-dt and Camperdown branoh of a reli gious body "known as ''The Christians," and composed mostly of Sunday sohool children* left WpoUooinooloo Bay with the object of, proceeding down the harbour on' a picnic. "So" far as is knbwn twenty-eight of the party !• were ;on the half-decker •lolanthe, a twenty-jfour footer,, and -the remainder on -the Irene, a similar boat, which accompanied the. lolanthe. There waß. a Btrbng^gUßtyv.wind blowing. In cr.o_sing near the Heads, and when jnst oppoaite the_ Pilot .station, the Iplanthe was caught by a heavy gust, j^nd^ the .boat turned right over, all her. occupants being thrown: into the water. ; '• The: steamer Thistle, which was in the vicinity, and the pilot boat came to their assistance. .The. other picnic boat also helped in the work of rescue. The pilot boat rescued, ten, of those who were struggling in the water, and the other ; picnio boat rescued several others, seventeen in all , being got" out. The Thistle afterwards righted the Iplanthe, tinder which were found the bodies of .Lizzie Greyer, aged seveh teen, and Bavid M'Gregor, aged five. There are still five • missing, those unaccounted for being' <3oliri Armour,' Louis Cooper, Lottie • Croucher. "'John ; M'Gregor mcC Daisy Dunlop. Five of those rescued were in a very exhausted condition, and were taken to the hospital; What made the lolanthe. aocident more, disastrous, and rendered rescue work diffi culti.'-was.that the majority, of j, thoße'onl board w_re ladies and- children.' A number of gentieme-Twho wef e'amohg[_fc those cap- Bized_-ftde"gailftnt efforts to' rescue' their gompanionis.- The majority' of those who were saved managed to reach and cling to the bottom, of the lolanthe. : The ', lolanthe capsized with a picnic party some two. years ago, when several persons were drowned. The Irene, the other boat accompanying, also had a disas trous capsize some time ago. All those taken to the hospital have sufficiently re covered to be 'discharged, excepting Mrs Dunlop, who is in a somewhat critical state.
