Whanganui man's memories of the tragic Wahine sinking

HOME FROM THE SEA: John Hair has kept a lifeboat from a former ship, the rail ferry Arahanga.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

Former seaman John Hair thinks about the day the ferry Wahine was wrecked in Wellington Harbour all the time.

Now aged 73 and living in Upokongaro, Mr Hair spent his working life on ships. He was a 24-year-old able seaman working aboard the cement carrier Golden Bay, berthed in Wellington, on the stormy morning when the Wahine ran aground on Barrett Reef.

The wind was so strong that the night watchman, a big man, descended the gangway at 6am and was blown away.

"The wind caught under his coat and it blew him down the wharf like he was a piece of rag."

Wellington's harbourmaster asked everyone in port to grab a vessel from the wharf and go to the rescue. Mr Hair went to the early opening pub across the road from the Queen's Wharf gates and found his mates Dave Shaw and Jimmy King, both older and more experienced than him.

About 7.30 they jumped aboard a fishing trawler and headed into the harbour, leaving its agitated skipper behind to find another vessel.

Mr Hair didn't like seeing the Wahine in trouble.

"It was like something dying, a big thing, that just rolled over. Then the water got into her boilers and she gave a big puff of smoke and steam out her funnel."

Only three of the ferry's lifeboats could be launched, because she was listing so much.

The boats were built to hold 90, and they were crowded.

"The wind picked them up and just blew them across the harbour."

Mr Hair and his friends headed for the Eastbourne side to pick people out of the water. Their trawler had a ramp at the stern, for pulling nets in, which made it easier to get people on board.

One girl was pulled out of the water by her hair. "I remember her going under and the ship rolling. Her hair was like seaweed in the water. As the boat rolled I grabbed a bundle of her hair and pulled her up."

The wind tore some people's clothes off. He saw a woman clutching the pearls around her neck and not wearing much else besides a lifejacket. The rescuers didn't spend time looking.

"It was do or die," Mr Hair said.

He saw a man who was holding on to his wife but let her go to grab a line. Waves swept the woman away.

There were young women in the water who insisted on letting others go first. They said they were members of Dunedin's polar bear swim club and used to cold water.

Mr Hair plucked a wallet out of the water. Coincidentally it belonged to a man he had worked for as a teenager. He was able to return it much later.

Being there was dangerous for the rescuers too.

"I even thought myself we could have easily copped it. We were that close inshore sometimes, we could've gone on to the rocks too."

Mr Hair and his mates "got a few". They wrapped the rescued in blankets and put them in the cabin, two to a bunk for warmth. They kept in touch with other boats by radio and kept going until they couldn't see anyone else to save.

They were among many who went to help, and Mr Hair was surprised later to be given $12.70 in payment. "I couldn't believe it. We didn't do it for money," he said.