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11.
When typhoons are spoken of in Hongkong, the mind automatically goes back to that fateful year, 1906, when wind of almost unprecedented violence swept down on the city, harbour and mainland from the direction of Wongneichong Gap and carried death and destruction in its wake.
The story of the 1906 typhoon has been told fully in these columns. Many residents still living in the Colony remember it, and will recount, with little encouragement, vivid details of the disaster.
It is of another typhoon that I intend writing to-day. It is a disaster that has passed from the memory of all save the oldest inhabitants, and since there was no Observatory here in those days, the only records of it are to be found in dust-covered newspaper files.
The typhoon occurred on September 22 and 23, 1874. It struck suddenly and with terrific force just as dusk was falling on the evening of September 22. Small boats in the harbour were taken by surprise and most of them were sunk with enormous loss of life.
By courtesy of Mr. C.W. Jeffries, Director of the Royal Observatory, I am able to publish to-day two photos of the damage done to the Praya Central. Each photo shows the wreck of the Douglas Lapraik Wharf - one looking towards West Point and the other looking East.
The first of these photos gives some idea of the damage done to the sea wall. The waves broke upon it with such force that great blocks of granite were torn out and thrown back on to the street.
The damage to the wharf can be ascribed to two causes – the force of the seas and drifting ships. Few of the steamers in port had a full head of steam at the time. They were wrenched from their moorings and scattered, willy-nilly, at the mercy of the wind and waves. The clipper ships were easy victims and few of them survived.
The two ships which sank near the Douglas Wharf and which are shown in the second illustration, were the Albay and the Leonor, both of which flew the Spanish flag.
This is an eye-witness's description of the scenes pictured below.
"Coming on to the Praya at Pedder's Wharf, or what was Pedder's Wharf, for it is now almost a wreck, and proceeding westward to the Douglas Wharf, of which only a few piles remain, we first came across the wreck of two vessels, the Spanish steamer Albay, which arrived only yesterday from Manila with 300 passengers on board, and the Spanish steamer Leonor, which was to sail yesterday, and which also had a large number of passengers on board. At high tide only the masts of the vessels could be seen, but later in the day, their decks were above water and presented a melancholy spectacle.
"Efforts were made to get at the unlucky passengers and at the papers and baggage. Out of 47 on board the Leonor, 36 were saved by the Tauffer brothers of the Engine House. It was stated that in the Albay, some 90 passengers were lost, but this, it is hoped, is more than the actual number. The exact number cannot be ascertained, as she has not yet handed in her papers. It appears that the immediate cause of the disaster was the two vessels drifting ashore and colliding when close to the Praya. The collision took place between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., on the 23rd."
Many stories are told of the bravery of the two brothers, Messrs. E. and G. Tauffer who saved many lives during the typhoon. They were ably assisted by Messrs. A.P. MacEwen and C.W. Baird of Messrs. Holliday, Wise and Co., Lieut. Prior of the 80th Regiment and Mr. Lembke.
On learning of the plight of the passengers and crew of the Albay and Leonor, the Tauffer Brothers left the Engine House and proceeded to the Douglas Wharf. They carried lamps, for the city had been plunged into pitch darkness, but the terrific force of the gale soon extinguished the lights.
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