Never Heard Of Again.

the Loch Dee was an iron barque of 700 tons, built in Glasgow in 1870. She had a rough experience on her passage to Auckland in 1879. The most severe gale was encountered on the 18th May when running down her easting. The ship had to lay-to for several hours, and one tremendous sea breaking over her washed overboard three able seamen, and nothing could be done to save them.

the Loch Dee completed her sixth voyage out when she arrived at Dunedinpage 306 on the 18th December, 1882. After discharging she proceeded to Lyttelton, and there took in wool and wheat, and sailed on the 3rd of March, 1883, lor Falmouth, in command of Captain Black, and with a crew of 16 men, and she waa never heard of again. The fate of Captain Black and his ship waa never known, but it was surmised that ale had either collided with an iceberg or been lost in one of the storms which were so frequently met with on the homeward run, when in the vicinity of Cape Horn.

Another of the "Lochs" named Loch Fyne, a full rigged ship of 1213 tons, built at Glasgow in 1876, belonging to the General Shipping Company of Glasgow, came over from one of the Australian

Loch Dee At Port Chalmers.

ports to load wool at Lyttelton, and sailed on May 14, 1883, from that port under Captain Thomas H. Martin, who had commanded the ship from the day she was launched. She carried a crew of thirty men and a few passengers. She was also bound for Falmouth and was never heard of after sailing.

It is remarkable that more ships leaving Lyttelton for the homeward voyage went "missing" than from any other port in the Dominion.

Mr: Thomas J. Nott, now residing at Whangarei, referring to the loss of the Loch Fyne writes:—" I was at Lyttelton at the same time as the Loch Fyne. I had shipped on the full-rigged ship Inch Murran in 1882, and sailed for Lyttelton. The two ships were in port at the same time, and the Inch Murran sailed from Lyttelton in June, about two months after the Loch Fyne. The second mate of the Loch Fyne was transferred to the Inch Murran and soon after our arrival in London the Loeh Fyne was posted as missing—a lucky escape for the second mate. Our passage Home occupied 94 days to the docks.