Biography:SS Waratah

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Short description: Ship lost off South Africa in 1909

Postcard of Waratah, November 1908
History
United Kingdom
NameWaratah
NamesakeWaratah (Telopea speciosissima)
OwnerWilliam Lund & Sons, 3 East India Avenue, E.C., London.
OperatorBlue Anchor Line
Port of registryLondon
RouteLondon – Cape Town – Durban – Adelaide – Melbourne – Sydney
OrderedSeptember 1907
BuilderBarclay, Curle & Co, Whiteinch
Cost£139,900
Yard number472
Launched12 September 1908
Sponsored byElizabeth Ann Bassett Taverner
Completed23 October 1908
Maiden voyage5 November 1908
Identification
  • UK official number 125741
  • code letters HNGM
FateDisappeared off the coast of South Africa 28 July 1909.
NotesLast reported seen 27 July 1909 by Clan Maclntyre
__1B0X_5H1P__career
General characteristics
TypeSteamship (passenger, cargo, and mail)
Tonnage
Length465.0 ft (141.7 m)
Beam59.4 ft (18.1 m)
Depth35.0 ft (10.7 m)
Decks4
Installed power1,003 nhp[1]
Propulsion2 × 4-cylinder quadruple expansion engines
SpeedAbout 13.5 kn (25.0 km/h) service speed.
Capacity432 passenger cabin berths, plus more than 600 berths in dormitories in the holds
Crew154 crew
NotesWaratah had lifeboat and liferaft capacity for 921 people
__1B0X_5H1P__characteristics

Waratah was a commercial steamship of the British Blue Anchor Line engaged in the transportation of passengers, cargo and mail between London and Sydney at the turn of the 20th century. On the night of 27–28 July 1909 and while on only her second voyage, Waratah, along with 92 passengers and a crew of 119, disappeared somewhere between Durban and Cape Town off the South African coast. No wreckage or remains have ever been found and Waratah's fate remains a mystery to this day.

Design and construction

On 15 September 1907, William Lund and Sons shipping company, doing business as the Blue Anchor Line, contracted with Barclay, Curle and Company shipbuilders of Glasgow to build what was to be their newest flagship. Credited with the design of the ship was Blue Anchor's managing director and son of the owner, Frederick William "Willie" Lund. However, Lund was not a naval architect and his design consisted of little more than taking the blueprints of the fleet's current flagship, Geelong, and making alterations. These intended modifications would make the new ship slightly larger than Geelong but substantially heavier and thus more costly, with a contracted pricetag of £139,900. Designated Yard No. 472, the ship was laid down at Barclay Curle's Clydeholm Yard in Whiteinch.

Geelong.

The vessel was specifically designed to capitalize on the booming immigration trade of working-class British people relocating to Australia. To meet the rising demand for low-cost passage to the Commonwealth, Lund proposed installing temporary dorms into the cargo holds, which when fully booked could accommodate roughly 700 third-class passengers. Then, upon reaching Sydney, the dorms would be dismantled and the holds converted back to cargo space for the thousands of tons of Australian wool and timber bound for overseas markets. Though innovative, this hybrid configuration necessitated a redistribution of weight throughout the ship (including the placement of her coal bunkers) and presented varying challenges to the ship's initial stability. With little grasp of the complexities inherent in his amalgamated design, Willie Lund also insisted that the new liner be "more stable than Geelong" while being able to shift in dock while carrying only water ballast and permanent coal. Though he tried to explain that these conditions were diametrically opposed, Noel Peck, managing director of Barclay Curle, offered a half-hearted placation to the junior partner by inserting the phrase "if possible" into the language of the contract.[2] In the end, the architects at Barclay Curle assured the Lunds that a single stabililty curve plan would be sufficient for the loading, balancing and operation of the ship in either configuration. Lund's vacillations and the semantic arguments over the "if possible" condition dragged out construction and pushed delivery back by 38 days until late October. Per the terms of the contract, this delay entitled Blue Anchor to a demurrage of £50 per day for a total late fee of £1,900.[2]

The liner was finally launched on 12 September 1908, with Elizabeth Ann Taverner, wife of Agent-General of Victoria John Taverner, serving as sponsor. William Lund had chosen to name his new flagship after the emblem flower of New South Wales, Australia; a chrysanthemum-like bloom known as Telopea speciosissim, otherwise known by its Eora Aboriginal name: Waratah. [3][4]

Waratah being launched, 12 September 1908

Waratah was 465 feet (142 m) long between perpendiculars, 59 feet 4 inches (18.08 m) across her beam, with a mean draft of 30 feet 4 1⁄2 inches (9.26 m).[1] Her tonnages were 9,339 GRT, 6,004 NRT, and about 10,000 DWT.[1] The vessel had a steel hull and was equipped with a pair of quadruple expansion engines, the cylinders of which measured 23 inches (58.4 cm), 32.5 inches (83 cm), 46.5 inches (118 cm) and 67 inched (170 cm) with a 48-inch (120 cm) stroke. Combined, the engines produced 1,003 nhp to drive her twin propellers which gave the ship a top rated speed of 13 1⁄2 knots (15.5 mph; 25.0 km/h).[1] Waratah had a cellular double bottom built along her entire length, with the hull divided into seven watertight compartments[5]. These protective measures led some newspaper pundits to proclaim Waratah "practically immune from any danger of sinking".[6]

But what set Waratah apart from other steamships of her time was her vaunted superstructure which extended four decks above the waterline. These included a spar deck, bridge deck including poop and forecastle, promenade deck and boat deck.[5] First-class accommodations were housed on the promenade and bridge decks with capacity for 128 passengers, while third-class berths were located on the poop deck and in the upper tween decks and could house 160 third-class travelers. When including the crew compliment of 144, Waratah's passenger certificate permitted her to carry a total of 432 people. A nursery provided daycare facilities for the first-class passengers, a novelty on passenger ships of the day, with dining saloons and lounges strictly segregated based on class. She was also fitted with Kirkcaldy's distilling apparatus, capable of producing 5,500 imp gal (25,000 litres) of fresh water a day for drinking water and for use in the boilers. However, Waratah was not equipped with a wireless telegraph (known as a Marconi in honor of its inventor), which was still in the developmental stages at that time.[7]

After her final fitting out, Waratah's sea trials were held on 23 October 1908 – the same day as she was set to be handed over to Blue Anchor. The tests were conducted on the Firth of Clyde, during which Waratah was able to successfully maintain a mean speed of 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h) over several runs on the measured mile. After successful completion of sea trials, the steamship was handed over to her owners and immediately departed for London.[8]

Music room on Waratah
First-class cabin
Third-class cabin
Third-class dining room

Service history

Josiah Edward Ilbery, captain of Waratah

Following delivery, Waratah left London for her maiden voyage on 5 November 1908, with 689 third-class and 67 first-class passengers.[9][10] She was under the command of Captain Josiah Edward Ilbery, a veteran of the Blue Anchor Line, with forty years of nautical experience and a previous master of Geelong, and had a crew of 154. She left Cape Town on 27 November and reached Adelaide on 15 December 1908.[11] Among her passengers were Hamilton Wickes, a newly appointed British Trade Commissioner for the Commonwealth; Dr. Ernest Anderson, Bishop of Riverina; and Octavius Beale, president of the Federal Council of Chambers of Manufactures.[12]

Waratah between April and July 1909 at an unknown location

While on her maiden voyage, early in the morning of 6 December 1908, a fire was discovered in the starboard aft tween decks bunker. While assessing the extent of the blaze, First Officer Charles Owen and Chief Engineer George Hodder were overcome by smoke inhalation and were incapacitated for two days. Though the fire never extended beyond the affected bunker, it continued reigniting until it was finally brought under control on 9 December.[2] The fire was apparently caused by the heat emitted by several reducing and steam valves located on the starboard side of the engine room. While the roof of the engine room was insulated, the starboard side evidently was not. The repairs were performed at Sydney to the chief engineer's satisfaction.[13]

From Adelaide, Waratah proceeded to Melbourne and Sydney, and sailed for London on 9 January 1909 via Durban and Cape Town. She arrived back in London on 7 March 1909. Upon returning to London, word spread that Captain Ilbery was not completely satisfied with his new ship and reported to the owners that despite the builders' assurances Waratah did not have the same stability as his former vessel, Geelong. After inbound passengers departed the ship in Tilbury, Waratah was taken upriver to the Royal Albert dock, where her cargo was unloaded and the ship was prepared for drydock. Conflicting accounts suggested that much of this down time was to effect some "structural modifications" to the ship, though what these were wasn't made public. However, due to limited space, the crew was forced to wait two weeks until an available drydock slip became available. This delay cut the overhaul window in half, leaving only enough time for recalking of the decks and repainting of the hull, which was done by the repair firm of R. & H. Green and Silley Weir. After her overhaul, the ship was inspected by customs officer H. J. Fleel who again passed the ship for passenger service.[14]

Waratah at Sydney in either 1908 or 1909

On 27 April 1909, Waratah set out on her second trip to Australia with a crew of 119 and 215 passengers; 22 in first class and 193 third – a precipitous drop from her maiden voyage. The outward trip was largely uneventful, and the ship arrived at Adelaide on 6 June after touching off at Cape Town on 18 May. Upon arriving in Adelaide, 1,000 tons of lead concentrates bound for Europe were loaded in the lower cargo holds to improve stability for the out-and-back to Melbourne and Sydney. When tugs attempted to draw the ship into harbor at her next stop in Williamstown, Waratah's elevated superstructure caught the wind like a sail, snapped towing hawsers and turned what should have been a routine operation into a four-hour ordeal.[15] She then continued on to Sydney where she took on cargo for the return voyage including 7,800 bars of lead bullion weighing in at 395 tons. Waratah departed Sydney on 26 June 1909 for her return trip to London via the Cape of Good Hope.[16] She again made intermediate stops in Melbourne and Adelaide to take on additional coal and cargo, including a second shipment of lead concentrates which when added to the previous lot brought the total weight of the powdered metal to more than 1,500 tons. The liner then set out for her two-week crossing of the Indian Ocean to Durban on 7 July.[17][18] One of the third-class passengers during the leg to South Africa was a minor celebrity. John "Mad Jack" McLaughlin, a one-armed career criminal, was being extradited to Johannesburg via Durban to stand trial on two counts of murder. While on board Waratah, McLaughlin was guarded round the clock by two Transvaal policemen.[19]

Waratah at Port Adelaide just before her last voyage.

Waratah reached Durban at 11:00 AM on 25 July where 30 passengers disembarked. One of these was Claude Gustav Sawyer, a businessman and an experienced sea traveller who was booked through to Cape Town, yet left the ship when she arrived in Port Natal. Popular myth has it that Sawyer raced off the ship, went straight to the telegraph office to cable his wife, then booked the next ship to Cape Town that wasn't Waratah. However, this legend does not align with the facts. In truth, after departing Waratah Sawyer remained in Durban for over a week before continuing on to Cape Town aboard the Union Castle Line ship Kildonan Castle, which departed Durban on 2 August and arrived in Table Bay on 4 August. It was only upon Sawyer's arrival in Cape Town that he sent his now famous telegram to his wife Emily which read, "Booked Cape Town, Thought Waratah Top-Heavy, Landed Durban, Claude." He then remained in Cape Town for almost two weeks before finally boarding the Union Castle steamer Galician on 16 August for his return trip to London. While awaiting his return to London, Sawyer gave an interview to a Cape Times reporter in which he stated that he disembarked from Waratah early in Durban because he had become nervous about the liner's behaviour and feared she was not seaworthy.[20] Four months later Claude Sawyer's story would take a dramatic and eerie turn. In an article dated 22 January 1910 which appeared in the London weekly tabloid John Bull, Sawyer now claimed he left Waratah pre-emptively due to a series of dreams or visions in which a spectral figure appeared in his cabin holding a long sword in his left hand and a blood-soaked rag in the other. According to Sawyer's new narrative, this vision appeared to him three times at around three in the morning three days before the ship reached Durban which he took as an omen and it was for this reason he left the ship when Waratah reached port.[21]

Disappearance

Clan MacIntyre

Waratah departed Durban at 8:15 PM on 26 July with 211 passengers and crew aboard for the trip to Cape Town. The following morning at 4:00 AM, the crew of the Clan Line cargo carrier Clan MacIntyre spotted a ship coming up fast on her stern at a point 10 miles off Cape Hermes. The large steamer quickly overtook the slower freighter as the ships neared Port St. Johns, at which point the Scots could see the blue anchor painted on the other ship's smokestack and identified her as Waratah. As they came abeam of one another the crews exchanged pleasantries via signal lamp. The conversation was recorded in the freighter's logbook.

Clan MacIntyre: “What ship?”

Waratah: “Waratah for London."

Clan MacIntyre: "Clan Macintyre for London. What weather had you from Australia?”

Waratah: “Strong S. W. and southerly wind across."

Clan MacIntyre: “Thanks, good-bye, pleasant voyage.”

Waratah: "Thanks, same to you, good-bye.”[2]

Traveling at 16 knots with the aid of the Agulhas Current, Waratah soon left Clan MacIntyre in her wake as the ships continued to the southwest. Waratah remained in sight of the Scottish freighter for three more hours, gradually opening the distance until she disappeared over the horizon at 09:30 at 31° 21' South, 29° 3' East or 10 miles abeam of the Mbashe River delta.[2] That was to be the last confirmed sighting of Waratah. As the day progressed the weather worsened, which by the predawn hours the following day had grown into a full-fledged cyclone. When later speaking about the storm, both Captain Alexander Weir and Chief Mate George Phillips of Clan MacIntyre said it was the worst they had experienced along the Cape in their combined 30 years of experience.[22]

Two other ships reported seeing a ship that might have been Waratah shortly after she left Durban.[23] At around 5:30 PM on the 27th, Captain Albert John Bruce of the tramp freighter Harlow saw smoke on the horizon astern at a distance he estimated to be 15 miles. After nightfall, Bruce spotted a light five to six miles astern which he believed to be a ship coming up behind him along the coast. Just before 8:00 PM as he was making his way from the chartroom back to the bridge, Bruce saw two long thin flashes of light rising into the sky in the direction of the light. Upon reaching the wheelhouse, the captain conferred with Chief Mate Robert Parkin Ovens and Chief Engineer Alfred Ernest Harris, who had also seen the flashes, and the men came to the consensus that these were nothing more than flareups from the numerous brushfires in the hills along the coastline – a common sight at that time of year.[24] Nothing more was thought of the incident and the captain neither entered it into the log or reported it to authorities upon arriving into Durban the following day. However, upon arriving at Cavite in the Philippines two months later, and learning that Waratah was missing, Captain Bruce rationalized that the light he saw was a ship on fire and that the flashes must have been explosions which had destroyed the ship. Considering when and where the sighting took place, Bruce became convinced that what he and his men had believed to be brush flares were in fact the death throes of Waratah.[25][26][27]

The Union Castle liner Guelph.

That same evening at around 9:50 PM, the Union-Castle Liner Guelph was steaming northeast toward Durban while eight miles offshore of East London. On the bridge were 4th Mate Thomas Blanchard and Captain James Culverwell, who spotted the lights of a steamer at a distance of five miles headed in the opposite direction. Blanchard attempted to signal the ship via the lamp as the ships passed one another's starboard beam, but in spite of the fair weather the distance made reading the exchange difficult. Though the vessels were within sight of one another for more than 10 minutes, the only portion of the signal Blanchard was able to make out were the last three letters: "T A H."[28]

Another possible sighting which was not mentioned at the inquiry was that of Edward Joe Conquer, who in 1909 was an enlisted signalman for the Cape Mounted Rifles. On 28 July 1909, Conquer's unit was engaged in a training exercise on a hill overlooking the Xhora River mouth, but the weather was so poor that the soldiers had to retreat into their tents. While playing cards and waiting for the skies to clear, Conquer looked out through the opening of his tent and spotted a large steamer struggling against the storm and moving slowly toward the northwest. The signalman pointed this out to his tentmate, a fellow signalman named H. Adshead, and the pair watched the ship, which they estimated to be between four and five miles away. According to Conquer, when he later looked for the ship again, she was nowhere to be seen. However, Joe Conquer didn't come forward with his story until 20 years after Waratah was lost. He first told his tale to writer Lawrence G. Green, who included the story in his 1960 book Eight Bells at Salamander. Yet, in later versions of the story, Conquer claimed to have actually seen the ship overwhelmed by a wave and capsize within sight of shore. Though he claimed that he reported his sighting to his superiors both verbally and in a written statement, no evidence of either affidavit has ever been uncovered.[29][30]

Search efforts

Contemporary searches

Waratah was scheduled to reach Cape Town on 29 July 1909. When she failed to arrive, no immediate alarm was raised as it was common for ships to arrive at port days or even weeks late due to weather or engine failure. Initially, her delay was attributed to a breakdown or mechanical fault, and that the liner was adrift south of the shipping lane atop the Agulhas Current. Fears began to grow for her safety when ships arriving at Cape Town reported having seen no sign of the overdue liner. The first search effort was launched on 31 July, when the tug Harry Escombe set out from Durban to retrace Waratah's assumed course to the west. The next day, the tugboat T. E. Fuller set out from Cape Town to search the Agulhas Banks, but turned into Mossel Bay four days later after encountering rough weather and without finding any trace of the ship. T. E. Fuller would later take part in the continuing search efforts along the coast.[31] Next the Royal Navy sent the cruisers HMS Pandora, HMS Forte and HMS Hermes to search for the missing Waratah. During the almost three-week search Hermes encountered huge waves which warped her hull bracings and forced her into dry dock.[32]

On 10 August 1909, a cable from the Colony of Natal reached Adelaide reading "Blue Anchor vessel sighted a considerable distance out. Slowly making for Durban. Could be the Waratah." The Chair of the House of Representatives in the Australian Parliament halted proceedings to read out the cable, saying: "Mr. Speaker has just informed me that he has news on reliable authority that the SS Waratah has been sighted making slowly towards Durban."[33] In Adelaide, mayor Frank Johnson ordered the town bells to be rung in celebration. However, the ship was not Waratah and passed Durban without stopping on Wednesday, 11 August.[34]

Numerous other ships in the area joined the search, including Waratah's sister ship Geelong, which deviated from its course from Cape Town to Adelaide to search waters east of Durban, where Waratah was thought to be possibly drifting.[35] The German steamship Goslar also kept special lookout for Waratah for 1,262 miles of ocean while en route from Port Elizabeth to Melbourne.[36]

On 7 July the 1,510-ton Hong Kong Navigation Co. freighter Tinhow out of Glasgow arrived in East London, where the crew related a gruesome sighting. Captain Thomas Ramsey Kidd told port authorities that while steaming past the Mbashe River Delta he and his crew had spotted what they initially believed to be bodies floating in the water and altered their course to investigate. But upon closer inspection, Kidd determined that the “bodies” were whale carcasses – likely from the Durban Try Works – which were being followed along the current by a sizable flock of birds. About a week later upon arriving at Cape Town on 13 August 1909, Captain Walling Oscar Moore of the steamship Insizwa also reported seeing what he believed to be bodies floating just below the surface near the mouth of the Bashee (Mbashe) River.[37] Second officer John Noble Day of the steamer Tottenham also claimed to have seen a body in the same general area. However, Captain Edward Cox and other members of Tottenham's crew stated that what they had seen were dead skate and whale carcases.[38] The tugs Buffalo and Harry Escombe were dispatched to the area to search for these supposed "bodies", finding instead only whale offal and dead skate, which the crew members stated bore an eerie resemblance to human bodies.[39][40]

The New Zealand Steamship Company freighter Waikato.

Many held out hope that Waratah was still afloat and drifting, basing their belief on what had befallen the steamship Waikato in 1899. In June of that year, Waikato's propeller shaft snapped and could not be repaired at sea, leaving the ship to drift at the whims of the elements for over 100 days and covering a distance of over 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km). Though she was sighted several times by other vessels, none was able to take her in tow until the steamer Asloun was finally able to secure a line to Waikato and tow her to Fremantle, Australia.[41][42]

Waratah had enough provisions on board to last for a year but, because she lacked any radio equipment, she would have been unable to communicate with any ships beyond visual range.[43] In September 1909, the Blue Anchor Line in conjunction with the Admiralty and the Australian government chartered the Union Castle cargo ship Sabine to search along the Waikato's drift course for Waratah. Sabine was fitted out with search lights and elevated crow's nests to aid in the search which operated round the clock. The search covered 14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km), and zig-zagged across the southern Indian Ocean for almost eight weeks without yielding any results.[44] With no sighting of the ship for over four months, Waratah was officially posted as missing at Lloyd's of London on 15 December 1909.[45] In early 1910, a group of Australian relatives of those lost aboard Waratah formed the Melbourne Search Committee and raised funds to outfit one final expedition to locate Waratah, which they believed was still drifting in the frigid southern waters. The newly built steamer Wakefield was chartered to conduct a four-month search, expanding the grid between the Sabine expedition limits and the Australian coast. Wakefield even landed crewmen on several of the uninhabited islands of the Kerguelen archipelago to search for castaways. Like previous efforts, the Wakefield foray proved unsuccessful.[44]

No confirmed wreckage or bodies from Waratah have ever been found, although there were a number of unconfirmed reports. In March 1910, wreckage was said to have been found at Mossel Bay.[46] A life buoy, reportedly marked with the name "Waratah", washed ashore in New Zealand in February 1912.[38] In 1925, Lt. D. J. Roos of the South African Air Force reported that he had spotted a submerged wreck while flying a mail run over the Transkei coast. Though Roos professed that what he had seen was a shipwreck, neither he nor anyone else has ever seen the shipwreck again. Coincidentally, it was only after Roos met Joe Conquer in 1929 and the two compared stories about what each had seen near the Xhora River that the signalman came forward with his belated eyewitness account. Pieces of cork and timber were washed up near East London, South Africa in 1939 which some believed may have come from Waratah.[47]

Later searches

A number of later efforts to locate a wreck have taken place, in particular undertaken by Emlyn Brown who was convinced that the sighting of Edward Joe Conquer held the key to Waratah's whereabouts. Under Brown's leadership, expeditions to locate Waratah took place in 1983, 1989, 1991, 1995 and 1997. In 1999, there were newspaper reports that Waratah had been found 10 km (6 miles) off the eastern coast of South Africa.[48] A sonar scan conducted by Emlyn Brown's team had indeed located a wreck, the outline of which seemed to match that of Waratah. In 2001, however, a dive at the site revealed that the wreck was that of Nailsea Meadow, a cargo ship that a German U-boat had sunk in the Second World War.[49] In 2004, Emlyn Brown, who had by then spent 22 years looking for Waratah, declared that he was giving up the search: "I've exhausted all the options. I now have no idea where to look," he said.[50]

In 2009, Brown gave his opinion that Waratah possibly capsized in the storm; in his view, the upturned ship may have remained afloat for long enough to be carried south by currents, before finally sinking into the deep ocean beyond the continental shelf where it cannot be easily located.[51]

Inquiry

The Board of Trade inquiry into the disappearance was convened on 15 December 1910 at Caxton Hall in Westminster, London. In his opening statement, Frederick Lainge KC (barrister for the Board of Trade) argued that Waratah had been designed and built properly and operated in accordance with the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894.[52], referencing her certification of "100 A1". While this designation was put forward to describe the highest marks a ship could receive during the inspection process, this claim was misleading. Contrary to popular belief, these figures represented a ship's classification, not a rating or passing grade. For a ship designated "100 A1", the "100" signified that the ship was "suitable for ocean going service", while the "A" indicated that the ship was constructed or accepted into Lloyd's Register and was maintained in good and efficient order", and the "1" meant only that the ship possessed "good and efficient anchoring and mooring equipment". Waratah's classification also included a "+"; a prefix which many believe denotes a superior grade. However, this symbol was not a plus sign at all but rather a Maltese (or Patee) Cross, which indicated that the ship had been built under "special survey".[53] When a new class of ship is built, or if its scantlings straddle two differing classes, special surveys allow the ship to be classified to best fit its intended purpose. For Waratah this was an easy modification as the co-chairman of the Lloyd's classification committee was none other than William Lund, owner of the Blue Anchor Line and Waratah.

Evidence was submitted by almost 100 witnesses in the form of direct testimony and via sworn affidavits during the two-month proceeding, which included statements from former passengers and crew members, Blue Anchor's overseas agents, the builders and representatives of the Board of Trade.[2] The expert testimony was almost unanimous that Waratah was properly designed, built and maintained, and it was pointed out that Waratah had passed five separate inspections – by the builders, the owners, the Board of Trade, Lloyds of London and the emigration authorities. Three of these were by independent authorities, who it was claimed had no interest in overlooking any weaknesses, and four were of a technical character, and she had passed all of these without any defect being found.[54]

During their time on the stand, the Lunds steadfastly stated that after his return from the maiden voyage Captain Ilbery had spoken of Waratah only in the highest terms, though they produced no correspondence to corroborate these claims, claiming that many of the records were lost or destroyed after the sale of Blue Anchor to the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company on 1 January 1910.[55] Of the few documents the Lunds did produce, Josiah Ilbery stated only that Waratah "did not possess the same stability as Geelong."[2] Witnesses for the owners and builders professed that passenger ships were constructed with minimalist metacentric margins; a fact highlighted during the inquiry when Waratah and Geelong were compared side-by-side and were shown to have small or even negative metacentric heights under certain conditions[2]. This design component was intended to produce a long, comfortable roll which was preferred in passenger liners.

However, from the beginning those involved with the building and operation of the ship began contradicting their own assertions. George Barrie, chief of Barclay Curle's scientific department, produced calculations which showed that Waratah could have rolled completely over on her side at 90° and still recovered easily, though these figures veered dramatically from those he provided the owners when the ship was first delivered for service.[56] Joseph Larcombe, a shipping surveyor for Lloyd's, was asked to calculate the metacentric height of Waratah's cargo alone without taking into account the weight of the ship itself or the coal aboard. Larcrombe's nonsensical figures suggested a GM of between 1.5 and 1.9 feet -- more 6 to 7.5 times greater than that contained in Waratah's initial stability conditions.[57][2] Sir William White, former chief naval architect for the Royal Navy, staunchly defended Waratah's construction and operation and claimed that anyone with a contrary opinion was not educated enough to understand how ships worked. When confronted with the testimony of former passenger Herbert Mason – a chief engineer and friend of Waratah's first officer – who claimed the ship had a stability problem, White accused Mason of Lying. Yet, White himself had neither sailed aboard nor even seen Waratah for himself and based his entire testimony on information provided by Barclay Curle and Blue anchor and upon a single photograph.[2] One former passenger, David Tweedie, proclaimed in his sworn testimony that he was "never in a better ship, never had a better voyage", though the fact that he was a personal friend of William Lund and one of Blue Anchor's largest shareholders was not mentioned.

Professor William Henry Bragg, former passenger and Professor of Physics at Leeds University and Nobel laureate, believed Waratah suffered from stability issues.

Despite this reimagined stability criteria produced by the defence, many witnesses who had travelled aboard the ship continued to assert that Waratah felt unstable, frequently listed to one side even in calm conditions, rolled excessively, was slow to recover, and had a tendency to dip her bow into oncoming waves rather than ride over them.[58][59][60] One passenger on her maiden voyage said that when in the Southern Ocean she developed a list to starboard to such an extent that water would not run out of the baths and that she held this list for several hours before rolling upright and then settling down to a similar list on the other side. This passenger William Henry Bragg, Cavendish Professor of Physics at Leeds University and future Nobel laureate, was a first class passenger on the return trip to London during the maiden journey who believed the ship's behaviour indicated that her metacentre was just below the centre of gravity. Bragg explained that when ships reach this state of unstable equilibrium, they are incapable of righting themselves and require additional force to come upright such as shifting cargo and ballast by outward influences such as wind and wave pressure.[61] Other passengers also commented on Waratah's odd proclivvities. Former crew members recalled how on two occasions while the ship was in Sydney she exhibited a dangerous list during coaling. [62] Several stated that they were so concerned with the ship's odd behaviour that they refused to sign on for the second voyage.[2]

When the hindsights attempting to paint Waratah in a glowing light were stacked against the wealth of derogatory testimony concerning the ship's behaviour, the results seemed to cancel one another out. As such, the court was unable (or unwilling) to determine a definitive cause for the liner's disappearance, stating only that Waratah had been lost after encountering "a storm of exceptional violence" off the South African coast on the morning of 28 July 1909[63]. While this "act of God" exonerated all parties of any criminal or civil culpability, the court did single out Blue Anchor for questionable business practices and the Lunds' hamhanded attempts at suppressing evidence.[64]

Theories

Artist's impression of Waratah at sea

Rogue Wave

One theory suggests that Waratah’s disappearance was the result of a rogue wave.[65] These terrifying walls of water can appear suddenly and without warning even under normal sea conditions, catching unsuspecting crews off guard and inflicting severe or fatal damage to ships. A paper written by Professor Mallory of the University of Cape Town (1973) suggested that waves of up to 20 metres (66 feet) in height had been observed between Richards Bay and Cape Agulhas along the coast of South Africa. Still, such waves were thought to be myths until New Year's Day 1995 when an 84-foot monster wave struck the Draupner oil platform off the Norwegian coast. The fates of other lost ships has been attributed to rogue waves including Melanie Schulte (a German ship lost in the Atlantic Ocean)[66] and MV Derbyshire (a British bulk carrier sunk in the Pacific Ocean). A 2025 paper by J. D. Pons in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology theorizes that Waratah may have fallen victim to a rogue wave in the vicinity of Algoa Bay.[67]

Cargo shift

Waratah was carrying 1,500 tons of lead concentrates as part of her cargo. This dense, metallic powder is loaded in bulk and occupies 12 cubic feet per ton. During transport, agitation brought on by the ship's movement causes this metal powder to settle with water trapped between the particles being pressed out and rising to the surface. Once liquified, this mixture can slosh from one side of a ship's hold to the other in what is known as the free surface effect which may severely affect the vessel's righting moment, potentially causing her to capsize. Today, ore concentrates are treated as hazardous cargo with detailed requirements laid out for its transport.[68][69] These precautions did not exist at the turn of the 20th century.

Whirlpool

One fanciful suggestion is that Waratah was caught in a whirlpool created by a combination of winds and currents along the precipitous continental shelf of the South African coastline. While vortices such as these might pose a hazard for smaller water craft, there has never been an instance where a large ship has been sunk due to a massive whirlpool.

Piracy

During her final voyage, Waratah was carrying more than 300 tons of metal ingots bound for London which many have believed was gold due to its listing in the manifest as "bullion". This mistaken belief has led some to theorise that pirates seized Waratah, stole the gold, murdered those on board and then scuttled the ship. But the word "bullion" does not mean gold, silver or any precious metal for that matter. The word is derived from the Latin "bullire" which means "to boil". Thus, bullion can be any non-ferrous metal refined through heating and melting into a more pure and transportable form. Had Waratah been carrying a load of gold, she would have been in no danger of skulduggery as there were no pirates operating along the South African coast at the time – thanks to omnipresent Royal Navy warships. And even had there been pirates intent on making away with a king's ransom in gold, they certainly would not have attacked a 465-foot ship from a rowboat at the height of a hurricane.[2]

Explosion

Given the evidence from the officers of Harlow (see above), it has been speculated that Waratah was destroyed by a sudden coal dust explosion in one or more of her bunkers. Coal dust is highly combustible and even explosive when of sufficient saturation. However, at the time the crew of Harlow spotted the towers of flame, Waratah had been at sea for less than a day and would have burned through only about 100 tons of coal.[2] Therefore, the bunkers would have been completely filled leaving no room for combustible clouds of coal dust to accumulate. And had the ship exploded less than two miles from Port St. Johns, the coastline for miles on either side of the river mouth would have been covered in debris and bodies.

Aftermath

The Waratah Curse

A popular myth has emerged in the wake of the disappearance which holds that every ship named Waratah suffered a tragic fate. And there were instances which seemed to support this contention. In March 1848, the 439-ton sailing barque Waratah en route from London for Sydney foundered just as she rounded the western coast of France near Ushant with the loss of 13 lives.[70] In 1852 the 29-ton single-masted cutter Waratah out of Hobart ran aground on Roaring Beach, near the village of Nubeena on the Tasman Peninsula. The next instance occurred in 1864 when the 109-ton schooner Waratah sank near Newcastle Harbour while traveling to Sydney with a load of coal.[71] The year 1887 was particularly unlucky for Waratahs when two vessels sporting that name were lost within four months of one another. The first was a North Shore Ferry Company steamer Waratah which collided with the Port Jackson Steamship Company ferry Emu in Sydney Harbour around midnight on 24 February. Luckily, there were no casualties and the vessel was raised a week later and sent to drydock for repairs.[72] The second was a 425-ton steam collier hauling a load of coal bound for Bulli when she ran aground near the Illawarra Jetty on 6 June.[73] The wreckage of this ship is still visible today at low tide. Two years later, the sailing pearler Waratah sank near Barrow Island off Cape Preston with the loss of all hands.[74] In addition to these, there were other vessels named Waratah which sank or ran aground over the course of maritime history. However, the number of Waratahs meeting an untimely end are low when compared with supposed curses related to other ships' names. Records indicate that at least 23 ships named Sally have sunk over the course of maritime history. As have 41 Catherines, 60 Auroras, 94 Elizabeths, and 98 Marys[5]. These numbers dwarf those of Waratah, yet these coincidental founderings are not thought to be the result of any curse, but the unfortunate few of the dozens if not hundreds of vessels which have shared the same name.

Even before the inquiry, Waratah's disappearance had led to a loss of confidence in the Blue Anchor Line, with ticket sales and freight contracts dropping dramatically. Faced with mounting debts and the possibility of civil and criminal liability, the Lunds decided to pre-emptively sell the remaining assets of their company to the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company. As a result, Blue Anchor ceased operations long before the Board of Trade convened the inquiry.

Memorials

A memorial to Thomas Newman, a victim of the sinking, in Higher Cemetery, Exeter

A plaque in the Parish Church at Buckland Filleigh, Devon, England, commemorates Col. Percival John Browne. He was returning to England on Waratah, from his sheep farm in Mount Gambier, South Australia. His family home was Buckland House.

A plaque to the memory of Howard Cecil Fulford, the ship's surgeon, was erected in the chapel by his fellow students at Trinity College (University of Melbourne).

In the Parish Church of St Wilfrid, Bognor Regis, England, is a plaque: "The church gates were given in memory of Harris Archibald Gibbs who was drowned at sea in the SS Waratah".

In the main church in Aberystwyth, Wales, is a plate "in happy memory of John Purton Morgan, 3rd Officer SS Waratah lost at sea 1909".

A memorial in Higher Cemetery, Exeter, Devon, commemorates Thomas Newman "drowned in SS Waratah 27th July 1909".

A centenary plaque was unveiled at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum, Victoria, Australia, on 27 July 2009.[75]

Cultural impact

Waratah has often drawn comparisons to RMS Titanic; the White Star Line flagship which sank three years later on her maiden voyage with the loss of over 1,500 people. Consequently, Waratah has been referred to as the "Titanic of the Southern Seas", the "Titanic of the South" and "Australia's Titanic".[30][76][77]

The 1971 novel Scent of the Sea by Geoffrey Jenkins includes a fictional account of the Waratah mystery.[78]

Adventure writer Clive Cussler used Waratah's disappearance as the plot of his 2014 book Ghost Ship.[79]

See also

  • List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lloyd's Register of British andForeign Shipping. I.–Steamers.. London: Lloyd's Register. 1909. WAL–WAR. https://archive.org/details/HECROS1909ST/page/n1053/mode/1up. 
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 "Collections Online | Heritage" (in en). https://heritage.lrfoundation.org.uk/collections/archive/111047092. 
  3. ↑ "Waratah (1125741)". Miramar Ship Index. https://www.miramarshipindex.nz/ship/1125741. 
  4. ↑ "Launches-Scotch.". Marine Engineer & Naval Architect XXXI: p. 92. 1 October 1908. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Challenge". https://www.wrecksite.eu/challenge.aspx?US$. 
  6. ↑ "S.S. Waratah.". Albany Advertiser (Western Australia) XXI (2708): p. 3. 20 January 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69965453. 
  7. ↑ Harris (1989), p. 118
  8. ↑ "Trial Trips.". Marine Engineer & Naval Architect XXXI: p. 177. 1 December 1908. 
  9. ↑ "The Tide of Immigration.". The Sunday Times (New South Wales, Australia) (1190): p. 7. 8 November 1908. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126750264. 
  10. ↑ Harris (1989), p. 119
  11. ↑ "The Liner Waratah". Evening Journal (South Australia) XLII (11776): p. 1. 15 December 1908. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208650036. 
  12. ↑ "Personal.". The Advertiser (South Australia) LI (15,652): p. 9. 16 December 1908. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5153577. 
  13. ↑ "Feb 23, 1911, page 24 - The Times at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/33242877/. 
  14. ↑ "Collections Online | Heritage" (in en). https://heritage.lrfoundation.org.uk/collections/archive/111047072. 
  15. ↑ "Berthing of the Waratah.". The Age (Victoria, Australia) (16,925): p. 14. 12 June 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196119932. 
  16. ↑ "Exports.". Daily Commercial News And Shipping List (New South Wales, Australia) (5817): p. 2. 5 July 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158423793. 
  17. ↑ "Shipping News". The Express and Telegraph (South Australia) XLVI (13,751): p. 1 (4 o'clock.). 8 July 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209667947. 
  18. ↑ "The Grain Trade.". The Australasian (Victoria, Australia) LXXXVII (2,258): p. 9. 10 July 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139683321. 
  19. ↑ "Charged with Murder.". Evening Journal (South Australia) XLIII (11944): p. 1. 8 July 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203440250. 
  20. ↑ "Sep 04, 1909, page 9 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/972121218/. 
  21. ↑ "Jan 20, 1910, page 6 - Evening Standard at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/765806297/. 
  22. ↑ "Jan 11, 1911, page 8 - The Guardian at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/258423079/?match=7&terms=Waratah%20inquiry%20%22Phillips%22&search-id=a876a9dd-3a1b-422c-89d1-04685afe421e&search-rank=1. 
  23. ↑ Harris (1989), pp. 120–123
  24. ↑ "Sep 21, 1909, page 9 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/820467571/. 
  25. ↑ "Sep 21, 1909, page 9 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/820467571/. 
  26. ↑ "Saw Steamer Blow Up". The New York Times: p. 6. 21 September 1909. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24189442/the_new_york_times/. Free to read
  27. ↑ "The Loss of the Waratah.". The Times: p. 12. 24 September 1909. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24189605/the_times/. Free to read
  28. ↑ Harris (1989), pp. 122, 138
  29. ↑ Smith (2009), pp. 173–174
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Carroll, Rory (2004-04-19). "The Titanic of the southern seas". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/apr/19/southafrica.rorycarroll. 
  31. ↑ Smith (2009), p. 51
  32. ↑ Harris (1989), p. 125
  33. ↑ Hansard, House of Representatives p2228 10 August 1909
  34. ↑ "Aug 12, 1909, page 11 - The Times at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/33208926/. 
  35. ↑ "A Lund Liner's Trip". The Age (Victoria, Australia) (16,995): p. 7. 2 September 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198476714. 
  36. ↑ "THE GOSLAR'S SEARCH.". The Age (Victoria, Australia) (16,995): p. 7. 2 September 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198476709. 
  37. ↑ "Probably Waratah Victims". The Boston Globe: p. 9. 13 August 1909. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24189184/the_boston_globe/. Free to read
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "SS Waratah, Stories and Legends". http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/cliffiesw/WARATALES.HTM. 
  39. ↑ Smith (2009), p. 54
  40. ↑ "The Missing Waratah.". The Hillston Spectator And Lachlan River Advertiser (New South Wales, Australia): p. 2. 20 August 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131068603. 
  41. ↑ "The Waikato's Experience. Adrift for 103 Days". Gympie Times And Mary River Mining Gazette (Queensland, Australia) XLI (5412): p. 6. 21 August 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article190075528. 
  42. ↑ "The Waikato's Drift". Evening News (New South Wales, Australia): p. 6. 18 August 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114770048. 
  43. ↑ Smith (2009), pp. 51–53
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Smith (2009), pp. 51–153
  45. ↑ Harris (1989), p. 128
  46. ↑ "WRECKAGE, MOSSEL BAY.". https://waratahrevisited.blogspot.com/2016/04/wreckage-mossel-bay.html. 
  47. ↑ "Fairplay Weekly Shipping Journal, Volume 150 1939 .p.70". https://books.google.com/books?id=OX0eAQAAMAAJ&q=Waratah. 
  48. ↑ Addley
  49. ↑ "Search for Waratah goes on after 'false' find". IOL. 24 January 2001. https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/search-for-waratah-goes-on-after-false-find-58947. 
  50. ↑ Meldrum, Andrew (2004-05-04). "'Titanic' hunt draws a blank". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/04/southafrica.andrewmeldrum. 
  51. ↑ Smith (2009), pp. 188–189
  52. ↑ Harris (1989), p. 130
  53. ↑ "Frequently asked questions on classification | Heritage" (in en). https://heritage.lrfoundation.org.uk/frequently-asked-questions-on-classification. 
  54. ↑ Harris (1989), p. 146
  55. ↑ "Jan 23, 1910, page 1 - Sunday Dispatch at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/813554208/. 
  56. ↑ "Dec 16, 1910, page 3 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/824537001/. 
  57. ↑ "Jan 18, 1911, page 4 - The Times at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/33228021/. 
  58. ↑ "The S.S. Waratah Maiden Voyage. A Reminiscence". The Daily News (Western Australia) XXVIII (10,695): p. 2 (Third Edition). 14 September 1909. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77352720. 
  59. ↑ "THE WARATAH. A PROFESSOR'S ALARM: SAVED BY A VISION. MISS HAY WARNED.". The Advertiser (South Australia) LIII (16,306): p. 7. 20 January 1911. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5235069. 
  60. ↑ "LOSS OF THE S.S. WARATAH. SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE (The Richmond River Herald and Northern Districts Advertiser 21 February 1911)". National Library of Australia. 21 February 1911. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/126482032?searchTerm=ss%20waratah%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&searchLimits=. 
  61. ↑ "What is stable equilibrium, unstable equilibrium and neutral equilibrium?" (in en-GB). https://marinegyaan.com/what-is-stable-equilibrium-unstable-equilibrium-and-neutral-equilibrium/. 
  62. ↑ Harris (1989), pp. 130, 140
  63. ↑ "Feb 23, 1911, page 9 - The Times at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/33242226/. 
  64. ↑ Harris (1989), p. 141
  65. ↑ "Monsters of the deep – Huge, freak waves may not be as rare as once thought". Economist Magazine. 17 September 2009. http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14446734. 
  66. ↑ Harris (1989), p. 149
  67. ↑ Pons, J. (2025-01-05). "Seascape Factors in the Loss of the SS Waratah". Journal of Maritime Archaeology 20 (February 4, 2025): 125–178. doi:10.1007/s11457-025-09435-9. Bibcode: 2025JMarA..20..125P. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11457-025-09435-9. 
  68. ↑ Smith (2009), pp. 46, 161
  69. ↑ "CARGO LIQUEFACTION AND DANGERS TO SHIPS". International Federation of Shipmasters' Associations. https://www.ifsma.org/resources/Cargo-Liquefaction.pdf. 
  70. ↑ "Mar 31, 1848, page 2 - The Morning Post at Newspapers.com™" (in en-US). https://www.newspapers.com/image/402158504/. 
  71. ↑ "Yesterday's Sydney News". 28 June 1864. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/136377148?searchTerm=Waratah%20schooner. 
  72. ↑ "Waratah - Emu Collision". 8 March 1887. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/236760357?searchTerm=Waratah%20Emu. 
  73. ↑ "Stranding of the Steam Collier Waratah". 8 June 1887. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46095881?searchTerm=Waratah%20Illawarra. 
  74. ↑ "Supposed Loss of the Waratah". 9 March 1889. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32717252?searchTerm=Waratah%20cape%20preston. 
  75. ↑ "S.S. Waratah". https://www.monumentaustralia.org/themes/disaster/maritime/display/96933-%22s.s.-waratah%22. 
  76. ↑ Smith (2009)
  77. ↑ "100 years since SS Waratah disappeared off the Wild Coast". Wild Coast. https://www.wildcoast.co.za/waratah. 
  78. ↑ Smith (2009), pp. 166–167
  79. ↑ Cussler, Clive (2014). "Ghost Ship". https://www.bookfinder.com/isbn/9780399167317/?searchOffersType=USED&page=3. 

Bibliography

  • Harris, John (1989), Without Trace: The Last Voyages of Eight Ships, Mandarin, ISBN 0-7493-0043-4 
  • Smith, P.J. (2009), The Lost Ship SS Waratah: Searching for the Titanic of the South, The History Press, ISBN 978-0-7524-5157-2 

Further reading

  • "The Loss of the Waratah", The Times, 23 February 1911 p. 24
  • Esther Addley, "Sea yields our Titanic's Resting Place", The Weekend Australian, 17 July 1999
  • Sue Blane, "The Week in Quotes", Financial Times, 6 May 2004
  • Alan Laing, "Shipwreck expert abandons hunt for Clyde liner", The Herald, 4 May 2004
  • Tom Martin, "Almost a century after she vanished, scientists could now be on the verge of solving riddle of SS Waratah's last voyage", Sunday Express, 25 April 2004
  • Geoffrey Jenkins' Scend of the Sea (Collins, 1971) is a novel based on the loss of Waratah.
  • Clive Cussler's and Graham Brown's Ghost Ship (2014) is another novel featuring Waratah.

Template:1909 shipwrecks



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