SS Waratah
12 September 1908 - 28 July 1909

At Latitude 31.36 degrees South, Longitude 29.58 degrees East, was her last communication ......

How was it possible for a modern liner of the time, travelling close to shore, on a well-used coast, to disappear without trace?

100 years ago, the SS Waratah did just that!

All over the world, stories have been written about the SS Waratah. A unique drama and tragedy of a ship vanishing so completely without the slightest trace a century ago, thus providing an alluring mystery for Maritime Historians and all those fascinated with her.

On Monday, 26 July 1909, the Waratah left the port of Durban, South Africa, for London via Cape Town, with a complement of 119 crew and her approximately 52 passengers who had embarked in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and a further 40 passengers from Durban.

Her last communication by Morse signal lamp, was with the Master of the Clan Macintyre on 27 July 1909, at about 6.30am as she overtook the cargo ship on the Transkei Coast, off Cape Hermes, at Latitude 31.36 degrees South, Longitude 29.58 degrees East .....

Clan Macintyre: "What ship is that?"

Waratah: "Waratah for London"

Clan Macintyre: "Clan Macintyre for London"
"What weather have you had from Australia?"

Waratah: "Strong South West and Southerly winds across"

Clan Macintyre: "Thanks. Goodbye and pleasant voyage"

Waratah: "Thanks. Same to you. Goodbye."

With a very heavy storm blowing up from the south, the crew of the Clan MacIntyre could see the Waratah progressively making her way ahead, until she was opposite the estuary of the Bashee River, off the Transkei Coast and was then lost to view.

The platform was now set for one of the greatest sea mysteries of all time ....

Each of the vessels had a particularly tall funnel, on which was emblazoned the Company's Blue Anchor emblem.

Built by Barclay Curle & Co. in Whiteinch, Glasgow, Scotland, on the Clyde in 1908, the Steamer Waratah was destined to be the flagship of the Blue Anchor Line. A coal-burning passenger and cargo steamship, she was claimed to be practically unsinkable because of the eight watertight compartments running the full length of the vessel. At 480 feet long, a tonnage of 9,339 and her twin screws capable of producing a sea speed of 13.5 knots, the Waratah was the pride of the Lund's fleet.

Celebrating their close Australian relationship, Lund's ships bestowed Australian names to the majority of their ships, being the Woolloomooloo, Warrnambool, Wallarah, Yarrawonga and Murrumbidgee, all derived from the Aboriginal language. The Waratah was to be named after the beautiful scarlet-flowering shrub, indigenous to the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

This strong relationship was further reinforced when Mrs. J.W. Taverner, wife of the Agent-General for Victoria, Australia, was invited to perform the honour of launching the Waratah in 1908.

Launch of the Waratah on the river Clyde on 12 September 1908

The Waratah was an imposing vessel, although her extra promenade deck gave her a somewhat top-heavy appearance, which distinguished her from the rest of the ships of the Blue Anchor Line. On 5 November 1908, now fully fitted out, she left on her maiden voyage from London, England, to Australia, boasting 100 first class cabins, 8 staterooms, a luxurious 'music lounge' complete with a minstrel's gallery and a saloon with panels depicting her namesake flower. As well as these luxurious quarters, the Waratah also had room for 300 third class passengers to serve the strong emigrant trade from Europe to Australia.

Captain Josiah Edward Ilbery
22 June 1840 - 28 July 1909

Commanding her was Captain Josiah Edward Ilbery, Commodore of the Blue Anchor Line, who with his many years of nautical experience, had been with the company from its inception and had served his apprenticeship on wool and tea clippers. Captain Ilbery had commanded the Delcomyn, the first steamer of the Blue Anchor Line and before taking command of the Waratah, was in command of the Geelong in 1904. Ilbery had spent twenty years of his life commanding Lund's steamships plying between England and Australia, knew the route intimately, and had an excellent reputation for never having experienced an accident, or any other major incident at sea. Although he had wished to retire earlier, William Lund had persuaded him to stay on. Ilbery was extremely popular with his passengers and a distinguished figure in uniform with his manicured white beard and had been described by the press as, 'every inch a Commander'.

Having completed her maiden voyage without mishap, her return to England did raise some discussions between the owners and the builders about her stowage and the possibility of it being responsible for some instability on this voyage. Little did they know that these discussions would hold important ramifications in the future, when the inquiry into her loss would again raise the issue of stowage and reports of instability.

Sydney Morning Herald - 26 June 1909

The Waratah, on her second voyage out to Australia, left London on 27 April 1909 and reached Australia without incident. On berthing in Sydney she loaded her Australian cargo and provisioned for the return trip to London. Embarking her new passengers, she departed from Sydney's Central Wharf, Millers Point, at noon on Saturday 26 June; Port Melbourne Railway Pier, Melbourne, 4pm Thursday 1 July and from Ocean Steamers Wharf, Port Adelaide, Wednesday 7 July 1909, to then put to sea for the Indian Ocean crossing to Durban, South Africa and the ill-fated passage down the coast to Cape Town.

Typical of the cargo loaded from the Colonies at that time and destined for Durban, Cape Town and London, was 600 tons oats, 100 tons flour, 800 tons lead, 227 tons timber, 500 tons tallow, 30 tons furniture, 1,050 boxes butter, 8,000 crates rabbits, 1,000 carcasses mutton and quantities of whisky and wine.

The Australian passenger list gives us a glimpse of the heart-wrenching human story. With 92 passengers aboard, amongst them were Charles Taylor, a miner who embarked at Sydney with his wife and family; John Ebsworth, the solicitor on his way to a court case in London; Niel Walter Black, who had just completed building his home 'Dalvui' near Noorat in the Western District of Victoria and was bound for the UK to propose to a young lady; the young Ada Page, whose parents were caretakers of the Treasury Buildings in Spring Street, Melbourne, travelling with her husband Ernest Page, 'Master of Mesmer's Mysterious Art' (hypnotist); Alf Clarke, a world champion woodchopper and Jack Calder, another Tasmanian woodchopper. Of the Australian women on board, several were only in their twenties. Her complement of crew included James Conn (Greaser and Fireman), Henry Barr (Carpenter's Mate), Stewardesses Emma Swan and Sarah Whitehorn, the youngest of the crew being Fred Trott (16 years old - General Servant) with several of the crew members all under 20 years old.

Winter had come to the Southern Hemisphere and storms at sea were now commonplace for the Waratah and she passed through much heavy weather on her voyage to Durban, causing some of the passengers to become disturbed by the way in which the ship pitched.

Last picture taken of some of the Waratah crew (with sulphur-crested cockatoo on tool box)

It seemed the Waratah rolled in a very disagreeable way and then remained for a long time on her side before recovering. While she was recovering, and the deck had become horizontal, she often gave a decided jerk. In particular, one passenger, Mr. Claude Sawyer, was concerned at an incident whilst having a bath and noticed that the water stood at an angle of 45 degrees, whilst the vessel seemed to struggle to recover her balance. Sawyer was also plagued with nightmares. Something would happen to the ship! Although he was bound via Cape Town for London, one particular vision caused him grave alarm and prompted his drastic action to disembark the Waratah in Durban. After the tragic loss of the Waratah, he told the Court of Inquiry, "I saw a man clad in peculiar dress with a long sword in his right hand, which he seemed to be holding between us. In the other hand, he had a knife covered in blood. I saw this on three successive nights."

On Sunday, 25 July 1909, the Waratah put into Durban and disembarked approximately 29 passengers who hadn't intended continuing their journey to either Cape Town or London. They also had among them Mr. Sawyer, who had by this time decided he was not going to continue his journey any further on this ship! Mr Wright, a master mariner aged 40 and travelling with his 30 year old wife and notwithstanding his seafaring knowledge and experience, had not felt as did Sawyer; that the Waratah was unsafe, or they too might have disembarked at Durban and lived to tell the tale.

Having offloaded some of her Australian cargo, replenished her coal bunkers, taken on additional cargo, she embarked her new passengers ready to depart for Cape Town. Fortunately, the Waratah was not carrying her full complement of 430 passengers, as it was late in the season and most travellers had left for England several weeks previously. Amongst her 40 passengers embarked from Durban, was David Turner (the founder of the well-known, still-thriving South African business, Turner's Shipping) travelling with his wife and five children aged between 3 and 14 years old. Once more, the loss of the Waratah brings home the heartbreak of the loss of a complete family.

The Durban Harbour pilot, Capt. Lindsey, went aboard at 'C' Shed and the tug Richard King shepherded the Waratah out of Durban Harbour on Monday, 26 July 1909, at 8.00pm. She turned south past the Durban Bluff and headed for Cape Town. Little did anyone imagine that she was destined to vanish within the next 24 hours!

Early the following morning, near Port St. John's, the Waratah overtook the Clan MacIntyre which had also left Durban the previous day for England. Signals passed between the two ships, identifying each other's names and where they were bound. Although the Waratah was equipped with refrigeration and electricity, she was not yet equipped with wireless, but this modern communication was to be fitted on her arrival in London. The Waratah remained in sight of the Clan Macintyre for about three hours and at about 9.30am, approximately 12 miles off the Bashee River mouth, the Waratah was lost to view below the horizon.

Later that day, as is common in that area during winter, the weather deteriorated quickly and a south-westerly gale gusting to 50 knots (90 km/h) was driving against the south-running Mozambique Current of 4 knots, and combined with the tide, built swells up to 30ft (9m).

That evening, the Union Castle Liner Guelph, passed a ship and exchanged signals by lamp. However, due to the bad weather and poor visibility, they were only able to identify the last three letters of her name on the bow; "T-A-H."

Later that evening, 27 July 1909, at about six o'clock, Captain John Bruce, commanding the steamship Harlow, was making for Durban steering north-east into the swells. Just off Cape Hermes, approximately 51 miles south of Port St. Johns, he caught sight of a large steamer astern of his own ship, travelling south and working hard into the heavy seas. She was making a great deal of smoke, enough for Capt. Bruce to wonder if the steamer was on fire. The event was not entered into the log and only when the Captain learnt of the disappearance of the Waratah, did he think the events significant.

Back in Durban, awaiting his ship to London, Mr. Sawyer was once again plagued with a vision. "I dreamt," he said, "that I saw a ship in heavy seas and one big roller came over the bows and pressed down upon her. She rolled over on her side and disappeared. It seemed to be happening at a distance." Another man in Durban, Mr. R. Dives, also confessed that he had a presentiment that he would never see the Waratah again.

These recurring fears had started whilst Sawyer was sailing from Australia to Durban and he had mentioned the angle of the water in his bath to a fellow passenger, Mr. John Ebsworth, a solicitor, who had previously been in the Merchant Navy for over ten years. Together they had gone to look at the way the vessel was pitching from the forward end of the promenade deck. As big rollers came towards the ship, the Waratah took the first one and when she went down into the trough of the wave, she remained there and seemed to keep her nose into the next wave and simply plough through it. John Ebsworth said that in the whole of his experience, he had never seen a ship do that before. Although the voyage from Australia had been uneventful from the perspective of the Captain and Officers, Sawyer made no secret of the fact that he considered the Waratah unsafe. He sent his wife the following message,

"Thought Waratah top-heavy - landed Durban."

So strongly did he feel about his experience, the disturbing dreams and foreboding premonitions, that he had forfeited his onward passage money for London and waited for a berth on another vessel, eventually departing a week later on the Kildonan Castle.

The Waratah was expected off Cape Town on the morning of Thursday, 29 July 1909, and when she didn't arrive, it was at first presumed that she had met with heavy weather. As she had no radio communications and there was still no sign of her by Sunday, the local agents for the Blue Anchor Line contacted the port authorities, who sent the tug T. E. Fuller out to try and locate the ship in case she was suffering from engine trouble.

H.M.S. Forte left Durban to follow the coast as far as Algoa Bay and then turn southwards. H.M.S. Pandora was due to follow the Forte the next day. All lookout stations and ports were placed on alert.

The Illovo, one of Rennie's liners based in Durban, was about 24 hours overdue at Cape Town, having left Durban some 50 hours before the Waratah. The Illovo had met such heavy seas that her deck cargo had been completely swept overboard and when she began listing off Danger Point, had to jettison 30 tons of coal.

The searches continued and rumours began circulating of broken propeller shafts, coal gas explosions, she had been struck by lightening or steamed head-on into an enormous wave and had been buried by thousands of tons of water.

Due to the absence of any wreckage whatsoever, it was deemed she was still afloat, influencing authorities to continue searching.

Durban Harbour had reported the arrival on Sunday, 1 August 1909, of a Norwegian steamer, Solveig, which had encountered extremely heavy seas off Algoa Bay on her way up the coast. Her decks had been swept clean by the storm and she was fortunate to reach Durban at all.

It wasn't until Monday, 2 August 1909, that the press carried reports about the Waratah being overdue. That was the beginning of an anxious time for relatives and friends, but there was no undue alarm. Speculation of a probable mechanical fault suggested that she would undoubtedly be towed into port by the T.E. Fuller in due course and the Waratah was known to be carrying substantial provisions.

World attention was now focused on the Waratah and H.M.S. Hermes now joined the other warships in their search.

Hopes had been raised when news had been announced in the Australian parliament and other public places that the Waratah had been found. Unfortunately, this proved to be a false report, based on a cable from London that a Blue Anchor steamer had been sighted making slowly for London. The Captain of the Clan MacIntyre added to the deepening gloom by reporting that not long after losing sight of the Waratah, his ship had had to ride out a south-westerly gale and enormous seas. The Clan MacIntyre, too, had no wireless, so this report was only received on 31 August 1909, when the ship finally reached London.

Reports came in too from a family on a seaside holiday, 12 miles east of the Kei River, of a ship labouring in a raging gale in terribly rough and tempestuous seas; coming up bow first as if she were standing up on her stern, then her stern in the air and at times looked as if she went clear through the waves instead of riding over them.
After a month had passed without sign of the Waratah, a Union-Castle steamer the Sabine, was chartered to search the Southern Ocean for the missing ship. The Sabine left Cape Town on 11 September 1909, carrying towing apparatus, searchlights and medical supplies. She returned just short of three months later on 7 December 1909, having covered 14,000 miles within an area of 3,000 square miles, without seeing as much as a single piece of wreckage which could have come from the Waratah.

On 19 October 1909, The Daily Commercial News and Shipping List placed the following insert, 'Waratah, 9339, Ilbery, Sydney June 26 to South Africa and London via ports Melbourne July 1, Adelaide 7, Durban 26, missing.'

On 15 December 1909, the Waratah was officially posted as missing at Lloyds of London.

The public was divided in their belief of the Waratah's fate; one school of thought was that the ship had sunk without trace; the other a firm belief that the Waratah was drifting helplessly on the oceans. This drift theory was based on the total lack of any wreckage and when coupled to the recollection of the Waikato incident, strengthened belief that this may have also befallen the Waratah. In June 1899, the Waikato was on her way from London to New Zealand when she broke her tail-shaft just south of Cape Agulhas. Having no radio communication, she drifted for three long months on the ocean currents, covering 4,000 miles before she was picked up by the Asloun and towed 3,000 miles into Fremantle, Australia. On the strength of this past incident, sufficient funds had been raised to undertake a similar search for the Waratah, and the 4,000 ton Australian steamer Wakefield was charted in February 1910 to follow the course of the Waikato, and make a thorough exploration of the Southern Ocean. The delay in the search would not have affected the welfare of the passengers and crew, as the huge cargo of provisions on the Waratah would have lasted for several months. The Wakefield searched over 18,000 miles of ocean on a zig-zag course south to the fringes of the Antarctic ice in the forlorn hope of finding the Waratah but without success, and returned to Melbourne on 24 June 1910.

It was now accepted that the Waratah was gone forever.

Well after the loss of the Waratah, Captain S.A. Pidgeon, RNR, penned his account and provided an insight which centered on the ship in Durban. Captain Pidgeon had joined W. Lund's service as a boy of nearly 15 years of age in the Catalina and remained in Lund's service for 21 years. He was given his first command before he was 30.

Before the Waratah left London for the last time, Captain Pidgeon almost had the misfortune to be in command of her on that fateful voyage. Captain Ilbery had been ill and the company looked for another Master to relieve him for the voyage. Captain Pidgeon, who had been Captain Ilbery's Chief Officer on the Narrung and Wakool when they were new ships, was the only Master available and held himself ready to take command. However, Captain Ilbery recovered and took command of his ship before she sailed.

Fifty years later, in 1959, Captain Pidgeon wrote,

'The Waratah had taken on a certain amount of frozen mutton to be discharged in Durban and whenever we had a cargo for Durban, it was the custom in Lund's ships to stow it in the square of No. 1 hold, sometimes right from deck level, to the bottom of the hold. Any cargo for London was stowed in the wings and at both ends. After the Durban cargo left the ship, the remaining slippery cargo of frozen carcasses had to be well shored-up, to prevent them from sliding everywhere. We usually lowered big skids into the empty space and at both ends. These were kept in place by heavy beams, 6 x 6, which were placed across the empty space left by the Durban cargo and were jammed by wedges, which were placed and hammered home by carpenter and crew.

If this operation was faithfully performed, the remaining cargo was quite secure and could not move into the empty space in the centre, no matter how great the pitching and rolling of the ship.

Captain Ilbery trusted his executive officers implicitly and left daily inspection at sea to the Chief Officer, Surgeon and Purser, who did the rounds together.

The Chief Officer of the Waratah had been my Chief in Warrigal and was a very fine seaman.

The Chief Officers in Lund's ships were always entirely responsible for placing the skids in No. 1 hold and seeing that they were securely in position. If they were forgotten, or if they were not made completely fast, the result in a tender ship like the Waratah would be disastrous.
It seems quite possible that the skids were forgotten on this occasion, or that the work was not adequately supervised. The weather was not good as the Waratah sailed, and on those coasts, there are seas and cross-seas which are a menace to a labouring ship.

It would all have happened in a matter of seconds. The Waratah caught in a heavy roll, would pause at the end of it. If a cross-sea dumped a huge wave on her forehatch, smashing it in, thousands of tons of water would rush down into the lower hold and find its level in the side of the ship held in the roll. With the cargo insecurely held back, thousands of carcasses would break loose from the wings and join the mass of water, adding to the enormous weight. Another huge sea breaking aboard would finish the ship and she would roll right over, never having had a chance to right herself.

Leaving Durban with the prospect of heavy weather, as they did, it would be unlikely that there would be much wreckage to come adrift. Any there was, would be swept with the current far out to sea and lost to sight forever.' ¹

Painting of the SS Waratah depicted in heavy seas

In December 1910, an official inquiry was begun at Caxton Hall, London, with evidence being given by crew members who had previously served on her, as well as passengers who had travelled on her. Most mentioned, was the Waratah's ungainly method of rolling; Sawyer again gave his opinion on that point.

Expert witnesses all agreed that the Waratah was designed and built properly and sailed in good condition. She had passed numerous inspections, including those by her builders, her owners, the Board of Trade and two by Lloyds of London who gave her the classification '100 A1'. This is their top rating, granted only to ships which Lloyds had inspected and assessed throughout the design, construction, fitting out and sea trials, on top of the two valuations and inspections Lloyds had made of the completed Waratah.

However, for every witness of this positive opinion, another could be found who was of the opposite persuasion. Former passengers and crew members (ranking from stokers to a Deck Officer) said the Waratah was perfectly stable, with a comfortable, easy roll. Many said they felt she was especially stable. The ship's builders produced calculations to prove that even with a load of coal on her deck she was not top heavy (several witnesses claimed she had coal on the deck, but this was denied by Durban Harbour officials).

The Court of Inquiry in London sat for 14 months taking evidence in Britain, South Africa and Australia, finding that the Waratah, despite being in seaworthy condition, was lost on 28 July 1909 during a gale of exceptional violence, which was the first great storm that the vessel had encountered; she had probably capsized suddenly.

Still to this day, some believe that the SS Waratah is held fast in the Antarctic ice ...

As a direct result of the loss of the Waratah and the enormous amount of press publicity concerning the subsequent searches and Court Inquiry, the Blue Anchor Line lost its reputation. The P&O Line took over the fleet and dropped the Blue Anchor name, although the blue anchor painted onto the funnels was retained until 1912 and Lund's flag continued to be flown at the foremast for a year or two.

Many strange tales of shipwreck have been told by survivors - tales of horror, bravery, of endurance, of mystery. Yet there are even more and stranger tales we will never hear - the stories of ships that have disappeared, sunk with all hands, gone without trace. Their stories lie beneath the waves and the ocean guards her secrets well.

With no witness surviving the disappearance of the Waratah, we can only contemplate the combined effects of stability, design, high promenade deck, cargo loading, hold security and righting moments of the ship, all being confronted by the enormous seas along this notorious and treacherous stretch of South African coastline. Did fate concoct this unique and fatal formula that would commit the Waratah to a premature ocean grave? All we are left with, is to draw our own conclusions on what actually happened to the SS Waratah, Captain Ilbery, passengers and crew ...... and where she lies today.

In Memoriam

Let us pay our respects to this fine ship, her captain, passengers and crew, by keeping the memory alive of these unfortunate men, women and children, and passing this unique and tragic maritime history onto future generations.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the mystifying disappearance of the SS Waratah and all on-board. It is an appropriate time to revisit the heartrending loss and pay our respects to those who perished at sea.

In conjunction with the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum, Victoria, Australia, a wreath laying ceremony and commemoration will be held on the waters of Port Philip, Victoria, on 27 July this year.

Suzanne-Jo Leff Patterson - June 2009

Footnote
In 2004, after a wreck had been located near the Xora and Bashee River mouths off the South African Transkei Coast, the novelist Clive Cussler funded an expedition headed by Emlyn Brown with a team of experienced men. Disappointingly, it was discovered that the ship was not the Waratah and although the general characteristics and dimensions of the two ships were very similar, it was in fact the Nailsea Meadow which had been torpedoed during WWII in 1942.

Sources:
¹ The Annual Dog Watch, 'Spotlight on the Waratah', Captain S.A. Pidgeon, RNR. Geelong
Courtesy of Queenscliffe Maritime Museum

'Strange Shipwrecks of the Southern Seas', 'The Waratah Mystery,' Jose' Burman.

Genealogy World www.genealogyworld.net

Photograph of Captain J.E. Ilbery provided courtesy of Dr Peter Ilbery & Family

Reynierse Cecile (ed) Illustrated Guide to the Southern African Coast (1988) pg 204
Published by AA Motorist Publications for the Automobile Association of South Africa, 1988
ISBN 0947008470, 9780947008475