Heritage Cases

During the southern hemisphere winter of 1909, TSS Waratah was lost without trace off the South African coast en-route from Australian ports to London, via Durban and Cape Town. Waratah departed Durban for the last time, 8 p.m. 26 July, upright and stable according to the expert port officials of the time. She comprised 465 ft. in length with an estimated dead weight of about 10,000 tons, heavily laden. Her general cargo included 1,500 tons of G.M. -stabilising lead concentrates and a refrigerated component. Propelled by twin quadruple expansion engines driving twin screws she could make 13.5 knots, consuming between 80 and 95 tons of coal per day depending on load and speed. Early the following morning, 27 July, in the vicinity of Cape Hermes, Waratah passed the tramp steamer SS Clan MacIntyre and exchanged signals, confirming her identity. Senior crew of the Clan MacIntyre observed Waratah to be upright (not top heavy) and steaming fast with no outward signs of problems. Making about 15 knots, with the favour of the prevailing Agulhas Current, Waratah went out of sight ahead of the Clan MacIntyre at about 9.30 a.m. abeam the Xora River mouth (not Mbashe). What happened thereafter is not entirely clear. What we do know is that a fortnight after Waratah failed to arrive at Cape Town and no signs of her adrift nor wreckage were discovered, four distinct bodies, two dressed in black and two in white, were observed by a number of crew on board SS Insizwa, 10 miles off the Mbashe River mouth in the midst of the powerful southwestward trending Agulhas Current. There were no other reports of missing persons at sea during this time frame. There is only one deduction that can be made from this report, as it stands; Waratah had to have foundered at a point including or to the northeast of the Mbashe River mouth. Either Waratah foundered 12 miles offshore (outer steamer track) within the 8.5 mile corridor between the Xora River mouth (final sighting by SS Clan MacIntyre) and the Mbashe River mouth, or her master, Captain Josiah Edward Ilbery, brought her about attempting to return to Port Natal due to a progressive bunker fire on board. There are five alleged witness accounts referring to this zone of South African coast: 1. An illegal diamond prospector by the name of Jan Pretorius claimed that he saw a large steamer close inshore late July, 1909, from a vantage point on the banks of the Mbashe River. A lifebuoy labelled TSS Waratah was also allegedly recovered by natives in the mouth of the Mbashe River. 2. A trader from Willowvale, while camping near the Xora River alleged that he saw a large steamer too close to reefs, inshore, at about the same time. 3. The well-known account of Joe Conquer who allegedly 'saw' a steamer founder 4 miles offshore from the Xora River mouth. 4. A multiple witness account from the vantage of the tramp steamer SS Harlow; a large steamer exploding and foundering within 3 miles of Cape Hermes. 5. An officer on board a Navy cruiser further out to sea pricked off on the chart what was believed to be a 'burning ship' in Gordon's Bay (Cape Hermes) during this same time period. After thorough ROV searches off Xora and Mbashe, no presence of a large steel wreck was detected and this area is no longer of interest. Due to the lockdown restrictions and poor visibility after a season of heavy rains, the team has been unable to follow up on important targets of interest off Cape Hermes. Period newspaper report: Tweed Daily, 10 October, 1923. WARATAH'S DEMISE. Contrary to the general theory of capsizing, many mariners have asserted that the Waratah's mysterious disappearance in 1909 was due to the coal stowed in the 'tween decks and bunkers igniting and exploding. Further proof of the danger to ships at sea of some cases of bunker coal has lately been furnished in the large number of vessels that have been temporarily disabled through outbreaks of fire at sea.