LOST SHIP - SS WARATAH

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n 1909 the SS Waratah embarked on her second voyage, from Sydney to the UK via South Africa. Filled up with families anticipating a new life on the other side of the world, what started out as a journey full of hope ended abruptly when the ship vanished between Durban and Cape Town. Ironically, the ship was due to be fitted with pioneering radio equipment when she reached the UK, but to this day nothing has been heard of the ship or her human cargo. Believing her to be drifting, the horrified authorities ordered a search vessel to comb the seas but in three months they found nothing. A second, longer, search was commissioned but still no trace was found. The mystery has spawned many conspiracy theories and even a million-dollar search mission by American author Clive Cussler. A popular theory suggests the searches themselves were at fault, but here the humorous and fascinating diaries of Walter Smith, a key figure on board both search missions, proves their thoroughness and describes the wide ground they covered, the dangers they faced and bizarre things they stumbled across and the day-to-day experiences of the crew.

Contents:

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 – The Background to a Disaster
• 2 – SS Waratah
• 3 – Passengers and Crew
• 4 – The Disappearance
• 5 – The Aftermath
• 6 – Key Figures in the Searches
• 7 – The Searches
• Part 1 – SS Sabine
• Part 2 – SS Wakefield
• 8 – Conspiracy Theories and the Board of Trade Inquiry
• 9 – The Deep Sea Searches, Emlyn Brown’s Story
• In Conclusion
• Bibliography

Tag cloud: waratah sydney africa durban cape radio cargo comb seas conspiracy million-dollar cussler fault walter figure day-to-day disaster sabine wakefield inquiry emlyn

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