WARATAH CENTENARY - VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

After the anticipation of the past several weeks, the excitement spilled over at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum on Monday 27 July 2009, on the centenary of the loss of the SS Waratah in South African waters, as over 80 descendants, friends and all those devoted to the SS Waratah, gathered at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum, Victoria, Australia. On view was an exhibition of photographs, passenger lists and details of the ship which will remain on display to the public for the next three months. P&O Cruises Australia, proudly donated a memorial plaque which was unveiled by Mr. Winton McColl, great-grandson of Mr. John Ebsworth, a passenger on the ill-fated liner. This involvement by P&O Cruises is a direct result of the original loss of the SS Waratah. The enormous amount of press publicity surrounding the subsequent searches and Court Inquiry, led to the Blue Anchor Line losing its reputation and the P&O Line took over the fleet in 1910.

                                          The plaque, worded by the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum reads:

                                 The Blue Anchor Line steamship Waratah en route to England from Australia
                                          was lost off the South African coast in extremely heavy seas
                                          between Durban and Cape Town on 27 July 1909.

                                          Captain Josiah Edward Ilbery, 118 crew and 113 passengers,
                                          including 75 from Australia perished without a trace.

                                          100 years later, descendants cast wreaths on the waters of Port Phillip Bay
                                          and unveiled this plaque to remember them.

                                          Queenscliffe Maritime Museum July 2009

Leaving the museum and enjoying clear blue skies and light winds, the party boarded the Sorrento/Queenscliff ferry. As the ferry crossed the anticipated path the Waratah would have travelled as she departed from Port Melbourne on 1 June 1909, Ted Ebsworth, grandson of Mr. John Ebsworth, cast the Protea memorial wreath onto the waters of Port Phillip, followed by fresh flowers from descendants and friends. This was a poignant time for everyone as they remembered the lost souls, especially having seen the photographs of passengers and crew on display at the museum.

On disembarking at the Queenscliff Ferry Terminal, everyone enjoyed a lunch at a local hotel, where many descendants never having met before, had the opportunity to exchange details about those lost with the ship, as well as share information previously confined to their family archives. The commemoration day was blessed with beautiful weather and the occasion was rewarding to everyone who had travelled from Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and surrounds. Geelong and Melbourne have a strong historical bond to the Waratah and many families have been affected by the tragic loss of their forebears. It is therefore most fitting that the P&O memorial plaque is to be mounted on the entrance wall of the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum, Victoria, in memory of all those who perished on that fateful voyage.

Suzanne-Jo Leff Patterson - August 2009

Museum Display

Alan Patterson (in red jacket) welcoming and addressing descendants at the centenary event

Winton McColl, great grandson of John Ebsworth, unveiling the plaque

Ted Ebsworth with wreath

Ted Ebsworth casts a commemorative wreath into the sea

Descendants casting their floral tributes.
On far left is Capt. Stan Robinson