SS Waratah was a passenger and cargo steamship built in 1908 by the Blue Anchor Line. It was meant to travel between Europe and Australia. In July 1909, during its second trip, the ship was traveling from Durban to Cape Town along the coast of what is now South Africa. It disappeared with 211 passengers and crew on board. No one has ever found any evidence of the ship, and its fate is still unknown.

Design and construction

In September 1907, W. Lund & Sons ordered a new cargo and passenger ship from Barclay Curle in Glasgow. The ship was to be delivered within one year and designed for the Blue Anchor Line trade between the United Kingdom and Australia. The owners wanted the ship to be an improved version of their existing steamship, the Geelong, so most of its specifications were based on that ship. The ship was built at Barclay Curle's Clydeholm Yard in Whiteinch and launched on September 12, 1908 (yard number 472). Mrs. J. W. Taverner, wife of the Agent-General of Victoria, was the ship’s sponsor.

The Waratah was a spar-deck ship with three complete decks: lower, main, and spar. First-class passenger areas were located on the promenade, bridge, and boat decks and could hold 128 passengers. A nursery was also provided for first-class passengers. Third-class accommodations were on the poop deck and could hold up to 300 people, though only 160 were officially certified. The ship was built for both speed and comfort, featuring eight state rooms, a salon with panels depicting its namesake flower, and a music lounge with a minstrel’s gallery. To serve as an emigrant ship, its cargo holds could be converted into large dormitories, holding nearly 700 steerage passengers on outward journeys. On return trips, the ship could carry frozen meat, dairy products, wool, and metal ore from Australia. To transport frozen goods, the ship had refrigerating machinery and cold chambers at the front. It also had Kirkcaldy’s distilling apparatus, which produced 5,500 imperial gallons (25,000 liters) of fresh water daily. At the time, the Waratah did not have a radio, which was common for ships of that era.

Sea trials took place on October 23, 1908, in the Firth of Clyde. During these trials, the Waratah maintained an average speed of 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h) over several runs. After successful trials, the ship was handed over to its owners on the same day and immediately departed for London.

When completed, the Waratah was 465 feet (142 meters) long (between perpendiculars) and 59 feet 4 inches (18.08 meters) wide. Its average draft was 30 feet 4.5 inches (9.26 meters). The ship’s tonnages were 9,339 gross register tons (GRT), 6,004 net register tons (NRT), and about 10,000 deadweight tons (DWT). It had a steel hull and two sets of quadruple expansion engines. The engines had cylinders with diameters of 23 inches (58 cm), 32.5 inches (83 cm), 46.5 inches (118 cm), and 67 inches (170 cm), with a 48-inch (120 cm) stroke. These engines produced 1,003 indicated horsepower and powered two screw propellers, allowing the ship to reach speeds of up to 13.5 knots (15.5 mph; 25 km/h). The ship had a cellular double bottom along its entire length, and its hull was divided into eight watertight compartments. This design made the ship "practically immune from any danger of sinking."

The Waratah was named after the official flower of New South Wales. However, the name seemed unlucky, as other ships named Waratah had been lost in various locations, including the English Channel in 1848, on a voyage to Sydney in 1887, south of Sydney, and in the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1897.

Service history

After being delivered, the Waratah left London on November 5, 1908, for her first trip. She carried 689 third-class passengers and 67 first-class passengers. Captain Josiah Edward Ilbery, an experienced sailor with 30 years of nautical work and a former leader of the ship Geelong, commanded the vessel. The crew numbered 154. The ship departed Cape Town on November 27 and arrived in Adelaide on December 15, 1908. Among the passengers were Hamilton Wickes, a new British Trade Commissioner for the Commonwealth; Dr. Ernest Anderson, Bishop of Riverina; and Octavius Beale, president of the Federal Council of Chambers of Manufactures.

During her first trip, on the morning of December 6, 1908, the ship’s second officer reported a small fire in the lower starboard bunker, which spread to the engine room. The fire was mostly controlled by noon but kept reigniting until December 10. The fire was likely caused by heat from reducing and steam valves on the starboard side of the engine room. While the engine room’s roof was insulated, the starboard side was not. Repairs were made in Sydney to the satisfaction of the chief engineer.

From Adelaide, the Waratah traveled to Melbourne and Sydney, then returned to London on January 9, 1909, via Australian, Natal, and Cape Colony ports. She carried food, wool, and 1,500 tons of metal concentrates. She arrived in London on March 7, 1909, to complete her first trip. After unloading her cargo, the ship was placed in drydock for inspection by a Lloyd’s inspector and minor repairs.

During her first trip, Captain Ilbery and his crew closely examined the ship as part of acceptance trials to test its handling and stability. Ilbery was not fully satisfied and, recalling his experience with the Geelong, likely informed the ship’s owners that the Waratah lacked the same stability as his previous vessel. He was especially concerned about challenges in properly loading the ship to maintain stability, which led to a disagreement between the owners and builders after the ship returned to England. Later investigations into the ship’s sinking included disputed reports of instability during that voyage.

On April 27, 1909, the Waratah began her second journey to Australia, carrying 22 cabin passengers, 193 steerage passengers, and a large cargo of general goods. The crew numbered 119. The trip to Australia was mostly uneventful, with the ship arriving in Adelaide on June 6 after a stop in Cape Town on May 18. After loading about 970 tons of lead ore in Adelaide, the ship traveled to Melbourne, where strong winds made berthing difficult upon arrival on June 11. In Sydney, the ship loaded cargo for the return trip, including flour, wool, dairy, frozen meat, and 7,800 bars of bullion. She departed on June 26, stopped to load additional cargo in Melbourne and Adelaide, and left Adelaide on July 7, heading to Durban and Cape Town before continuing to Europe. In addition to nearly 100 passengers, the ship carried a convict being extradited to the Transvaal Colony, accompanied by two Transvaal policemen.

The Waratah reached Durban at 11:00 AM on July 25. One passenger, Claude Gustav Sawyer, a director of public companies and an experienced traveler, left the ship at Durban instead of continuing to Cape Town. He booked passage on the Union Castle ship Kildonan Castle, which departed Durban on July 28 and arrived in Table Bay on July 31. Sawyer stayed in Cape Town for nearly a week before returning to England aboard another Union Castle ship, Galician. Before departing for England on August 5, Sawyer sent a telegram to his wife: “Booked Cape Town, Thought Waratah Top-heavy, Landed Durban. Claude.” Eighteen months later, Sawyer testified at a Board of Trade inquiry that he had decided to leave the Waratah at Durban because he felt nervous about the ship’s behavior during the voyage. He also claimed he had disturbing dreams of a man in an unusual dress holding a sword and a blood-covered rag, which he interpreted as a warning to leave the ship. His decision to leave Durban saved his life. The ship departed Durban at about 8:15 PM on July 26 with 211 passengers and crew.

Around 4:00 AM on July 27, the Clan Line steamship Clan MacIntyre spotted the Waratah on its starboard side. As the Waratah was faster, it caught up to Clan MacIntyre by about 6:00 AM. The two ships exchanged signals and shared information about their names and destinations. The Waratah, traveling at about 13 knots, overtook Clan MacIntyre near the mouth of the Bashee River on the southeast coast of Natal. The Waratah remained visible to Clan MacIntyre until it disappeared over the horizon around 9:30 AM. That was the last confirmed sighting of the Waratah. Later that day, weather worsened quickly, with strong winds and rough seas developing into a cyclone by July 28. Clan MacIntyre’s captain described the weather as the worst he had ever experienced in his 13 years at sea.

There were other unconfirmed sightings. Around 5:30 PM on July 27, the ship Harlow saw smoke from a steamship on the horizon. The captain wondered if the ship was on fire. When it grew dark, Harlow’s crew saw the ship’s running lights approaching but still 10 to 12 nautical miles behind them. Suddenly, two bright flashes appeared near the ship, and the lights vanished. The captain thought the flashes were explosions, but the ship’s mate believed they were brush fires on the shore, a common occurrence at that time. The captain did not record the event in the ship’s log until learning of the Waratah’s disappearance. Harlow was 180 nautical miles from Durban.

That same evening, around 9:30 PM, the Union-Castle liner Guelph, traveling north to Durban from the Cape of Good Hope, passed another ship and exchanged signals by lamp. Due to poor weather and visibility, Guelph could only identify the last three letters of the ship’s name as “T-A-H.”

Another possible sighting, not shared with the London inquiry, was reported by Edward Joe Conquer, a Cape Mounted Rifleman. On July 28

Search efforts

At first, the ship Waratah not arriving on time did not cause worry because it was common for ships to be late by days or even weeks. Since Waratah was believed to be unsinkable, people thought it might have had a problem with its engine or other equipment and was still floating somewhere. Concerns grew when other ships that had left Durban after Waratah and followed a similar route arrived at Cape Town and said they had not seen Waratah during their journey. The first search began on August 1, 1909, when the tugboat T.E. Fuller was sent to look for Waratah but had to return due to very bad weather. Later, it searched along the coast again. The Royal Navy sent ships named HMS Pandora, Forte, and later Hermes to search for Waratah. Hermes, near the last known location of Waratah, faced extremely large waves that damaged its hull and required repairs in dry dock after returning to port. On August 10, 1909, a message from the Colony of Natal reached Australia stating, "A blue anchor ship was seen far out at sea, slowly heading toward Durban. It could be the Waratah." The Chair of the House of Representatives in Australia paused a meeting to read the message, saying, "Mr. Speaker has informed me that the SS Waratah may have been sighted moving slowly toward Durban." In Adelaide, town bells rang to celebrate the news. However, the ship seen was not Waratah.

Many other ships joined the search, including Waratah’s sister ship, the Geelong, which changed its course from Cape Town to Adelaide to search east of the Colony of Natal, where Waratah was thought to be drifting. The German ship Goslar also looked for Waratah for 1,262 miles during its journey from Port Elizabeth to Melbourne.

On August 13, 1909, the steamship Insizwa reported seeing bodies near the mouth of the Bashee (Mbashe) River, close to where Waratah was last seen. The captain of the steamer Tottenham also saw what appeared to be bodies in the water more than two weeks after Waratah disappeared. The tugboat Harry Escombe was sent to search for bodies but found none. However, it did find floating objects that looked like human bodies, which were later identified as whale parts and dead skate.

Many people still hoped Waratah was afloat and drifting, based on the story of the steamship Waikato in 1899. In that year, Waikato’s propeller shaft broke and could not be fixed at sea, leaving it to drift for over 100 days, covering more than 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km). Though seen by other ships, it was not rescued until the steamer Asloun secured a line to it and towed it to Fremantle, Australia.

Waratah had enough supplies to last a year, but it had no radio equipment, so it could not communicate with ships beyond sight. In September 1909, the Blue Anchor Line, along with the Admiralty and Australian government, chartered the Union Castle cargo ship Sabine to search for Waratah along the path Waikato had drifted. Sabine was equipped with search lights and high crow’s nests to help with the search, which operated 24 hours a day. The search covered 14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km) and zigzagged across the southern Indian Ocean for nearly eight weeks without finding Waratah. After four months with no sightings, Waratah was officially marked as missing by Lloyd’s of London on December 15, 1909. In early 1910, a group of Australian relatives of those who were on Waratah formed the Melbourne Search Committee and raised money to fund one final search, believing Waratah was still drifting in cold southern waters. The steamer Wakefield was used for a four-month search, expanding the area beyond the Sabine expedition and the Australian coast. Wakefield even sent crew members to uninhabited islands in the Kerguelen archipelago to look for survivors. Like earlier searches, this effort also failed.

No confirmed wreckage or bodies from Waratah have ever been found, though some unconfirmed reports exist. In March 1910, wreckage was claimed to have been found at Mossel Bay. A life preserver marked with the name "Waratah" washed up on the coast of New Zealand in February 1912. In 1925, Lt. D. J. Roos of the South African Air Force said he saw a wreck while flying over the Transkei coast, claiming it was Waratah, but no one else saw it again. In 1939, pieces of cork and timber were found near East London, South Africa, which some believed might be from Waratah.

Later efforts to find Waratah included those led by Emlyn Brown, who believed the sighting by Edward Joe Conquer held clues to Waratah’s location. Under Brown’s leadership, searches took place in 1983, 1989, 1991, 1995, and 1997. In 1999, newspapers reported that Waratah had been found 10 km (6 miles) off the eastern coast of South Africa. A sonar scan by Brown’s team showed a wreck that seemed to match Waratah’s outline. However, in 2001, a dive at the site revealed it was actually the wreck of Nailsea Meadow, a cargo ship sunk by a German U-boat during World War II. In 2004, Brown, who had spent 22 years searching for Waratah, said he was giving up, stating, "I’ve exhausted all the options. I now have no idea where to look."

In 2009, Brown suggested Waratah may have capsized in a storm, floated south with ocean currents, and eventually sank beyond the continental shelf, where it is difficult to locate.

Inquiry

The Board of Trade investigation into the disappearance of the ship Waratah took place in December 1910 at Caxton Hall in London. The inquiry quickly focused on concerns about the ship’s stability. Gathering evidence was difficult because no survivors from Waratah’s final voyage remained, except for a few individuals, including Claude Sawyer, who had already left the ship in Durban. Most evidence came from passengers and crew who had traveled on Waratah’s first voyage, her builders, and people who had worked with the ship in ports.

Expert witnesses agreed that Waratah was designed and built correctly and was in good condition when it sailed. The ship had passed many inspections, including those by its builders, owners, the Board of Trade, and two by Lloyd’s of London. Lloyd’s gave Waratah the highest rating, "+100 A1," which is only given to ships that have been thoroughly inspected and tested during their design, construction, and sea trials, in addition to two separate evaluations of the completed ship.

However, many passengers and crew who had traveled on Waratah reported that the ship felt unstable. They said it often leaned to one side even in calm weather, rolled too much, and took a long time to return to an upright position after leaning into waves. Some described the ship’s bow dipping into waves instead of riding over them. One passenger, physicist Professor William Bragg, noted that during a voyage in the Southern Ocean, Waratah tilted so far to one side that water could not drain from the ship’s baths. He believed the ship’s center of balance was slightly below its center of gravity, causing it to remain tilted until external forces, like wind or waves, shifted it upright.

Other passengers and crew members had differing opinions about the ship’s stability. Some said it was unstable, while others claimed it was perfectly stable and comfortable. Shipbuilders provided calculations showing that even with coal on its deck (as some witnesses claimed), Waratah was not top-heavy.

The inquiry could not reach a conclusion because the evidence was conflicting and unclear. It did not blame the Blue Anchor Line, but it criticized the company for not properly assessing the seaworthiness of its new ships. Correspondence between Captain Ilbery and the company’s managers showed that Captain Ilbery reported details about the ship’s fixtures, cabins, and other areas but did not mention Waratah’s stability or seaworthiness. The company also did not ask Captain Ilbery about these matters. This led some to believe Captain Ilbery may have had concerns about the ship’s stability but did not share them. Others suggested that the company and Captain Ilbery may not have considered stability important because Waratah was based on a successful previous ship, the Geelong, and its handling was assumed to be similar.

Many ships of that time were designed to be slightly top-heavy, which created a slow, rolling motion that some passengers preferred over a faster, more stable roll. Ships like Waratah required careful loading and ballasting to operate safely. It is possible that Waratah encountered an unusually heavy storm or large wave on its second voyage before it could be properly adjusted. This design might also explain why some witnesses described the ship as unstable while others did not.

Waratah was a mixed-use ship, carrying both passengers and cargo. Unlike ships that carried large amounts of cargo, Waratah’s cargo varied, making ballasting more complex. When it disappeared, it was carrying 1,000 tons of lead concentrate, which may have shifted suddenly, causing the ship to capsize.

The inquiry concluded that the three ships that reported seeing Waratah on the evening of July 26 could not have all seen her at the same time unless she had reached the Mbashe River, exchanged signals with the ship Clan MacIntyre, turned back toward Durban, and then been spotted by the ship Harlow.

Theories

Theories that have been proposed to explain the disappearance of the ship Waratah include the following:

One theory suggests that Waratah may have encountered a giant wave, also called a rogue wave, in the ocean near the South African coast. These waves are known to occur frequently in that area. It is possible that Waratah, which was already struggling through a severe storm and may have had limited stability, was struck by such a wave. This could have caused the ship to tip over completely or damaged its cargo hatches, allowing water to flood into the ship and sink it quickly. If the ship overturned, any floating debris might have become trapped beneath the wreck, which could explain why no wreckage or bodies have been found. This idea was supported by a study from 1973 by Professor Mallory of the University of Cape Town, which showed that waves as high as 20 meters (66 feet) occurred between Richards Bay and Cape Agulhas. This theory also makes sense if Waratah was considered stable and seaworthy, as other ships near the Cape of Good Hope have been damaged or nearly sunk by similar waves. Around the world, other ships, such as the German ship Melanie Schulte in the Atlantic Ocean and the British ship MV Derbyshire in the Pacific Ocean, have also been destroyed quickly in extreme weather. A 2025 study by J. D. Pons in the Journal of Maritime Archeology suggests that Waratah may have been sunk by a rogue wave near Algoa Bay.

Another theory proposes that instead of sinking, Waratah may have been disabled by a rogue wave, losing its rudder and its ability to communicate with land. This could have caused the ship to drift southward toward Antarctica, where it might have been lost at sea or run aground. However, there is no physical evidence to support this idea, only the fact that the ship’s wreckage has not been found.

Waratah was carrying about 1,000 tons of lead and 300 tons of lead ore concentrate in its cargo holds. This material can turn into liquid when the ship moves, which can reduce the ship’s stability and potentially cause it to capsize. Today, such cargo is considered dangerous and requires special handling, but in 1909, the risks of transporting this material were not well understood.

Some people have also suggested that Waratah may have been pulled into a whirlpool caused by a combination of wind, ocean currents, and deep underwater trenches near the southeast coast of Africa. This could explain why no wreckage has been found, but there is no strong evidence that a whirlpool powerful enough to sink a 450-foot-long (140-meter) ship could exist in that area.

Finally, some have speculated that Waratah may have been destroyed by an explosion in one of its coal storage areas. Coal dust can catch fire or explode under certain conditions. However, a single explosion in one coal bunker would not likely cause a ship as large as Waratah to sink instantly without leaving any wreckage or allowing passengers to escape in lifeboats or rafts.

Aftermath

The disappearance of the Waratah, along with an investigation and criticism of the Blue Anchor Line, caused a lot of bad publicity. Ticket sales for the company dropped quickly. This, combined with the large financial loss from building the Waratah, which was not fully insured like many ships of that time, forced the company to sell its other ships to its main competitor, P&O, and declare voluntary liquidation in 1910.

In 1913, The Daily Mail, a newspaper in Brisbane, thought its competitor, The Daily Standard, was copying its news. So The Daily Mail published a fake story saying the Waratah had been found in Antarctica. The Daily Standard also published the story and included a statement from a harbourmaster.

Memorials

A plaque in the Parish Church at Buckland Filleigh, Devon, England, honors Col. Percival John Browne. He was returning to England on the ship 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.

Cultural impact

The story of the ship Waratah, which lost 211 people, is often compared to the story of the RMS Titanic, which sank three years later and lost over 1,500 people. Because of this, Waratah has been called by different names, such as "Titanic of the southern seas," "Titanic of the south," or "Australia's Titanic."

The 1971 book Scend of the Sea by Geoffrey Jenkins includes a made-up story about the mystery of Waratah.