Luxury steamer 'Waratah', lost in 1909 with all hands, was "Australian 'Titanic'" [audio 10min @10:40]

"Making History" listener Annette Kelly contacted the programme to find out more about her Great Uncle Joe Kelly, who, she thinks, lost his life serving on board the SS Waratah, which went down with all hands in July 1909. Described as the Australian Titanic, the wreck of the vessel has never been discovered and the exact reason for its sinking has never been established. On 27 April 1909, the Waratah set out from Australia on her return maiden voyage, bound for the South African ports of Durban and Cape Town, and then back to London. The Waratah reached Durban, where one passenger, Claude Sawyer, an engineer and experienced sea traveller, got off the ship and sent the following cable to his wife in London:"Thought Waratah top-heavy, landed Durban" The Waratah left Durban on 26 July with 211 passengers and crew, scheduled to reach Cape Town on 29 July 1909. It never reached its destination, and no trace of the ship was ever found."Making History" consulted the maritime researcher Hannah Cunliffe, who searched records at Britain's National Maritime Museum, National Archives and Board of Trade Archives; Emlyn Brown, a South African who has spent over 20 years trying to locate the Waratah; and the South African writer David Willers, author of In Search of the Waratah: The Titanic of the South (Highveld).