DIED AT SEA
CAPTAIN’S FATAL ILLNESS
fPEB PBESS ASSOCIATION.]
AUCKLAND, April 17. The story of a sea captain who failed to realise that he was a sick man, and who died while his ship was being rushed to the nearest port, in an effort to save his life, was told when the British tramp steamer’ Fife arrived from Java.
The captain was A. Thomson, who had command of the ship for two years. He complained of feeling unwell on April 4, in Torres Strait, and the next day his temperature was’ 104 degrees. The chief officer, Mr. H. D. Rudd, decided to put in to Port Moresby for medical aid, and also obtained medical advice by wireless from Cooktown, but the captain’s temperature fell rapidly, and, believing himself to be recovering he countermanded the mate’s order, and put the ship back in her original course. Next day, his temperature was 103 degrees, and eventually, on April 7, the Fife was again taken off her course, and headed for Townsville, which was 30 hours away. Two hours later, the captain died, and he was buried at sea on April 8.
The chief officer took over command and brought the ship to Auckland. The Fife was formerly named the Penybryn.
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Bibliographic details
Greymouth Evening Star, 17 April 1934, Page 5
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208DIED AT SEA Greymouth Evening Star, 17 April 1934, Page 5
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