LAUNCH DISASTER

Grey River Argus, 15 February 1938, Page 5

LAUNCH DISASTER

NINE BODIES FOUND FOURTEEN MISSING Launch Raised by Crane U.S.A. CRUISER’S FINE RESCUE WORK. GIRL PASSENGERS’ FOOLISH RUSH. [Aus. & N.Z. Cable Assn.l SYDNEY, February 13. The launch concerned in the disaster was named Rodney, and was owned by C. Rosman, of Mosman Bay. It was a double-decker, sixty feet lone;, capable of holding 220 passengers. Rosman was in charge of the boat The passengers aboard ranged from old men to boys and girls, who clung like flies to every vantage point where they could grasp the hand-rail. Naval men on Garden Island had noticed that the launch had a dangerous list, produced by the passengers clinging to one side, and had shouted a warning, but the passengers replied that they would be all right Ten minutes later, the Rodney had capsized. Few in the vicinity realised what had happened, till piercing screams rent the air. The Manly ferry boat sounded four blasts on the whistle, drawing the attention of the Police Band to the occurrence. The Band had just played “Auld Lang Syne.” The police launch dashed to the scene the bandsmen throwing aside their instruments and preparing to enter the water. The Rodney had turned on her side, and men, women and children were struggling in a confused mass in the water, which at the spot is 40 feet deep. In addition to lowering boats, the Louisville threw overboard lifebuoys, with Verey lights, and other rescue gear. A gangway was lowered, and the officers ordered that as many as possible should be brought aboard. The survivors pay a tribute to a rating off the Louisville, who edly dived to see if there were still people in the launch. One American sailor broke a window in the launch, and hauled out a woman and a young baby. His arm was badly cut while doing so.

Captain R. W. Mathewson, of the Louisville, said that the list of the Rodney, as she circled the cruiser some time before the accident occurred, so alarmed him that he ordered the speed of his vessel to be reduced almost to a crawl, so that there would be no wash to endanger the craft.

Captain Mathewson described the treatment in his ship’s oxygen respirators of 26 percons taken aboard the Louisville, which put to sea four hours after the scheduled time.

Despite the list which the Rodney had before the capsize, few of those who were rescued had any inkling of the impending disaster, until they suddenly found themselves being hurled into "the water. They are full of praise for the promptitude of the rescuers.

The owner of the launch, Rosman said that the tragedy occurred because almost every person on the top deck ran to the side of the Rodney, when the ratings of the Louisville were dismissed from parade. I had warned the passengers not to crowd VS' one side. Most of the passengers were girls. They seemed to lose their heads, and ran to the starboard side of the Rodney, which seemed to roll over almost immediately. Divers went down to inspect the wreck at six o’clock this morning. The wrecked launch was located at ten o’clock to-night, lying in about twelve fathoms of water, in the main steamer channel. A buoy was moored at the spot, and divers will go down the first thing in the morning. When the divers descended this morning, it was found that the searchers for the Rodney had located not the Rodney, but an old ship’s boi/er. The search for the Rodney has been resumed.

The divers are hampered by the full high tide, and have not yet succeeded in entering the Rodney's cabin.

LIST OF THE VICTIMS. [Aus. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] SYDNEY, February 14. The known dead number;,-five, not six. It is reported that tei<? are missing- . , A total of 135 persons received treatment, of whom 60 were taken to hospital, but only fourteen were admitted. The owner of the launch says he is certain that nobody was trapped in the cabin. A'' Four women and ISne man are (known to have been drowned when the Rodney capsized, and about 24 other persons are missing. The names of the dead are as follows: — Gwendoline'- Frances Hope Johnston, 20. Phoeve Johephine Thomas, 24. Mrs. Alma Starr, 32. Doris Smith, 27. Alfred Ctepto, 45. Miss Johnston was a direct descendant of Lieutenant Johnston, who was aide-de-camp to Captain Philip. Six of the Rodney passengers have been located. The official list now places the number of missing at eighteen. There are still a number missing, possibly fifteen, but they may have been picked up by other boats. One woman, who is in hospital, in a serious condition, was unable to trace her three children, one of whom :was 18 months of age.

A survivor says that he saw eight in the cabin, besides himself, when the launch capsiited. Some of the Rodney’s passengers fainted, when she capsized. Others received injuries through being flung off their feet, or being hit by floating seats.

How many were taken from the water nobody knows, but the police who participated in the rescue, estimate that about 150 were rescued. Rosman and a deckhand named Callaghan, interviewed this morning, said that, soon after the launch capsized, they both dived inside the cabin, and they are postive that no one was there. They looked for trapped passengers, in vain. Callaghan says that only four or five were in the cabin, a few seconds before the launch turned oVer - x L x , Another survivor says that several

were in the cabin, and had to fight their way out. FOUR BODIES IN CABIN. (Received 8.45 p.m., February 14.) SYDNEY, February 14. Divers to-day located the sunken launch Rodney about noon. She lies in seventy feet water, two hundred yards from Bradley’s Head, midway between Cremorne and Mosman. The Rodney was raised by a large floating crane, later in the afternoon. Four more bodies, those of three women and a boy, were discovered, trapped in the cabin. ELEVEN STILL MISSING. (Received February 14, 11.15 p.m.) SYDNEY, February 14. The four latest launch victims have been identified as foliows: — Ada Cramp, aged 30, of Rusfecutters’ Bay. Doris Rogers, aged thirty-two, of Double Bay. Margaret Unity, aged eighteen, of Rockdale. Christopher Kayser, aged seven, of Leichhardt. Eight of those reported missing have turned up safely overnight. The deathroll so far is nine, with eleven persons still unaccounted for. The divers report that the light visibility was too poor on the har-bour-bed, and that they are unable to say whether any other bodies drifted away. SCENES AT MORGUE. SYDNEY, February 14. There were heartrending scenes at the morgue, where the relatives assembled. They waited for hours, expecting the worst. Especially pathetic was the scene when the father of the boy Kayser was called upon to identify his son. Both the father and mother were among those rescued yesterday. THE DISASTER FILMED. SYDNEY, February 14. The newspapers publish remarkable movie pictures, taken by a private citizen, from Bradley’s Head, showing the Rodney overturning, with the Louisville in the background, and also the rescue scenes. 1 WAS SHE OVERLOADED ? SYDNEY, February 14.

A controversy is proceeding as to whether the Rodney, which was licensed to carry 211, was overloaded on the top deck. The consensus of opinion, backed by the police, is that there were at least ninety on the upper deck, which should have contained no more than sixty.

The Rodney, which was driven by a Diesel engine, is fifty four feet long with a fifteen feet beam, weighing thirty-one tons. She cost three thousand pounds, and was surveyed arid registered as recently as February 11.

All of the rafts floated clear when the launch capsized, and they were later recovered. Lifejackets were provided for each person. The owner, Mr Rosman, still claims that there were fewer than one hundred aboard at the time of the disaster.

Rosman said that the launch was thoroughly tested by the Maritime Services Board, when he took it over. A Court of Marine Inquiry will in-' vestigate the disaster, in addition to the inquests. PRIME MINISTER’S MESSAGE. SYDNEY, February 14. The Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. J. A. Lyons, has sent a message expressing the sincerest sympathy of the Commonwealth Government and the people of Australia to the relatives and friends of the victims in the launch tragedy. Mr. Lyons also paid a tribute to the heroism of the rescuers, and at the same time he dispatched a special message to the commanding officer of the American cruiser, “Louisville," expressing deep appreciation and thanks for the assistance that ’ was rendered by the ship’s crew, whose promptitude had prevented a much greater loss of life. NEW ZEALAND MINISTER. SYDNEY, February 14. Hon. W. E. Parry, who is visiting Newcastle, telegraphed as follows: “The deepest sympathy of the Government and people of New Zealand will be felt for the relatives of those who lost their lives in the harboui" disaster.”