SUBMERGED WRECK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21518, 15 June 1933, Page 11

SUBMERGED WRECK

COAST OF AFRICA j DISCOVERY FROM THE AIR WARATAH'S LOSS RECALLED SEA MYSTERY OF 1909 By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received June 14, 5.5 p.m.) CAPETOWN. June 14 A marine surveyor left Durban yesterday in an aeroplane to attempt to locate an obstruction on the bottom of the sea offc' the Uincababa River, coast of Natal, which recently holed a passing vessel. While the aeroplane was flying 2000 feet above the sea the occupants saw a large dark object 165 feet long and 45 feet broad, which is believed to be a submerged wreck. Opinion in Durban inclines to the view that it is the wrecked Waratah, which was lost about July 28, 1909, en route to Capetown. Further steps are being taken by the Admiralty to clear up the matter. THEORY DISCOUNTED IDENTITY OF , THE OBJECT ANOTHER SHIP MENTIONED (Received June 15, 12.45 a.m.) CAPETOWN, June 14 Some authorities ridicule the suggestion that the submerged object is the wreck of the "Waratah, which was last spoken about 150 miles southwards. The Waratah, they point out, had high deck fittings, and it would have been possible to see her periodically in the 60ft. of water where the supposed wreck lies.

If it is a wreck some people believe it may be the Trichera, which was last heard of in 1903, with a cargo of sleepers from Bunbury, Australia.

The Waratah, a 10.000 tons Blue Anchor liner, was lost about July 28, 1909, off the African coast between Durban and Capetown. At the time the vessel disappeared she was en route from Australia to London with 211 people, including 92 passengers, on hoard. After coaling at Durban she resumed her voyage to London, via Capetown.

Next morning, 10 hours after the Waratah had cleared Durban, she was sighted by the steamer Clan Macintyre, which had left Durban a few hours before her. The vessels exchanged signals with flags, and at 9.30 a.in. they were out of sight of one another. On the following day a severe cyclone swept the coast of v South Africa, accompanied by tremendous seas. The Waratah never reached Capetown and was never seen again after she was sighted by the Clan Macintyre. It was thought that she foundered in the cyclone. The findings of the Nautical Inquiry, which was held in London, were issued in February, 1911. The principal clauses were as follows:—The Waratah was lost in the gale of July 28, 1909. The court was inclined $o hold that she capsized. The Waratah was manned considerably in excess of Board of Trade requirements.