Due to the volume of queries I receive by email on a weekly basis, It is becoming more time consuming to answer each individual question, because of this I have had to cut back my time spent at the computer. As the questions arrive I now collate them by importance into a list to be answered and posted all at once. Due to the backlog no further questions on Waratah will be received by me or answered until the present queue has been cleared and notification posted that I will be receiving further queries . I will only answer questions from readers who only provide their GENUINE email address and phone number including their country code, this is to eliminate time wasters and nuisances that tend to plaque the internet.
The first series of questions seem to be obviously asked by Waratah readers who have given thought to the actual mystery, I am sure other devotees of the ss Waratah will find them most interesting and I trust my answers will satiate fully for the first time their thirst for some true answers.
DOUBLE BOTTOM OF THE WARATAH.
Question No1, Did the double bottom tanks of the Waratah run the whole length of the ship, and what were the capacities?
Answer Q1, YES, however only sections of the tanks were actually filled with water, for example bottom tanks running from aft for a length of 95 feet, under the engine room and boiler room 78 feet, then forward of that 118 feet. at total of 291 feet. A total of 1,238 tons being both fresh water and salt. Note this does not include the fore peak and after peak ballast tanks, total 100 tons salt water which were not double bottom tanks.
SS BRITANNIA LEAVING LIVERPOOL 1840.
Some shipping companies in order to induce passengers would often advertise the facts that their ships carried a Surgeon, a stewardesss and cows.
With the Waratah the cow was carried up on the boat deck in a sheltered pen not much bigger than herself. On most ships cows were carried for a period of up to six months or more depending on the time when her milk became of poor quality and quantity. They were then usually killed by the ships butcher and the meat was eventually consumed by the crew. Captain Ilbery was no doubt keeping the owners updated as to the cows health and daily milk production for future reference. He was no stranger to carrying cattle and was well versed in the welfare of cattle when he was engaged in the coastal trade for some months at a time in Australia. W. Lund had contracts to ship cattle from Northern Queensland to Brisbane and the first ship fitted out for that trade was the ss Yoeman commanded by Captain Ilbery. As a matter of interest it was during one of these periods of coastal trading that Captain Ilbery had two members of his crew sent to prison for three months for refusing to work the ship. The reason for their refusal was that the Australian seamen working the coast were paid higher wages than the British seamen and they demanded the same rates of pay while working on the Australian coast.
The first series of questions seem to be obviously asked by Waratah readers who have given thought to the actual mystery, I am sure other devotees of the ss Waratah will find them most interesting and I trust my answers will satiate fully for the first time their thirst for some true answers.
DOUBLE BOTTOM OF THE WARATAH.
Question No1, Did the double bottom tanks of the Waratah run the whole length of the ship, and what were the capacities?
Answer Q1, YES, however only sections of the tanks were actually filled with water, for example bottom tanks running from aft for a length of 95 feet, under the engine room and boiler room 78 feet, then forward of that 118 feet. at total of 291 feet. A total of 1,238 tons being both fresh water and salt. Note this does not include the fore peak and after peak ballast tanks, total 100 tons salt water which were not double bottom tanks.
Double bottom tank section.
Modern construction of a ship showing double bottom section which would be used for oil supply for ships engine/engines, and shows side tanks or saddle tanks used for ballast water.
Comparison of the ss Geelongs' double bottom, the so called sister ship to the Waratah is given as,
from aft 91 feet, under engine room and boiler room 65 feet, from there to forward 184 feet, 1,081tons of water fresh and salt.
Some writers class the Geelong as the sister ship to the Waratah , I have never gone along with this, if any ship at all was to be the sister ship to the Geelong it was the ss Commonwealth, the Waratah was a three deck vessel not a two decker.
SS Commonwealth emptying out her ballast tanks to get ready ready for a new cargo.
Commonwealth kicking up her heels with a bone in her Mouth, (Bow) flying along half empty.
Commonwealth double bottom from aft 82feet, under engine room and boiler room 74feet, forward 41 feet. depth of hold 30.7 feet deep.
Question No 2, How much wool was on board the Waratah ?
Answer Q2, There were two manifests for the wool cargo shipped in bales, at Sydney 44 bales were
loaded and in Melbourne 2,245 bales were shipped giving a total of 2,289 bales weighing 350 tons.
Each bale weighed an average of 342.5 lbs which tell us that the wool was scoured. A bale of Australian wool not scoured is unclean or greasy wool and weighs usually about 384 lbs. The two types should never be stowed together to prevent the greasy wool contaminating the clean scoured wool. There is always a risk of fire with wool when carried, careful ventilation must be carried out during the voyage for this type of cargo. Wet or damp bails should be immediately rejected by the officers of the ship in order to avoid claims against the ship and to avoid the heating up of the bales resulting in spontaneous combustion.
Question No 3, In letters to the owners Captain Ilbery mentioned a cow on board, was this cargo?
Answer Q3, No the cow was not cargo it was specifically carried for the purpose of supplying fresh milk for the saloon passengers and infants which was the custom of the period. This dates back to the time when the Cunard paddle steamer Britannia left Liverpool on July 4th 1840 for her 14 day transatlantic crossing to America. On this voyage she carried two cows for milk and a battery of hens supplying eggs for the saloon passengers.
Some shipping companies in order to induce passengers would often advertise the facts that their ships carried a Surgeon, a stewardesss and cows.
With the Waratah the cow was carried up on the boat deck in a sheltered pen not much bigger than herself. On most ships cows were carried for a period of up to six months or more depending on the time when her milk became of poor quality and quantity. They were then usually killed by the ships butcher and the meat was eventually consumed by the crew. Captain Ilbery was no doubt keeping the owners updated as to the cows health and daily milk production for future reference. He was no stranger to carrying cattle and was well versed in the welfare of cattle when he was engaged in the coastal trade for some months at a time in Australia. W. Lund had contracts to ship cattle from Northern Queensland to Brisbane and the first ship fitted out for that trade was the ss Yoeman commanded by Captain Ilbery. As a matter of interest it was during one of these periods of coastal trading that Captain Ilbery had two members of his crew sent to prison for three months for refusing to work the ship. The reason for their refusal was that the Australian seamen working the coast were paid higher wages than the British seamen and they demanded the same rates of pay while working on the Australian coast.
A FINE MILKING SPECIEMEN
Question 4, On the first voyage Captain Ilbery stopped the coaling of the Waratah in Sydney for fear of her capsizing when she took on a dangerous list, is this true?
Answer Q,4 Yes, this happened on two occasions and there were many witnesses to verify that it actually occurred even though there was very little attention paid to it by the Board of Trade inquiry for obvious reasons, they were the Government body that certified ships to be safe and also responsible for the safety of the general public being transported in British sea going vessels. Captain Ilbery had to stop coaling the ship because of her heeling over to a dangerous point likely to cause a capsize. On the second stoppage of coaling the ship, matters escalated when the coal lumpers refused to go aboard to finish coaling unless they were given double their pay because they considered the ship unsafe. In order to rectify the stability of the Waratah all ballast and fresh water tanks including fore and aft peak tanks were filled giving a total of 1,338 tons bottom weight, on top of this lead concentrates were loaded into the bottom holds. The ships record of loading showed that 1,501 tons 15cwt (15hundredweights = 1,680lbs) and 3qtrs (3quarters = 84lbs) were shipped into number 3 lower hold and number 4 lower hold. Cargo weights had to be manipulated then placed in the holds accordingly, while one hatch was being unloaded another was being loaded at the same time. What became apparent to Captain Ilbery and his officers on this first voyage was that after discharging cargo at Adelaide and Melbourne some form of extra weight was required before unloading the remaining cargo in Sydney to keep the ship stable. This is why on the second voyage 970 tons of lead concentrates were taken in at Adelaide and placed in the bottom of number 3 lower hold which had held coal for the voyage out from London and was burned up prior to arriving at Adelaide so as to make space in that hold which then swept clean by the crew and made ready for the lead concentrates. It must have been a nightmare in Sydney for Captain Ilbery with no loading plan from the builders along with no stability information which was not on board when he left London. To make matters worse on the 8th of January the day before he was due to sail Captain Ilbery had to notify the authorities that two crew members had deserted the ship which resulted in fines against the Captain of 100 pounds for each deserter. According to what other crew members said, the men told them they didn't trust the ship and had been further influenced by the actions of the coal lumpers. On the same day the 8th the ss Wilcannia of the Blue Anchor Line arrived in Sydney commanded by Captain Hanson and was due to sail again on the 11th of January. No doubt Captain Ilbery would have relished dinner with Captain Hanson and no doubt discussed the trials and tribulations of his new command. It is interesting to note that the Waratah spent 16 days in Sydney on her first voyage there and only 9 days on the second voyage, probably due to the fact that much time was saved by loading the concentrates in Adelaide before arriving at Sydney.
LEAD CONCENTRATES
