Please note, Most of my notes were transcribed from the original court transcripts supplied to Admiral Davis by the court recorder, due to the age and quality, legibility was not suitable for copying.
Mr Charles Owen the chief officer kept things about the ship very close to his chest particularly when dealing with passengers, however he was recorded as saying to a crew member wanting to sign on after the maiden voyage,"if I were you I would look for another ship this one will be a coffin for someone one day. This in itself indicates his lack of confidence in the ship as being a proper sound vessel. When Mr. Owen told his friend Mr. Crossley they were going to make trouble in London he was obviously indicating that they would act in accordance with the Merchant Shipping act of 1894 section 463.
Had the crew tried to enact this provision in Sydney they would have fallen before the overpowering weight of the ship owners backed by the authorities and lost their bid in their attempt to declare the ship not seaworthy. By staging their complaints back in their own country they would have generated a great deal of publicity which would have been damaging to the ship builders and those that surveyed her . Barcley &Curle the Builders have been known to buy back ships which proved to be unstable and unsuitable for a certain trade this included a Union Castle Line ship. No doubt Mr. W. Lund would have wanted some settlement under the builders guarantee of five years.
