A careful study of documentation revealed that among the crew of the Waratah including officers there was great dissatisfaction with the ship and her behaviour at sea, many felt that she was top heavy and feared she would not stand up to really heavy weather and were frightened the ship would turn turtle. Some voiced their opinions against the ship openly in depositions and others chose to speak in favour of the ship for fear of being black banned for future employment. One crew member hoping to impress the Court by taking a chance on fact that the all his Peers connected to the inquiry were Masons and might look in a favourable manner on him when he opened his evidence by saying"he was a Mason". No doubt this would have brought some wry smiles to the faces of the legal teams. After the first voyage some officers felt the same way but could not give up their positions on arrival back in London due to the fact that there was a slump in the shipping industry.The merchant navy had now turned into an overcrowded profession with so many officers on the beach, there chances of getting another berth was practically at zero.To further highlight the situation ashore,an article appeared in Lloyd's Weekly Index dated March the 18th 1909 titled "UNEMPLOYED OFFICERS" and stated the following.
According to Mr.Moore, Secretary of the Imperial Merchant Guild, large numbers of Captains and Officers are out of employment and are experiencing the greatest difficulty in securing positions even in the lowest grades. Many have been unoccupied from twelve months to two years. The Secretary received a letter from an officer who holds a masters certificate, is aged 31 years of age and acted as chief officer on a large steamer. This officer states, that, having been out of employment, he is now looking for a berth as an A.B. but is unable to get one. He informs the Secretary of the Guild that he would be glad to know of any coasting Captain who would be willing to sign him on as an able seaman.
A wealthy furniture store owner in Sydney Mr. Morley Johnson who travelled on the Waratah on the maiden voyage as a saloon passenger with his wife, wrote a letter to the Crown Solicitor after reading about an appeal by the Board of Trade in Australian papers requesting information from former passengers about the behaviour of the Waratah from London to Australia. Mr Johnson who was a close friend of Mr. George Hodder the chief engineer of the Waratah not only gave sworn evidence but wrote a letter in confidence to the Crown Solicitor throwing some light on the state of affairs aboard the Waratah which troubled him deeply due to his friendship that he had formed with the officers. His letter of course never saw the light of day in court only his written deposition.
Copy of the original list of saloon passengers on the maiden voyage of the Waratah.
Mr. Morley Johnson's letter written in confidence to the Crown Solicitor.
To be continued: in the next post, Captain Ilbery's medical condition.
