M. V. Waiben

THE MORIALTA - BEFORE SHE BECAME THE WAIBEN

In 1938, the Adelaide Steamship Co. decided they needed a new ship for the South Australian coastal run. They ordered a new 1,365-ton diesel-engined passenger-cargo ship, to be named the Morialta, from Caledon Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. in Dundee, Scotland (Contract No. 168004) - at a price of £117,250. Her dimensions were 219'5" x 39'1" x 13' and she was a steel single screw motorship. In Sept 1939 the Adelaide Steamships Co.sent one of its most experienced master mariners, Captain Dick Tobin, aged 47, from Adelaide to Dundee to supervise the construction, and to bring her home. But on its completion the Morialta was requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport for Troop Service and heavily armed as a naval auxiliary, commonly known as a Defensively Armed Merchant Ship (DEMS). The Adelaide Steamship Company should have been inured to such a request: they had 30 or so ships in South Australia and the majority were requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy for war work. For example, the Morialta's much larger sister ship Bungaree was built as a cargo vessel for the the company also by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company and launched in 1937. The ship operated in Australian waters and was requisitioned by the RAN in October 1940 and was commissioned into the RAN on 9 June 1941 after being converted into a minelayer. She ended her days in January 1973 where she capsized in the shallow waters of Mekong Delta Bay during a run from Phnom Penh to Vung Tau.

The Morialta was launched from the Dundee slipway on 7th May 1940 by Mrs Amy Vera Filmer (nee Booth) wife of the London manager of the Adelaide Steamship Company - Captain Charles Bruce Long Filmer. Amy Booth had married the Captain Filmer DSO (a Merchant Seaman) in Sydney in 1923 and the couple left for England for Capt. Filmer to take up his position with the Adelaide Steamship Co. They did not to return to Australia for 11 years, and then just for a holiday.

The Morialta in 1940 just after her launch and being defensively armed. The heavy Oerlikon gun is easily seen on the rear. [Dundee City Archives]

Another view of the Morialta after being fitted out with guns prior to her war service in 1940. [Dundee City Archives]

 

WAR SERVICE

Captain Dick Tobin - MV Morialta (Ashleigh Tobin)

Capt. Dick Bishop Tobin had became caught up in the war and would become a reluctant hero. He was given command of this brand new ship, not even off its stocks at Dundee. He would not see his family again for 6 years, including his 5½ year old son he had never met. Tobin was born in 1892 in Adelaide, son of Richard and Annie Tobin. In 1927 Tobin married Winifred Hambridge in Adelaide and he became one of South Australia most respected master mariners. Little did he know that his trip to Dundee to supervise the building of the Morialta was to get dangerous - very quickly.

In 1940, the British Ministry of War Transport (MOWT) requisitioned the Morialta for troop service and fitted her out with a heavy Oerlikon gun to be manned by army or naval gunners. But crew members from merchant ships -including the Morialta - were trained to operate light machine guns. As a DEMS she was equipped with degaussing coils laid on her deck. With large electrical currents running through them the chance of detonating magnetic mines (either enemy or friendly) was reduced. Her first deployment was on the Pentland Ferry service from Scrabster to Stromness in Northern Scotland with the Orkney and Shetland Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., Aberdeen as Acting Managers. Her task was to ferry soldiers and seamen from the mainland at Scrabster (near Thurso on the north eastern tip of Scotland) over to the Royal Navy fleet base at Scapa Flow.

On the 21st of February 1941, the Morialta under the command of Dick Tobin joined a flotilla comprising HMS Queen Emma, Princess Beatrix and a naval escort of 5 destroyers, and left Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. The destination was the Faroe Islands for final training. The primary targets were Norwegian fish oil factories on Lofoten Island. Their destruction would be a blow to German glycerine production needed as raw material for explosive production. In all, 11 factories and 5 ships were destroyed, 225 Germans and 60 Quislings taken prisoner and 314 volunteers given passage to UK based Norwegian forces. There were no losses. Morialta took German prisoners away.

On Sunday, 7th June 1942, His Majesty King George VI visited the Home Fleet at their base at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands where the US Task Force were visiting. He inspected an American cruiser accompanied by Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen, Commander of the US Task Force and took a barge over to USS Washington at the invitation of Admiral Harold R. Stark, Commander, Naval Forces, Europe, who had made her his temporary flagship. The following day - Monday, 8th June 1942 - the King visited (British) Destroyer Command in the morning. He boarded HMS Tyne at 11.30 am and inspected representatives from destroyers and from the Depot Ship. He landed at 12.30 pm to visit the Orkney Command. The King proceeded from Scapa to Scrabster in M. V. Morialta at 6 pm escorted by HMS Wainwright, Ledbury, and Wilton (see below).

Dick Tobin was Captain of the Morialta when the King visited. (Ashleigh Tobin)

This event was reported in The Times (11 June 1942, p 6) as follows: "At the end of his visit, the King paid a tribute to the Merchant Navy by sailing through the fleet in a merchant auxiliary vessel and reviewing the British and American warships from the bridge of a small steamer [the Morialta] built for coastwise trade in Australia. A British and an American destroyer shared the honour of escort duty, and the C.-in-C., Home Fleet, stood at the King's side on the merchantman's bridge. From this small ship came the royal signal, 'Splice the main brace', the first time in history that this signal has ever been made from a ship flying the 'Red Duster' (merchantman)." [Note: 'Splice the mainbrace' is an order given aboard naval vessels to issue the crew with a drink. Originally an order for one of the almost impossible emergency repair jobs aboard a sailing ship, it became a euphemism for authorized celebratory drinking afterward, and then the name of an order to grant the crew an extra ration of rum or grog.]

His Majesty the King was aboard the Morialta (pictured) inspecting the Home Fleet - 8th June 1942	Dick Tobin was the Captain of the Morialta during the King's visit.
The Home Fleet was at Scapa Flow for the visit. The Morialta is shown in the centre.	These four photos courtesy of Ashleigh Tobin, son of Captain Dick Tobin.

When he left the fleet, on his way home, the King sent this signal to Admiral Sir John Tovey: "I am very glad to have had another opportunity of visiting the fleet under your command. I have been greatly impressed by what I have seen, and congratulate all ranks upon the keen and efficient manner in which they continue to carry out their duties, worthily maintaining the great tradition of the Royal Navy. To those of your officers and men now on patrol I ask you to send my good wishes. I am sorry not to have seen them. The best of luck to you all. - G. R. I." G.R.I. stands for "Georgius Rex Imperator" - George, King and Emperor.

For 3½ years Capt. Tobin sailed the Morialta around the North Sea carrying troops and cargo. On two ocassions she joined convoys for safety: EC90 departing Dundee on 28 October 1941 arriving at Scapa Flow the following day; and then WN328 departing Scrabster 27 August 1942 arriving Dundee two days later; and EN152 departing Aberdeen on 20 October 1942 to Lyness in the Orkneys (Scapa Flow) - a one-day journey. When not in convoy she was carrying out her Scapa Flow ferry service. By 1943 she was ready for a refit to prepare her for service in the Mediterannean - and returned to Dundee to have this carried out.

M.V. Morialta

In 1943 Morialta returned to Dundee for refit and was then sent back to Scapa Flow (North of Scotland) for various duties. In 1944 she was transferred to the Mediterranean theatre where she took part in the landings in the South of France in September. On her way back to Marseilles from Oran she was mined and then towed to Alexandria where she was repaired - which took until June 1945.

One of the crew members who joined the Morialta during the repairs was Ordinary Seaman Arthur Norris, now residing in Queensland, Australia. He joined the ship in early May 1945 and stayed with her until war's end. Here is his story of his time aboard:

Ordinary Seaman Arthur Norris

MORIALTA'S CONVOYS

ORDINARY SEAMAN ALFRED THAIN

Ordinary Seaman Alfred Thain RN, 1943.

One of the many seamen who served on the Morialta during the war years was Ordinary Seaman Alfred Thain, who as a Royal Navy crewman during the war years from 20th February 1944 (Dundee) to 24th February 1945 (Marsailles).

On 19 October 1943 Arthur was stationed at Dundee while the Morialta was being refitted, and was then sent back to Scapa Flow (North of Scotland) for various duties. On 20 February 1944 Arthur joined the crew of the Morialta at Dundee and headed for the Mediterranean where she took part in the landings in the South of France in September. On her way back to Marseilles from Oran she was mined and then towed to Alexandria to be repaired. Arthur left the Morialta at Marsailles on 24 February 1945.

Shore leave pass from the Morialta - Suez Canal - May 1944	Alfred Thain's Continuous Certificate of Discharge from the Morialta. (Mark Thain)

AFTER THE WAR

After the war - in 1946 - the Morialta left Alexandria for Colombo and Singapore where she was employed dumping explosives. The Adelaide Steamship Company did not see its new ship May 1st 1946 where she arrived in Adelaide from Penang, 5½ yrs after leaving builders yard. She was refitted for her original purpose, registered in Melbourne, and entered the South Australian Spencer Gulf passenger trade and cargo service.

The Morialta typically left Port Adelaide on a Tuesday and visited Tumby Bay, Port Neill, Arno Bay, Wallaroo, Cowell and Whyalla. The 4-day cruise cost about £9.	Poster from the 1950s

Donald Stuart Ross

One of the crew members aboard the Morialta during her Adelaide years was Donald Stuart Ross who served from 1953-55. His son Gordy Ross transcribed his father's ship discharges to show what a varied career a seaman has. Gordy, also a seaman, recalls going aboard the Morialta with his father and also sailed with Seaman Dick Danielsen (see Morialta crew list below). A full list of the ships Donald Stuart Ross served aboard can be found here.

In 1957 The Adelaide Steamship Co. decided to sell the Morialta. They wrote to the Deputy Director of Navigation, Sydney, on 7th August 1957, to advise that the Morialta had been sold to John Burke Ltd. and was about to take a full cargo of barley from South Australia to Sydney, and then take a load of steel at Port Kembla for shipment to Brisbane. This was not just a courtesy but a legal requirement. The Morialta's sailing permit was due to expire on 1st September and was only good for South Australian waters.

Permission to travel to Brisbane was given by Depury Director of Navigation on 13 August 1957 (NAA J2826, NQ1266)

Captain Dick Tobin took her on one last regular journey - leaving Port Adelaide on the 15th August for Port Lincoln and then returning to Adelaide on the 17th. Permission was granted for the Morialta to leave southern waters so she immediately left Port Adelaide (actually she was at Edinburgh - a northern suburb of Adelaide). Morialta arrived in Sydney with her load of barley on the 25th August and departed on 5th September for Pt Kelmba. Here she took on a load of steel and departed on the 7th, arriving in Brisbane on the 9th September 1957 at 8.15pm. The name Morialta was now consigned to history and the Waiben emerged.

James Delahey and Arthur Mullins elected to join the crew of the Waiben and to stay in Brisbane. They thus forfeited their right to free repatriation back to Adelaide.

As is usual when ships change owners, her compass had to be checked and adjusted. This was done in Brisbane on 26th October 1957, and a certificate issued. The following image shows a part of the Compass Adjuster's Report. Click here to see the Compass Certificate.

The Compass Adjuster was Captain A. Moore (NAA J2826, NQ1266)

SOME JOHN BURKE LTD HISTORY

John Burke Ltd had become a limited liability company in 1915, formed around the core of the shipping business built up by John Burke and his son John Edward Burke. They offered the services of the company to the Queensland Government in 1920 when a dispute arose about the existing cargo service from Brisbane to the Gulf of Carpenteria. The contractors for this service - The Australasian United Steam Navigation Company (A.U.S.N. Co.) - had been running the service from Brisbane to Normanton since the 1890s, discharging and loading of cargo from the gold fields at Croydon. It was profitable only because of a mail subsidy from the government.

When the A.U.S.N. Company demanded a greater subsidy the government refused and the two parted their ways. In 1920 John Burke Ltd stepped in and offered to run a regular service from Brisbane to the Gulf ports via Townsville, Cairns and Cooktown provided the company received a government subsidy of £4000 and this was accepted. This subsidy increased to £6000 in 1947 and it was only when the basic wage and cost of living spiral hit in the 40s and 50s that the subsidy rose to £30,000 per annum by 1960. Wandana [see below] was the first ship to ply the route for John Burke. She continued her frequent visits in the post-war period until being replaced by the passenger vessel Elsanna (formerly a Dutch ship, renamed after Burke's daughters Elsie and Anna), until she too was replaced in 1957 by the appropriately named Waiben (the traditional name for Thursday Island).

One of John Burke's other ship - SS Wandana - at Thursday Island in the late 1940s. The Wandana replaced the old Kallatina for the Gulf trade (Normanton and Burketown) route in 1932. (H. Gates)	Crew of SS Wandana on the way to the Gulf. Photo courtesy of Harold Gates (behind man in dark overalls).

SS Wandana in 1948. (Harold Gates)	SS Wandana. (Harold Gates)

Discussions for the purchase of the Waiben from the Adelaide owners began in January 1957 and a price of £142,301 was agreed upon. This was contingent on Burke Ltd continuing to receive a subsidy and loan guarantees from the State Government (which were given). As mentioned, after the MV Waiben took over, the government was paying a £30,000 per annum subsidy to Burke Ltd for its coastal cargo services, of which the Waiben received about £11,200 pa. The story of the Waiben on the coastal route is described later on.

In late 1963 the government announced that they were not going to renew their contract with Burke Ltd but were going to throw it open to tender on the following terms: (a) general and freezer cargo service fortnightly to Thursday Island only; (b) no provision to service any other ports in the Gulf of Carpenteria; (c) carry non-government cargo as well. Tenders closed 8 January 1964.

There were two tenderers: Brisbane-based John Burke Ltd and Cairns-based Keith Holland Shipping Company Pty Ltd. Holland had started in 1959 at the same time the Waiben arrived to begin work on the Brisbane - Thursday Island route. Holland had the ships MV Maluka and MV Arafura Sea (99 tons). They ran these ships from Cairns to TI fortnightly, using non-union seagoing labour for crew and using this crew to load and discharge, presumably cutting out the use of watersiders (members of the Waterside Workers Federation). Very small tonnages were carried by Holland. Shortly afterwards, Holland acquired MV Katoora for the Cairns to TI route, and the Maluka for running cargo down the Gulf to Normanton and Burketown from TI or Weipa. They won very few customers away from Burke.

1980s - Burke ship MV Sid McGrath returns to Brisbane. (Brian Martin)	Early 1980s - MV John Burke returns to Brisbane. (Brian Martin)

Burke Ltd put in several tenders, giving a choice of services. However, it is understood that Burkes were using Union personnel on seagoing staffs and registered Waterside Workers for loading and discharge their costs were going to be higher. As well, Burkes were committed to maintaining their ships to Lloyds 100A1 Class and also to Commonwealth and State Marine regulations whereas Holland was only State registered - which, it is claimed, added further costs to Burke's tender.

The Government awarded the contract to company Keith Holland Shipping which was to provide a service by rail to Cairns and then by ship from Cairns to TI. Burke Ltd first knew of the decision by way of a press statement by the State Treasurer on 21 May 1964, and was told their contract would expire on 15th November 1964. The Government believed that Holland Shipping would be able to offer a cheaper service in that they did not require a subsidy, and were also reducing their freight rate from Cairns to Thursday Island from £10.18.0 per ton to £7.5.0 per ton. Every business on TI, with the exception of one, signed a petition protesting against the Burke Ltd service being discontinued. The Normanton graziers and the various missions protested - but to no avail.

On paper it appeared that the Government was to save £30,000 pa in subsidies but there were other hidden costs that Holland incurred which did not show up in this estimate. It seems that Holland was being charged rail freight of £10 per ton from Brisbane to Cairns whereas anyone else would be paying £20 per ton. This subsidy of £10 per ton on Holland's rail freight of 6000 to 7000 tons per year would mean a cost to the Government of £70,000 per annum. This was far greater than the £30,000 subsidy being paid to Burke Ltd. Holland was going to use the 327 ton MV Katoora, which was 37 years old at the time.

MV Katoora, 327 tons, 8 knots, was built by G. Brown & Co. of Greenock on the River Clyde in 1927 for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company. CSR had several "lighters" (small steamers) carrying sugar on the east coast and they were all operated by the Adelaide Steamship Company under contract. Katoora carried bag sugar from Innisfail to Cairns. During the war she was seconded to the war effort as "S-140" and carried US soldiers along the coast under United States Small Ships Command. On 8 November 1960 she was sold to Keith Holland Shipping company of Cairns and, with a new engine fitted, was used to ferry government goods from Cairns to Thursday Island in place of John Burke's MV Waiben. She also acted as a refrigerated prawn bulk handling vessel in the Gulf. Her usefulness as a sugar lighter came to an end when the mills of the Johnstone River district began shipping their sugar output direct from the bulk terminal at Mourilyan Harbour. In 1968 she was sold to Mornington Island Fisheries Pty Ltd Townsville who converted her into a trawler. She was listed as 'condemned' in Lloyds Register 1987 and decommissioned after sixty years of service. The Katoora was blown into the mangroves at Karumba in the Gulf during one of the many cyclones that frequent the region. Her wreck can be seen there today.

It also seemed strange that the Waiben had 20 ton lift gear against the Katoora's 8 tons; the Waiben's cargo capacity was 1365 tons against the Katoora's 327 tons. It seemed like other factors had come in to play. The organisation behind Keith Holland Shipping was TNT - Thomas Nationwide Transport. The Governing Director of TNT was Mr K. W. Thomas who had sole control of the company. Keith Holland was the other director. He was also Honorary Secretary of the Queensland Country Party in Cairns. The Country-Liberal coalition had won a third term in office at the election in June 1963 and the conservatives would retain office until the end of their 11th term in 1989.

The decision to dispense with Burke Ltd meant that there was no longer a regular passenger service along the Queensland coast, and the Waiben was no longer needed. Normanton and Burketown were now left without a sea service, and Mornington Island Mission was isolated, and Edward and Mitchell River Missions would have to rely on bush tracks to bring goods in if the Mission launches from TI could not handle it. The loss of the subsidy was a severe blow to the company, however, new mining developments on Cape York helped them carry on as a cargo line. In 1965 the company wharf and office at South Brisbane was resumed by the Brisbane City Council forcing them to move their operations downstream - with more expense. The company introduced the all-cargo-carrying Alagna (named after Alice, Agnes and Anna Burke) in 1966, but the company was sold to the giant Dillingham Corporation in 1969. They supplemented the Alagna with the cargo ship John Burke in 1970. Jack Burke is reputed to have stated "No more family names'' and selected names like Waiben, Kuranda etc.).

John Burke wharf 1960 (JOL)	John Burke Group was a sponsor of the book "Timeless Isle" (John Foley, 1982) published by the Torres Strait Historical Society.

Coastal shipping was now unprofitable and the company tried to expand into the New Guinea trade and the company's ships were re-registered in New Guinea to save money. The John Burke, the only vessel to be named after the Burkes was renamed Nuigini Kula. This new venture was not successful and the company was wound up in 1990 after 102 years of operation. At some stage there was seen to be a family feud in the Burke Family with Jack Burke joining the Freemason's and becoming interested in Masonic Affairs. This would seem to be be an odd development for an Irish Catholic citizen. Jack Burke was on the Board of Samuel Allen & Sons Ltd which was listed on the Stock Exchange and had the ownership of about 42 percent of the best North Queensland Hotels, and solid investments in the developing TV Industry. Samuel Allen & Co. stevedored Burke's ships in Cairns.

The Waiben was sold on Thursday 19th November 1964. She was bought by the Societe Mar Vate Vila in the New Hebrides (New Caledonia) and renamed Jacques Del Mar with a Port of Registry being Noumea. Four years later in 1968 later she was sold to Seaview Navigation Corporation, Panama and renamed Longlife; Port of Registry Panama. Early in 1972 she was renamed Royal Martin by the same Owners and Registry. In 1973 she was renamed Island Pearl (Panamanian) In 1973 but managed by Empire Navigation, Singapore. On December 23rd 1973 she struck a mine in the Mekong Estuary on a voyage from Phnom Penh to Singapore carrying a cargo of rubber and cartridge scrap.

Note: Another Waiben at Thursday Island was the Government Pilot Launch Waiben was a single screw wooden launch built for the Queensland Department of Harbours and Marine by Norman Wright in 1949, and was 14 m long, 3.7 m beam and 1.35 m draught. This pilot launch had a 40 hp Southern Cross diesel engine which gave her a top speed of 8.5 knots. It was transfered to Hay Point in 1977.

LAWRENCE 'LAWRIE' OLIVER AMIET

THE WAIBEN AT BRAMPTON ISLAND

View from Brampton Island hill with Waiben in the distance - May 1959. (C & A Bowser)

Waiben off Brampton Island - May 1959. (C & A Bowser)

THE WAIBEN AT HAYMAN ISLAND

Waiben at Hayman Island July 1959. (C & A Bowser)	Partially complete hull along the Waiben waiting for an engine a Hayman Island. (C & A Bowser)

THE WAIBEN AT PALM ISLAND

Waiben heading north fully loaded. (C & A Bowser)	Waiben at Palm Island - 1959. (C & A Bowser)

THE WAIBEN AT WEIPA

Photo 5-16. A Caterpillar scraper bowl assembly being offloaded on to a dumb barge from the Waiben to another barge (the Comel, pictured on the shore) at Weipa in the Gulf of Carpenteria, Queensland on Thursday 21 June 1962. (Robert Walding)

Some notes on the above photo: The Waiben had just arrived that morning at 9.30 am. This Caterpillar was used in the early development of the bauxite mine. Its role was to strip topsoil and stockpile it for regeneration. The scraper would also be used for road building (haul and development roads). In the background you can see some very simple and effective development at Evans Landing. The stockpile is raw bauxite. Also shown is an early conveyor system that has been constructed and is used to load barges. The barges were towed out into the protected estuary to load larger coastal bulk carriers. In this period (early '60s), the river mouth was not dredged and only shallow access was available alongside at Evans Landing. The bauxite was loaded by clam grab from the barges to the vessel's holds. The Waiben was loaded with the mined bauxite. Nowadays, all bulk carriers are direct loaded with conveyors and offloaded by elevating bucket conveyors at Lorim Point 2 km to the right (east). The ramp behind the conveyor incline in the background shows that a dozer pushed the bauxite up to a hopper bin which fed the conveyor. The stockpiles are now operated with dozers, by bottom feeding hoppers and underground conveyors. The mess and dongas [single men's quarters] were about 1 km to the right of the blue truck. The first test loading of bauxite from the conveyor belt loader to the left was into the hold of the Westminister Dredge WD 53 on contract to Comalco to widen and deepen the port entrance at Gonbung Point. The Waiben stayed for 3 days and left on Saturday 23 June 1962 at 1.30 pm. Comalco's Marine Forman at the time was Lenard Hatchman.

My thanks to Leonard Hatchman for information about the location of this photo and the equipment aboard. He said "in 1969 I serviced and repaired that Cat scraper as a first year apprentice diesel mechanic". And "My father Lenard James Hatchman was employed by Mason Shipping Company as First Mate, then progressing to Captain operating the port tug, Tully Falls, and a number of coastal vessels mainly to Papua New Guinea, Timor and also to Weipa. One of those craft was the Wewak which was an American LCT barge during WWII. On one of these trips to Weipa he actually had on board - and loaded to the gunnels - the first building supplies which when assembled were the corrugated tin, hardwood frames, push-out window dongas for the Comalco contractors. The actual spot where the Wewak nosed onshore is where that barge - the Comel - is situated in the photograph [above]". You may also see some vehicles in the background. Len said "One of those Landrovers parked near that Blitz truck was my father's company vehicle". "The major bauxite loading facility at Weipa today is at Lorim Point, a further 5 km east up river of Evans Landing".

I'd also like to thank Peter Crane, Rio Tinto engineer who worked at the Weipa mine in the mid-90s, for some of the detail about the photo above and the information that follows: In 1961 the initial mining had been started and export of bauxite to overseas customers (mainly Japanese) was still a year or so off. Weipa didn't really get firmly established in bulk export until about 1966. The photo is an excellent portrait of the ongoing development. The stockpile was growing, the early export equipment was in place and operating and development was pushing on. The supply barge on shore was the prime mover for most vehicles (like the old blue International Ute and the two Series 2 Land Rovers and the Chev Blitz truck) and other goods and perishables supplied from the coastal freighters. The living accommodation at Evans Landing is a kilometre or so to the right in the photo. It was pretty rudimentary corrugated steel shacks built on concrete stumps. Some of the remnants of the early 60s camps were still there in the mid-90s when I was there. The area is now mostly the 'contractors' area and still with rudimentary donga accommodation. The town is about 7 km to the north of this photo approximately in a line projected vertically up from the head of the conveyor in the photo. At this stage (as shown in the photo), the town was not established. The Weipa development was under Comalco control and the Aboriginal mission of Napranum (Weipa South) is the early settlement there, about 10 km south (to the right) along the river shore.

Bauxite is generally found in a shallow horizon in the Cape. Mining is conducted by clearing and grubbing the vegetation, then stripping and reserving the 1-1.5m of topsoil. The bauxite horizon is between 1 and 4m, on average depth. 'Mining' is pretty simple, more like landscape gardening. Dozing creates a vertical work face and then front end loaders simply work the face in a horizontal stripping process. The work face advances in to the bauxite deposit. The front end loaders fill trucks (often modified tippers with articulated bottom dump bodies). Excavators may be used in early stages of creating a deep enough working face for the front end loader to operate in. As the Cape is fortunate enough to be lateritic, the effort required to loosen the pisoliths is minimal, hence the front end loader is an easy and efficient process. So, your Dad [Robert Walding] was a pioneer in this field - he helped build an ongoing resource which is still being expanded today.

Evans Landing circa 1964-1965 taken from the walkway on the bauxite shiploader. At the top left we can see the workshops, diesel fuel tank, and in the foreground the barge Comel, the marine workshops, and slipway near the shoreline. Further to the right of photo we can see part of Westminster's Jetty; directly behind is the camp mess, dining room buildings, and there is also an open air movie theatre. Amongst the trees the main single men's quarters ''dongas" are plainly visible. This area has been expanded throughout the years as Weipa progressed. (Leonard Hatchman, 1964)

The letterhead for the 1963 letter. Scroll to end of webpage to see the rest.

As mentioned earlier, the Waiben was bought by the Societe Mar Vate Vila in the New Hebrides (New Caledonia) and renamed Jacques Den Mar with Portr of Registry Noumea. In 1968 she was sold to the Seaview Navigation Corporation, Panama and renamed Longlife; Port of Registry Panama.

Jacques den Mar ex Waiben

In 1972 she was renamed Royal Martin by the same owners and registry. In 1973 she was sold to Panamanian Owners but managed by Empire Navigation, Singapore, and renamed "Island Pearl". 1973 she capsized and sank in Mekong Estuary on passage from Phnom Penh to Singapore, and became a total loss. Her remains lie there today.

Map showing the final resting place of the MV Island Pearl, ex Waiben, ex Morialta.

REMINISCENCES OF CAPTAIN ALEX R BURNS

During 1970 – 1971 Captain Alex Burns sailed briefly on the ship as a junior officer when it was operating out of Singapore. Here are some of his memories of those days.

Note; it is sometimes claimed (by dive tour operators) that the ship finished her days after being mined or bombed by the Viet Cong off Phnom Penh. Alex Burns refutes this: "I would imagine that the dive operators only wished to embellish her sinking to make it more appealing to divers. The area where she sank was well outside the capabilities of the VC, there is no way they could have targeted the ship where she was during inclement weather. I did a couple of Phnom Penh runs on her and once we were outside the river or in Phnom Penh it was considered safe. On the river passage we travelled in convoy with the protection of small patrol boats, as we were the victims of rockets, machine gun fire and light arms. Fortunately during my time on board we only received one hit through the boatdeck window from a rifle shot, fired by the ARVN (Army Republic of Vietnam). Although some of the other ships in the convoy were hit by rocket fire."

There are 15 Log Books for the Waiben and are as follows. The No. 1 Log Book is for the final voyage of the Morialta but I have included it here. Log Book 6 is missing from the National Archives (Cannon Hill, Brisbane). Each Log Book contains the crew details, safety drills, the departure and arrival at all of the ports (and the tide soundings). Many of the entries with the same surname may not be different men. I think the recording and spelling of names in the ship's log may have been a bit error prone. Are Richard and Ronald Barnett one and the same for instance?