Valentines Day eve tragedy
Sydney is a harbour city and images of the
Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House are easily recognisable throughout
the world.
Many ferries transport thousands of people around
the harbour to various inner city suburban terminals and as far west as Parramatta.
Taking a ferry ride is one of life's little pleasures for locals and visitors
alike but there have been a number of tragic disasters on the harbour.
On the 13th February 2023 it will be 85 years
since the sinking of the "Rodney" with the loss of 19 lives. The
youngest victim calls Rookwood "home"
THE SINKING OF THE RODNEY FERRY
Sydney at the time had a large ferry fleet and
there were always new operators looking to find a niche in the market providing
more than a simple "port to destination" service.
On that fateful day the harbour was awash with
ferries and small craft wanting to get as close as possible to the US cruiser
"Louisville" as it departed our shores for its continued tour of the
Pacific. The cruiser and other large craft had been docked in Sydney as part of
the celebrations for the sesqui-centenary of settlement.
Among the craft was the month old double decker
ferry the Rodney. The wooden ferry was 16.9m long, had a width of 4.7m and weighed
33 tons. She was licensed to carry 211 passengers, 151 on the main deck and 60
upstairs. At the helm was the owner and Captain, Charles Rosman.
He and his deckhand had been plying for trade
that day amongst the owners of other small craft selling tickets for a
"trip down The Heads" following the Louisville for the small price of
a shilling.
Just after 2pm with all tickets sold, the ferry
left Woolloomooloo and headed out to the harbour in pursuit of the US cruiser,
who made a fine sight with all the crew lining the decks, and quickly caught
up.
Many of the young lady passengers of the Rodney
raced to the upper deck to get a better view. As the Louisville reached
Bradley's Head the crew were dismissed causing even more frantic excitement and
at the request of his passengers Rosman changed the course of the ferry passing
it under the stern of the cruiser to swing in as close a possible.
With the new position the passengers had to move
from the port to the starboard side of the Rodney to get a better view. This
sudden shift in weight gave the launch a dangerous list then as it picked up
speed for another circuit it was hit by the wash from the Louisville.
The shift in weight caused the ferry to wobble
dangerously in the wash of the Louisville, and the Rodney began to capsize with
passengers falling down the steeply sloping deck. Passengers spilled into the
water and the boat rolled over and sank within a couple of minutes in 15 metres
of water.
Passengers grabbed at floating seats or each
other to stay afloat. Others had been knocked unconscious and drowned. Passengers
on the lower inside deck who could not break windows to escape were taken down
to the bottom with the ferry.
There were about 20 launches as well as the Manly
ferry and Police launch within distance and all aboard sprang into action.
Seven sailors from the Louisville dived into the harbour to help and would have
been accompanied by more only an order had gone out to man action stations.
Those thrown overboard were seen clutching at
flotilla in an effort to stay afloat. A number of those clinging to random
items believing they were relatively safe were then pulled under as the Rodney
sank.
The Louisville took 26 survivors, another 20 were
picked up by the Police launch and the Celere rescued a further 15 people. Some
135 stretcher cases were transported to the Sydney and St Vincent’s Hospital
and frantic scenes around the harbour continued well into the night.
Initially, Police had thought 27 had died,
however, before morning 8 of the missing had turned up. The final death toll
was not confirmed until the ferry was raised from the bottom of the harbour and
the bodies of 7 of those trapped inside were recovered. 19 people died, of
which 17 were women, one was a man and another a seven-year-old child.
The "Rodney" capsized showing flotilla on harbour - Wikipedia
The Coroner Mr E C Oram returned a finding that
the passengers had been accidently drowned. He absolved the Captain of the
Rodney of criminal neglect but stated that he had broken a regulation by
allowing too many people on the upper deck believed to be over 100. Charles
Rosman lost his captain's ticket for three years, although he ran his ferry
business into the 1970s.
The youngest victim was Enid Patricia Cookson,
who had accompanied her adoptive family to view the US Navy Cruiser. Newspaper
reports of the day advise that she was in the lower cabin with them and when
the ship capsized, she was in her mother’s arms, dumped under water but both had
surfaced. Mrs Allan, Enid's adoptive mother, was grabbed by a desperate
survivor around the neck and as she was fighting them off, Enid slipped from
her grasp.
Enid would have been so excited by the scenes of
joy around the harbour that day with all the boats and launches and hordes of
people lining Circular Quay. Such a joyful day out that ended in abject
tragedy.
Enid lies alone in a grave near a path near the
old American Servicemen's graves area in the Anglican section. There is always
a small angel resting upon it.
Grave and headstone of Enid Patricia Cookson - author's own
After re-floating, the Rodney was refitted and
renamed Regis and returned to service. Her name was changed again in 1939 to
Regalia and she continued to serve in the Rosman Ferries fleet, moored at
Mosman Bay through to the 1980s. She was used on Botany Bay in the 1980s. The
boat sank off Taren Point on the Georges River in 2004 and was broken up.
There are quite a few references to the Rodney
disaster in Google and many newspaper articles from the time on Trove.
A terrible tragedy, on Valentine's Day eve.
May all the victims Rest in Peace; eternal peace to Enid and her family.
Unfortunately,
there are victims of drownings from other harbour boat sinkings that call
Rookwood "home."
If you have any comments regarding this blog
please add them below or add them at the Facebook group page under
rookwoodcemeterydiscoveries
or simply email me at
lorainepunch@gmail.com
Until next week....
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