0:00

Forgotten Australia is written and produced by

0:02

me, Michael Adams, in the Blue Mountains

0:04

of New South Wales on land traditionally

0:06

owned by the Darug and Gundungurra people.

0:09

I pay my respect to Aboriginal elders

0:11

past and present. It's

0:16

6.52 on the cold morning of 2 April

0:19

1931, Easter Thursday,

0:21

and the Burnsfield Motorliner Malabar has

0:23

almost reached its Sydney Harbour stop

0:25

on its voyage from Melbourne to

0:27

Singapore. The ship's

0:29

commanded by Captain George William Leslie,

0:31

who at age 71 has been

0:34

a master mariner for nearly half

0:36

a century. Malabar

0:38

carries 28 passengers. Among

0:41

them is Mr H Trotter, aptly

0:43

named because he has charge of

0:45

three race horses bound for Darwin.

0:48

Also Darwin bound is bride to

0:51

be Miss Mary Stern, whose

0:53

luggage includes her wedding dress and glory

0:55

box. Mr Tivendale,

0:57

meanwhile, who's returning home to Darwin,

0:59

is one of the three gentlemen

1:02

passengers who are shipping their motorcars

1:04

aboard Malabar. The

1:06

big vessel also carries 2,000

1:08

tonnes of consumable cargo. Every

1:11

kind of foodstuff imaginable. All

1:14

that good tucker passing right by

1:16

southern Sydney, where starvation is a

1:18

very real threat for many poor

1:20

families who are being pummelled ever

1:22

harder by the Great Depression. About

1:26

2 miles off Long Bay, fishermen in

1:28

their boats see Malabar entering thick fog

1:30

that's just rolling in. Malabar

1:33

isn't east of these fishermen. It's

1:36

to their west, and too close into

1:38

shore. If she keeps going like

1:40

she's going, she's going to hit Long

1:42

Bay's north head, known as Miranda Point.

1:46

Aboard Malabar, Captain Leslie, who has

1:48

minutes ago relieved his chief officer,

1:50

gives an order to alter course.

1:54

But what is it that he tells the

1:56

quartermaster who has the wheel? Is

1:58

it to steer five to five? starboard

2:01

that is right towards the ocean or

2:04

does he say steer 5 degrees to port

2:07

left towards the shore.

2:09

This is the question that

2:11

will be asked later. Right now

2:13

the quartermaster turns the wheel to

2:15

port towards the shore.

2:19

Malabar is carving through calm, high tide

2:21

waters at nearly full speed 13 knots

2:24

and moments later

2:26

it runs up onto the rocky

2:28

reef below Miranda point. For

2:31

most passengers the impact registers as little

2:33

more than a soft bump but

2:35

Captain Leslie knows what's happened. He

2:38

orders the engines full of stern trying

2:41

to reverse off the rocks but

2:43

it's no good. Malabar is

2:45

stuck fast just 50

2:48

yards off Miranda point. While

2:50

the impact might have felt minor to

2:53

most passengers it's buckled the ship's plates

2:55

and water is surging into the holds.

2:58

Captain Leslie orders the siren sounded

3:01

everyone must abandon ship immediately.

3:04

When the

3:06

fog lifts this Easter Thursday morning

3:09

the people of Long Bay are

3:11

stunned. There's a massive

3:13

shipwreck right on the doorstep of their

3:15

little village. They're

3:17

the first to see it but in

3:20

the hours and days to follow Malabar

3:22

will become Sydney's most popular attraction. More

3:25

memorable and certainly more exciting than

3:27

the Royal Easter Show which is

3:29

opening to the public this very

3:32

day. Sample bags

3:34

simply can't compare with the bounties

3:36

that are about to wash free

3:38

from Malabar. Bags of

3:40

flour, bundles of firewood, tins of

3:43

butter and beef and frozen legs

3:45

of lamb. These are just some

3:47

of the goodies that will put smiles

3:49

on poor people's dials all along the

3:51

Sydney coastline. But

3:54

the real prizes will be the full kegs

3:56

of beer. Score one of

3:58

these before the cops lay their their mitts

4:00

on them and you'll be in for a

4:02

really good, good Friday. I'm

4:06

Michael Adams and this is Forgotten

4:08

Australia. Thank

4:11

you so much for listening in 2023. I've

4:15

really appreciated the kind words that

4:17

have come via email and Facebook

4:19

and through reviews on Apple podcasts

4:21

and other audio platforms. A

4:24

big thanks to everyone who's chipping in as

4:26

a supporter via Apple and Patreon. Cheers

4:29

then to Bill Saunders and Jade

4:31

Mustard who've recently become supporters. And

4:34

a big, big thank you to Tony Mott

4:36

who's a real champion of the show. If

4:38

you'd like to help me keep making Forgotten Australia in 2024,

4:41

Apple and Patreon

4:43

links are in your show notes. As

4:46

a thank you, you'll get early ad-free

4:48

access to every episode along with exclusive

4:50

bonus shows and there's more of these

4:52

on the way soon. In

4:56

the final week of 2023, many of you will have, like

4:58

me, been pondering

5:01

the white Christmas mystery. Of

5:04

course, I'm talking about those barnacle

5:06

encrusted plastic wrapped bales of cocaine

5:09

bricks that have been washing up

5:11

on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle.

5:14

At the time of recording, some 124

5:17

kilograms of the drug have been retrieved.

5:20

How much is all that blow worth? The

5:23

upper estimate, based on $400 a

5:25

gram on the street, is some $50 million.

5:29

In other words, enough for a house deposit

5:31

in Sydney. Jokes

5:34

aside though, questions abound. Who

5:36

imported the cocaine? Where did it

5:39

come from? And how did it end up in the ocean?

5:42

How many more of these bundles are still out

5:44

there? How many, if

5:46

any, have been found but not

5:48

reported? Even among

5:50

law-abiding types like you and me, the

5:53

scenario fires the imagination in the

5:55

style of some grim Hollywood thriller.

5:58

Think A Simple Plan or no

6:00

country for old men. But

6:03

for almost everyone, a brief

6:05

what if is as far as such

6:07

contemplation is going to go. Yet

6:10

my guess is that there are a

6:12

few folks out there patrolling Sydney's seaside

6:14

with dollar signs in their eyes. It

6:18

was really odd timing that this cocaine

6:20

story should bob up during the creation

6:22

of this episode. While

6:24

the Malabar incident of close to a

6:26

century ago was far more innocent, it

6:28

was also far more inclusive. It

6:31

was a communal event turning hundreds

6:34

of thousands of people into beachcombers

6:36

and seafarers. Most weren't

6:38

hoping to get rich or

6:40

to party like Pablo Escobar. Most

6:43

were just hoping to get something at a

6:45

time when they had a whole lot of

6:48

nothing. In

6:51

April 1931 the motor vessel Malabar

6:54

was the pride of the fleet owned

6:56

and operated by Burns Philp. This

6:59

was the company that had dominated maritime trade

7:01

in the South Pacific for nearly 50 years.

7:05

Malabar was built in Glasgow in 1925 and

7:08

put into service in Australia the following

7:10

year. The ship was valued at 220,000

7:12

pounds and it was insured for that

7:16

amount. Simply adjusted for

7:19

inflation that's 20 million dollars. Malabar

7:22

was a fine two-mastered motor liner

7:25

meaning it ran on oil not

7:27

steam and its single funnel

7:29

bore the distinctive black and white checkered

7:31

band of the Burns Philp line. Malabar

7:34

was 350 feet long that's about 100 meters and it

7:36

was 50 feet across

7:40

with a depth of 25 feet to

7:42

the upper deck. Malabar's

7:44

gross tonnage was a little over four

7:46

and a half thousand tons so

7:48

it was a big vessel. Yet

7:51

Malabar took its name from a small

7:53

place. A little town in Java

7:55

about 20 miles southwest of

7:57

Bandung. That's what reports said

7:59

at the time. It's subsequently

8:01

been reported that the name came from

8:04

a stretch of Indian coast famous for

8:06

spice trading. Whatever the

8:08

origin, Malabar was chosen as a name

8:10

because it was the Burns Filp custom

8:13

to give ships seven letter names that

8:15

began with M. So

8:17

I guess officials looked to maps and

8:19

to their maritime memories for inspiration. In

8:23

any case, Malabar's name was to

8:25

live on in Sydney maps and

8:28

we'll return to this at the end of the episode.

8:31

The motor line of Malabar plied

8:33

the Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Java,

8:35

Singapore route. Until recently

8:38

it had been under the command of

8:40

a Captain or Authorie. But

8:42

he'd been relieved by Captain George Leslie

8:44

when Malabar was last in Sydney on

8:46

its way south to Melbourne. According

8:49

to New South Wales Public Service

8:52

Records found at ancestry.com.au, George William

8:54

Leslie was born in South Australia

8:56

on the 30th of December 1860.

8:59

He got his Master

9:01

Mariner's license in 1886 and

9:03

he captained several big cargo and

9:05

passenger vessels for the Adelaide Steamship

9:07

Company. Captain Leslie would

9:10

often do the route that took

9:12

him to Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane

9:14

and then farther north to Mackay

9:16

and Townsville. It's fair to

9:18

say he knew the coastal waters of

9:20

Australia's eastern colonies like the back of

9:22

his salt encrusted hand. Captain

9:25

Leslie moved to New South Wales just

9:27

after Federation, March 1901,

9:30

in order to join the State Department

9:32

of Navigation as a first-class harbour pilot.

9:35

He served at Newcastle for a dozen years.

9:38

Then in 1913, Captain Leslie

9:40

was appointed as a sea pilot

9:42

in Sydney, based out of

9:45

Port Jackson. He served

9:47

another dozen years and was promoted to

9:49

the position of Senior Harbour Pilot not

9:51

long before he retired on the 30th

9:53

of December 1925, his 65th birthday.

9:58

For a quarter of a century. Captain Leslie

10:00

had mained an impeccable record as

10:03

a harbour pilot, safely

10:05

guiding vessels in and out of

10:07

New South Wales's two busiest ports.

10:10

While he might have had to retire from

10:12

the public service, Captain Leslie had Brian in

10:14

his veins and he wasn't about to hang

10:16

up his skipper's cap for good. So

10:19

he continued working as a relieving

10:21

master for Burns Phelp. Under

10:24

his command, Malabar departed Melbourne on the

10:26

31st of March, 1931. There

10:30

were 28 passengers aboard. This

10:33

was only 20% of capacity, Malabar

10:35

having accommodation for 130 paying customers.

10:40

Nevertheless, Malabar was staffed by its full

10:42

complement of 108 crew. While

10:46

the senior officers were Caucasian, the

10:48

bulk of the men working aboard

10:50

were Javanese and Malaysian Chinese. In

10:54

the racist terminology of the day,

10:56

they would be described in newspaper

10:58

reports as coolies or as coloured

11:00

men. While they

11:02

were in Australian waters, Burns Phelp had to put up

11:04

a £100 surety for

11:07

each of these crew members. This

11:09

bond, which was dictated by immigration

11:11

law, made the company take seriously

11:14

the possibility of its men jumping

11:16

ship and thus threatening the purity

11:18

of white Australia. Tired of

11:21

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proudly sponsored by ancestry.com This

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podcast is proudly sponsored by

11:49

ancestry.com.au From

11:52

birth, death and marriage indexes to

11:54

military records, passenger lists and police

11:56

gazettes, ancestry.com.au helps me find a

11:59

lot of the personal details

12:01

that bring to life the people

12:03

you hear about in each episode

12:05

of Forgotten Australia. And by joining

12:07

these genealogical dots, you could bring

12:09

your family history alive too. For

12:12

more information go to ancestry.com.au because

12:14

there could be more to your

12:16

story. With

12:18

Captain Leslie, 108 crew, 28 passengers, 3 horses, an indeterminate number

12:20

of caged finches

12:25

and one ship's cat, Malabar motored

12:27

up the east coast for a

12:30

couple of days without incident. At

12:34

6.45 on Easter Thursday morning, Malabar

12:36

was one mile off Cape Banks,

12:38

which is the northern headland of

12:40

Botany Bay. Up ahead,

12:42

the north head of narrow, long bay

12:45

jutted out into the sea. Conditions

12:48

were calm and clear. Malabar

12:51

wasn't the only craft in the waters at

12:53

this hour. Long

12:55

Bay's little fishing fleet had headed out

12:57

before dawn. They were hoping

12:59

for a huge haul, knowing they'd sell

13:02

it all, even in these depressed times.

13:05

For tomorrow was Good Friday, the one

13:07

day of the year when Jesus didn't

13:09

want anyone tucking into snags and chops.

13:13

One of these fishermen, a Mr. R.M.

13:15

Walsh, was two miles off the entrance

13:17

to Botany Bay, when Malabar passed

13:20

between him and the shore. A

13:23

few minutes later, a heavy bank of fog

13:25

descended, and he said to his mates, if

13:27

she goes on that course, she'll run ashore.

13:31

At 6.54, Malabar did just

13:33

that. Mr. Walsh and

13:35

his fellow fishermen gave up their hopes of

13:37

a bumper haul and rushed to help however

13:40

they could. Malabar had

13:42

come aground on rocks near a blowhole

13:44

known to the locals as Little Bombara.

13:48

Captain Leslie ordered the engines full of

13:50

stern, but to no avail. The

13:53

impact had been so soft that

13:55

most Malabar passengers initially had no

13:57

idea they were now aboard a

14:00

hopeless shipwrecked vessel. Just

14:02

minutes before the collision, Malabar's chief stewardess,

14:04

Mrs. A. Davidson, had gone on to

14:06

deck to see how close they were

14:09

to Sydney. There was a thick

14:11

mist out and she couldn't see anything so she went

14:13

back to her room. That was

14:15

when Mrs. Davidson felt the bump.

14:17

It was so minor she thought

14:19

she was hearing and feeling hatch

14:21

covers being removed, which was procedure

14:24

shortly before entering ports. To

14:26

her astonishment, a purser appeared and told

14:28

her in excited tones, she's

14:30

on the rocks. Nonsense, Mrs.

14:33

Davidson snapped, but the

14:35

purser said it was true, telling her, you

14:38

had better wake all the women and children at once.

14:40

Seeing he was serious and hearing

14:43

the emergency siren, Mrs. Davidson got

14:45

to work. The crew, she'd

14:47

soon be telling the Sydney Morning Herald,

14:49

were all marvelous, ensuring the

14:51

passengers were roused, put on their life belts

14:53

and at once got into the boats. The

14:56

crew swung the boats out and lowered

14:58

them into the water, where motorized fishing

15:00

vessels towed them to Long Bay's little

15:02

beach. Mrs. Davidson would

15:04

tell the Sydney Morning Herald, quote, we

15:07

were all ashore within 20 minutes, which is

15:09

particularly good when you remember that many of

15:11

the passengers were only half dressed, that some

15:13

were in bed and some were in the

15:15

bath. The passengers themselves were

15:17

wonderful. It was not the faintest

15:20

trace of panic. In fact, we were rather

15:22

sorry we missed our breakfast. By

15:25

the time the passengers reached shore, Long

15:27

Bay locals awaited with blankets and warm

15:29

drinks. Some of

15:31

the newly minted refugees thought the disaster

15:34

was rather jolly fun. The

15:36

Sun reported, quote, two young

15:38

women were delightedly excited with their

15:40

experience. They gladly accepted an

15:42

invitation from Long Bay women to have

15:45

some refreshments and as soon as they

15:47

were seated, they lit cigarettes and puffed

15:49

contentedly. The Daily

15:51

Telegraph would chime in about the younger

15:53

generation, quote, several children romped

15:55

contentedly about the beach clad in

15:58

pajamas and overcoats. hipwrecks,

16:00

they thought, were quite enjoyable. Yet

16:03

not everyone was so sanguine. Miss

16:05

Mary Stern, that bride-to-be, was terribly

16:08

worried about her wedding dress and

16:10

her glory box. Were

16:12

these precious items to be lost on Malabar?

16:15

Meanwhile, Mr. Trotter fretted about his

16:17

three horses. He hitched a

16:19

ride back out to Malabar on a boat,

16:21

asking permission to come aboard so he could

16:24

untie the beasts, at least giving them a

16:26

chance if Malabar should sink or break up.

16:29

Mr. Trotter was turned away, told it

16:31

was far too dangerous to get back

16:33

on the ship. And

16:36

it was dangerous. Crew were still trying

16:38

to get ashore, and some had a hectic

16:40

time of it. One

16:42

boatload was drifting perilously towards the blowhole

16:44

until a couple of fishermen threw them

16:46

a rope and towed them to safety.

16:50

When the fog lifted from Long

16:52

Bay properly, Malabar was lifting 20

16:54

degrees towards Starbird. By

16:57

then, nearly the entire population of Long

16:59

Bay had plotted through the best part

17:01

of two miles of soggy scrub to

17:03

the sheer cliffs that formed a dress

17:06

circle for the disaster unfolding. Just

17:09

50 yards away, Malabar was centre

17:11

stage of a spectacular drama, the

17:13

surrounding sea an arena that was

17:16

alive with a flotilla of small

17:18

boats affecting rescues and recoveries. At

17:22

10 o'clock a new character entered. This

17:24

was the trawler Charlie Cam, which had

17:26

been summoned to Long Bay to try

17:28

to free Malabar. A

17:31

steel hauser was attached to the stricken

17:33

ship's stern. Charlie Cam

17:35

pulled, but the strain was too great

17:37

and the cable snapped with a loud

17:39

bang that rang across Long Bay. Malabar

17:43

wasn't going anywhere. Next,

17:46

the pilot steamer Captain Cook arrived

17:48

from Sydney Harbour. This

17:50

was one of the vessels that Captain

17:52

Leslie would have skippered in safer and

17:54

happier days. Today, Captain

17:56

Cook was on hand to save

17:58

Malabar's crew portable valuables.

18:02

Crew first loaded passengers luggage and

18:04

the ship's mails into five lifeboats

18:06

that were roped together. Then

18:09

nearly four dozen of the non-caucasian

18:12

crew climbed into the lifeboats along

18:14

with a smattering of senior officers.

18:17

Captain Cook towed the convoy to Walsh

18:19

Bay. Miss Mary Stern's

18:21

wedding dress and glory box had been

18:23

saved. The non-white crew

18:26

meanwhile were kept under strict watch in

18:28

Sydney in case any of them should

18:30

bolt for it. At 10 30

18:33

that morning a journalist from

18:35

the sun got out to Malabar and climbed

18:37

up a Jacob's ladder. He wrote

18:40

the liner was lurching helplessly all

18:42

alleyways were deserted and on the

18:44

well deck the racehorses in their

18:46

boxes were pouring the deck fretfully.

18:49

Captain Leslie was another anxious

18:51

creature pacing the boat deck

18:53

aft. The captain didn't want

18:56

to speak to the man from the sun other

18:58

to say that everyone was safe. You

19:01

must leave the ship, Captain Leslie ordered and

19:03

leave it quickly. The sun's

19:05

reporter obeyed. He had everything

19:08

he needed and it really was too

19:10

dangerous to still be aboard. The

19:13

growing crowd thrilled to more drama

19:15

at 11 o'clock when Malabar lurched

19:17

suddenly and violently. The sun's

19:19

reporter noted it was as if the

19:21

ship was quote trying to wrench herself

19:24

from the cruel fangs that enclosed her.

19:27

Two men from the engine room, one

19:29

a Bondi bloke and the other

19:31

from Mitigong appeared simultaneously at different

19:33

places on the deck. They'd

19:36

been down below when Malabar had bucked

19:38

and now they were panicking. One

19:40

of the men climbed up on the

19:42

rail, paused and then plunged, as the

19:44

sun described, into the boiling

19:46

green and white cauldron that separated the

19:49

rolling grinding vessel from the dread rocks.

19:52

The other fellow did likewise for

19:54

a marailing further forwards. The

19:56

crowds watched breathlessly as these two men

19:59

swam desperately. for shore. The

20:01

waters, local Surf Club members said

20:03

gravely, were shark infested. But

20:06

death by drowning or death by

20:08

being dashed against rocks seemed far

20:10

more likely. One

20:12

of the men swam strongly to the shore,

20:15

but the other was soon in trouble and calling out

20:17

for help. Way down by his

20:19

sodden clothes and boots, he was being pushed

20:21

under by the force of the big green

20:23

rollers. Members of Marubra

20:25

Surf Club got down to the rock shelf and

20:27

tried to use a coat as a life rope,

20:30

but the flailing man couldn't grab onto it.

20:33

At great personal risk, Surf lifesaver

20:35

Reg Hardman dived into the boiling

20:37

sea amid a storm of cheers

20:39

from the crowd. Reg

20:42

grabbed the chap and dragged him

20:44

to the rocks, where other lifesavers

20:46

hauled him out and successfully performed

20:48

resuscitation. The

20:50

rescue of the horses was every bit as

20:53

dramatic. The trio of beasts

20:55

was taken to the water-lapped rear deck

20:57

by members of the brave skeleton crew.

21:00

The horses were urged into the sea.

21:02

The Sun told readers, quote, A

21:05

rowing boat took each horse in tow and

21:07

the animals started the long swim to shore.

21:09

Quivering and with nostrils extended, they

21:11

battled on over the long distance.

21:14

One showed signs of exhaustion when only

21:17

halfway, but he struggled on and reached

21:19

the shore, clambering safely to the rock

21:21

ledge. The other horses swam right onto

21:23

the beach. There was

21:26

another round of cheers that all three horses

21:28

had won the most important race. As

21:31

for the other animals aboard Malabar, the

21:33

finches had been set free by their

21:35

owners before they abandoned ship. These

21:37

birds had flown to freedom. But

21:40

the ship's cat? No one knew what

21:42

had become of it. It couldn't be found.

21:45

Everyone hoped it had managed to stow

21:47

away on a boat and then had scampered

21:49

off once ashore. Before

21:52

midday, Burns Filp Company representatives

21:54

came aboard Malabar. They

21:57

declared the ship a total loss. After

22:00

that, the skeleton crew departed, with

22:03

a forlorn Captain Leslie, the last

22:05

to leave his stricken vessel. During

22:09

the afternoon, a stiff south-westerly made

22:11

the sea very choppy, and waves

22:13

broke ever higher over Malabar. When

22:16

the surging sea sucked back out and

22:18

the rock was exposed, it showed that

22:20

fully one-fifth of the ship's shattered hull,

22:22

some 70 feet of steel,

22:24

rested on the reef. Malabar

22:27

now had a list of 45 degrees. By

22:31

three o'clock that afternoon, there were some 200 cars

22:34

parked along the cliffs, and

22:36

the crowd was estimated at 1,000 people. But

22:40

Sydney was just getting started.

22:44

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men had been on the scene from the first,

23:12

and they were relaying updates and pictures to their

23:14

editors. This was that

23:16

rare disaster that could really be enjoyed.

23:19

There'd been no loss of human

23:21

life, or even any serious injuries.

23:24

It wasn't really a tragedy, so

23:26

much as a spectacle that was

23:28

unfolding slowly and conveniently within range

23:30

of the most basic of cameras.

23:33

All of this happening right on the city's

23:35

front doorstep. The

23:37

Sun would lead the newspaper coverage with

23:39

that afternoon's front page headline, Malabar,

23:42

Total Wreck on Reef at Long Bay.

23:46

Over the days to come, there would

23:48

be dozens and dozens of startling newspaper

23:50

photos. Of lifeboats, of

23:52

crew and passengers, of swimming men

23:54

and swimming horses, and of

23:56

the massive crowds and immense piles of debris still

23:59

floating on the beach. stacking up on beaches.

24:02

The most striking images though would be

24:04

of Malabar. This immense vessel you

24:06

could almost reach out and touch from the

24:09

cliffs, even as it fought to

24:11

the last against the power and force of the

24:13

elements. Journalists

24:15

would write tens of thousands of words

24:17

about the shipwreck that would be read

24:19

all around Australia. As

24:21

night fell on Easter Thursday, it

24:23

was believed Malabar would heel over

24:25

further starboard and would capsize. But

24:29

Mother Nature had other ideas. A

24:32

near hurricane force wind blew in and

24:34

righted the ship so that ways could

24:36

pound it to pieces all the better.

24:39

Despite these furious freezing conditions,

24:41

hundreds of onlookers remained huddled

24:44

along the cliffs, starting little

24:46

fires for warmth. The

24:49

Sun reported, Those who saw

24:51

the end of the Malabar will not quickly

24:53

forget the experience. A bitterly

24:55

cold wind howled around the jutting sandstone

24:57

borders on top of the northern head.

25:00

The sea, which had been blue and

25:02

calm during the day, became a seething

25:04

crashing mass. From the

25:06

black fastnesses of the Pacific came

25:08

tremendous white-crested waves, roaring defiance as

25:10

they hurled themselves against the ragged

25:13

facade of yellow rock. Rockets

25:15

of spray rose, glistening, and tumbled

25:17

in a racing mist before the

25:19

wind. Malabar's back

25:22

broke just after midnight. Here's

25:24

the Sun again. The wave which

25:26

carried the final destructive blows struck the liner

25:28

with a mighty roar. When

25:31

the spray cleared away, watches on the cliffs

25:33

saw the vessel break at the bridge. The

25:35

bows remained fast on the rocks, while the

25:37

rest of the ships swung around towards the

25:39

jagged cliffs. Another tremendous

25:41

wave smashed the vessel at the aft

25:44

end of the promenade decks. The stern

25:46

and well-decked portions turned turtle and disappeared.

25:48

A third-pounding wave smashed the Malabar amid

25:50

ships, and the after half, with the

25:53

chequered funnel was swallowed up by the

25:55

boiling sea. Hundreds

25:57

more waves smashed in. But

26:00

through them all, somehow, a small

26:03

Union Jack survived. As

26:05

dawn broke on Good Friday, this flag

26:07

fluttered over the smashed woodwork and twisted

26:09

metal. By

26:11

then, the middle part of the ship had

26:13

broken free and sunk in deep water. The

26:16

aft and forward parts were jammed together.

26:20

Malabar had been cracked open like an early

26:22

Easter egg and was spilling its

26:24

goodies into the ocean. Good

26:27

Friday newspapers, The Sun, The Sydney

26:29

Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph

26:31

flew out of the hands of

26:33

newsboys as radio broadcasts crackled from

26:36

wireless sets all across Sydney. The

26:38

hundreds who'd stood vigil at Long

26:40

Bay overnight were soon joined by

26:43

thousands, and then by tens of

26:45

thousands. For the first

26:47

time in its history, the Roylays to show

26:49

had a major competitor. City

26:53

and suburban private bus proprietors put

26:55

signs in their windows that simply

26:57

read to Shipwreck. They'd

26:59

charge one shilling and six for a

27:01

ride, and these buses were packed. The

27:04

Sun that day reported, quote, "...only

27:07

one road led to the Malabar and

27:09

it was choked with a hurrying stream

27:11

of vehicles and equated sulkies jostling for

27:13

place with limousines while hundreds of other

27:16

spectators poured out of trams and buses.

27:19

When the cars could go no further,

27:21

fathers shouldered their children and helping hands

27:23

were freely offered across the rough stretches."

27:27

Desire to see the spectacle was a great

27:29

leveller, The Sun reported. Society

27:32

folk discussed the disaster with fishermen

27:34

and people in costly furs shivered

27:36

alongside beggars in their rags. Cottage

27:39

industries seemed to spring up in seconds,

27:41

enterprising people setting up stalls to flog

27:43

hot dogs and hot cross buns, cups

27:45

of tea and coffee. One

27:48

sandwich vendor was mobbed, while another

27:50

chap did a roaring trade selling

27:52

cheap telescopes. The

27:54

equivalent of sideshows also entertained

27:56

the crowd, with musicians playing

27:59

their instruments and passing around hats

28:01

for pennies while the snake charmer made the

28:03

most of his large captive audience. By

28:06

the end of the day, the Sun would report

28:08

more than 100,000 people had visited Long Bay. The

28:13

Sydney Morning Herald would put the figure at 150,000. What

28:18

was the real figure? Who cared?

28:20

The big question was, who owned

28:22

the spoils now washing up on the

28:24

shores? It wasn't like water-damaged

28:27

goods could be retrieved and resold.

28:29

The Sun helpfully told readers it was fined

28:32

as keepers. Yet there

28:34

were important exceptions. These

28:36

were higher value items that might attract

28:39

duty. In particular, kegs of

28:41

beer and rum and bottles of

28:43

wine and spirits. The police

28:45

were under orders from the customs

28:48

department, it seemed, though no one

28:50

was exactly sure to destroy or

28:52

confiscate such items. As

28:55

for the more general stuff being

28:57

scavenged, the Sun sounded a positively

29:00

socialistic note. Quote, The wreck

29:02

of the Malabar will bring joy

29:04

to many a poor home tonight.

29:06

Individual search soon gave place to

29:08

collective efforts, and little groups working

29:11

together had soon amassed large heaps

29:13

of tin provisions. Lactogen, butter, German

29:15

biscuits. Long Bay homes should not

29:17

want for firewood too for many

29:19

weeks. Fittings of all kinds were

29:22

also salvaged with clothes, pieces of

29:24

furniture and tablecloths. It

29:28

wasn't only Long Bay that was getting

29:30

Malabar's flotsam. Currents

29:32

quickly took the debris north

29:34

to Cudgy, Bondi, in

29:36

through the Sydney Heads to Harbour Beaches

29:38

and north to Manly and DY. A

29:41

Malabar butcher's block would also be found

29:43

as far north as Newcastle. All

29:46

along the coastline, thousands of people patrolled

29:48

the beaches or took to the water

29:50

in canoes and small craft. If

29:53

it looked like a boat or had any sort

29:55

of buoyancy, people would beg, borrow and steal so

29:58

they could get in on the boat. the fun.

30:01

No one wanted to miss out. A

30:03

Sydney Morning Herald writer said that this

30:05

was the strangest flotilla Sydney had ever

30:07

seen. Tins of

30:10

food, butter, biscuits, spaghetti, beans

30:12

bobbed in hundreds of crates.

30:14

These were scooped up. Individual

30:17

tins that had come free of

30:19

crates and sunk were rescued from

30:21

the sea floor by enterprising salvages

30:23

using magnets on dredge lines. Boats

30:26

returned to shore packed to the gunwales with

30:28

sea treasure. Cars and

30:31

lorries, prams, barrows and billy carts,

30:33

basically anything that had wheels, were

30:35

used to take away the catch

30:37

to homes and businesses. At

30:40

Manly, 850 pound

30:42

bags of flour, along with hundreds of

30:44

cases of tins, butter and dripping, and

30:46

tins of lactogen and condensed milk washed

30:48

up on the shore. A

30:50

small army descended and they got to work.

30:53

One beachcomber was said to have sold

30:56

240 pounds of butter for a handsome

30:58

six pounds. Across the

31:00

harbour, at Watson's Bay, the waters and

31:02

sand were turned white by burst bags

31:05

of flour. There it

31:07

was reported that the average household ended

31:09

up with four pounds of butter. One

31:12

bloke scored a ton. Others

31:14

were said to have done even better. While

31:17

all of these free foodstuffs were certainly

31:19

welcome and made for great newspaper reading,

31:21

it was reports of civilians and cops

31:24

battling it out over beer that provided

31:26

the most colour and comedy. In

31:29

its report on the scene at Long Bay

31:31

on Good Friday, the Sydney Morning Herald had

31:33

noted, quote, early in the

31:36

day interest became focused on round wooden

31:38

objects that bobbed about in friendly fashion

31:40

in the waves. They seemed to beckon

31:42

to be rescued and lifesavers were not

31:45

lacking. All of Sydney's

31:47

newspapers carried stories about what happened when

31:49

men tried to get their hands on

31:51

this boozy bounty of the sea. The

31:54

Sun reported, quote, comedy mingled

31:56

with the tragedy of the Malabar's end when a

31:58

barrel of beer was seen to be dripping. drifting

32:00

ashore, and an enterprising party marked

32:02

it out as a special prize.

32:05

Growns arose as the barrel was knocked against

32:07

the rocks, but it was safely hauled out

32:09

and hidden away under guard. Then

32:11

along came a callous policeman, who

32:14

heartlessly stoved in the bottom of

32:16

the barrel. Men bared their

32:18

heads as the amber fluid slowly trickled back

32:20

to the sea whence it had come. But

32:23

not every beer retrieval ended on such a

32:25

sad and sour note. The

32:28

Sydney Morning Herald told readers that a

32:30

large keg of Victorian beer had become

32:32

stuck in a cliff cleft, and locals

32:34

had carefully noted its position and set

32:36

about planning the rescue. A

32:38

dozen men and boys were on the

32:40

job, but when they clambered down, one

32:42

of their number was washed into the

32:44

surging sea and nearly drowned. But

32:47

he survived, unscathed but dazed, and

32:49

rejoined his mates. Nothing

32:52

was going to stop him. He and

32:54

his friends got the keg up the rock face in

32:56

a sling made from a stout bag. The

32:58

Sydney Morning Herald. It took six

33:00

men to lift the precious burden, which by

33:02

slow stages was carried up the headland. A

33:05

large crowd followed it. Near the

33:07

top, a halt was called. Someone produced

33:09

a large piece of wood. The cork was

33:11

struck, a hefty blow, and a cascade of

33:13

beer rose in the air and fell on

33:15

the crowd. A two-ounce

33:17

panican was produced and handed around.

33:21

After everyone there had had a slurp,

33:23

the core beer scavengers hustled their prize

33:25

off to a shed and locked themselves

33:27

in. Then a policeman

33:29

turned up. A cry went up

33:31

as the onlookers scattered. The copper

33:34

entered the shed. Clearly, this

33:36

officer was a good sport. Or

33:38

open to a little bribe. The

33:41

Sydney Morning Herald. He remained

33:43

in the shed a couple of minutes,

33:45

then discreetly walked away and out of

33:47

sight. The crowd, like bees round a

33:49

honeypot, gathered again. The jillies appeared

33:51

magically, were passed through a window, and

33:53

came out full and frothing. The

33:56

Herald was similarly admiring. Quote,

33:59

There was a delightful lack of formality in

34:01

the disposal of this keg and an

34:03

utter absence of selfishness. The

34:06

Sydney Illustrated News ran a photo of

34:08

a couple of skinny surf lifesavers in

34:10

bathing togs urgently rolling a beer keg

34:12

along a slick stretch of Bondi sand

34:14

amid onlookers. But they hadn't been fast

34:17

enough, the caption noting that soon after

34:19

the picture was taken, the police intervened

34:21

and smashed open the barrel. A

34:24

Daily Telegraph story was headlined, Sea Gave

34:26

Up Its Pearls. Quote, The

34:29

fishing was particularly good yesterday at

34:31

Ben Bucklar. The day's haul included

34:33

several barrels of beer ex Malabar.

34:36

Men risked their lives for it.

34:38

The report said fellows had dived

34:40

into mountainous seas. One

34:43

bloke, quote, gladly sacrificed 10 inches

34:45

of flesh from risk of funny

34:47

bone to clasp the treasure. On

34:50

a precipitous ledge, the Daily Telegraph

34:52

continued, a rescued barrel was, opened

34:55

with great ceremony and as from

34:57

the air, someone spirited an ordinary

35:00

kitchen jug. The

35:02

article reckoned that 30 gallons were

35:04

sculled quick smart. It

35:06

said that half a dozen fellows had

35:09

done this guzzling, which seems a

35:11

little hard to credit, even in the days

35:13

of the six o'clock swill. One

35:15

of these sousled celebrants, staggered into

35:17

the sea, disappeared under a huge

35:19

breaker, was feared to be lost

35:21

before he stumbled back out and

35:23

up the beach. No worse for

35:25

wear and seemingly oblivious that he'd

35:27

nearly drowned for the drink. Three

35:30

other barrels, the Daily Telegraph said, were grabbed

35:33

by the long arm of the law when

35:35

they came ashore. While another

35:37

keg was at the time of deadline,

35:39

quote, hanging temptingly on the fringe of

35:41

the breaking surf, a dozen men were

35:44

ready, eye and waiting. Additionally,

35:46

the Daily Telegraph reported, over at Tamarama,

35:48

10 blokes had attacked a 25 gallon

35:50

keg of beer that had washed up.

35:53

These coves had got a few solid hours

35:55

drinking in before the fun police turned up

35:57

to break up their party. Further

36:00

north, at DY, so many barrels came

36:02

ashore that surf lifesavers buried them in

36:04

the sand, the idea being they'd come

36:07

back and retrieve them when the heat

36:09

had died down. The

36:11

surf lifesavers were smart enough to keep

36:13

their stash a secret. Problem

36:16

was, DY was that night

36:18

lashed by a storm that shifted tons

36:20

and tons of sand. The next

36:22

morning, the poor lifesavers dug and dug

36:24

but couldn't find their kegs. While

36:28

all of this beer chasing was going

36:30

on, Malabar kept on keeping on as

36:32

an attraction. On

36:35

Saturday 4th April, the Daily Telegraph's

36:37

lengthy update began, quote, Like

36:40

a gallant world champion being batted into

36:42

submission by the flailing gloves of an

36:44

inexorable opponent yet refusing to admit defeat,

36:47

the wreck of the line of Malabar

36:49

at Long Bay late last night

36:51

was still defiant of the shattering,

36:53

pounding seas. Crowd surged

36:55

in and stayed all day until dark

36:57

when there was a rush for cars,

36:59

buses and trams. The result

37:02

was the biggest traffic jam in Sydney's

37:04

history. When

37:06

this human tide had receded, it left

37:08

behind a young mystery man. He

37:11

was English. You could tell that by

37:13

his accent. But that was all

37:15

you could tell, because he couldn't tell you

37:17

anything himself. Not who he was.

37:19

Not where he was from. Not how

37:22

he'd come to be wandering around

37:24

without any memory. This amnesiac

37:26

was taken to the Coast Hospital and

37:29

his description was given to the newspapers

37:31

in the hope that someone would be

37:33

able to identify him. There was more

37:35

human drama than next day, Easter Sunday,

37:38

when that snake charmer was bitten by

37:40

one of his pet performers. The

37:43

reptile fancier applied his own

37:45

antidote before he lapsed into

37:47

a coma. Ambulance

37:49

officers whisked him to the Coast Hospital.

37:51

He came good and he'd be back to snake

37:54

charming on Monday. Every

37:56

bit as unstoppable as that herpetologist was

37:58

the Union Jack Flag. that

38:00

still flooded over Malabar, even though

38:02

waves measuring 50 feet high were

38:05

reportedly regularly breaking over it and

38:08

over the wreck. The

38:12

seas at Long Bay settled on Monday.

38:15

By now the Sun reckoned 300,000 people had

38:18

come to see Malabar at Long Bay. Not

38:21

to be outdone, the Daily Telegraph put the

38:24

crowd at 500,000. If

38:27

that was right then close to half

38:29

of Sydney's population had turned out. While

38:32

Malabar was still visible the Sun said

38:35

that quote, barely a stick remains of

38:37

the debris that had littered the coast

38:39

for miles. Everything that could

38:41

be eaten, drunk, burned, wrapped

38:43

around you, used to repair a chicken

38:45

coop or a shed had been spirited

38:48

away. Yet there

38:50

might still be things of worth on

38:52

the Malabar itself. Not

38:54

that it would be worth very much. The

38:56

ship, which had been valued at 220,000 pounds, was sold

38:58

for 140 pounds to the Penguin

39:04

Salvage Company. Whatever cargo

39:06

or luggage might remain in holds or cabins

39:08

was sold for the princely sum of 41

39:11

pounds to a Mr. C.H. Sutton.

39:14

Now these goods were officially the

39:16

property of new owners scavenging on

39:18

the wreck or on the shores,

39:20

constituted theft and was punishable by

39:22

law. But this threat didn't stop a

39:25

25 year old chap named

39:27

Henry Charles Primer coming from Waterloo on

39:29

the 10th of April to see if

39:31

he could grab a souvenir from Malabar.

39:34

Henry left a tunic, trousers, bottle of

39:37

tea and bag of sandwiches on the

39:39

rocks near the blowhole. When

39:41

he was never seen again his

39:43

identity was established from these items

39:45

by his wife and his brother.

39:47

The salvage of Malabar was briefly

39:50

by the fruitless search for Henry's

39:52

remains. Poor Henry, presumably

39:55

drowned or eaten by a shark,

39:57

was never found. He was the only

39:59

one who was in the only direct fatality of

40:01

the Malabar disaster. When

40:04

the salvage resumed, the prize item

40:06

rescued via Flying Fox was that

40:08

Union Jack flag. Its

40:11

retrieval was cheered by a crowd of 3,000 people.

40:15

Also recovered around this time, the

40:17

identity of that Amnesiac fellow. He'd

40:21

been transferred to the Darlinghurst reception house,

40:23

which was where Sidney's mentally ill were

40:25

assessed. There he

40:27

was visited by people who ran a Sidney

40:30

boarding house. One of their lodges

40:32

hadn't come back from his day out on Saturday

40:34

4th April, and he fit

40:36

the description in the newspapers. When

40:39

the boarding housekeepers spied the man, they

40:41

knew exactly who he was. Albert

40:43

Blushington, an English tourist who'd come to

40:46

Sidney from New Zealand in the middle

40:48

of March. That was

40:50

all well and good, but Albert didn't recognise

40:52

them at all, nor did he remember himself.

40:56

Not until the boarding housekeepers told him

40:58

that he'd played dominoes at their place.

41:01

At the mention of that word,

41:03

dominoes, all of Albert's memories came

41:05

flooding back. On Saturday

41:07

4th April he said he'd gone out to

41:09

have a look at Malabar. On

41:11

the way, he'd accepted a lift from three men

41:13

in a car. These fellows had

41:15

looked respectable. Until that was,

41:18

they conked him over the head and stole his

41:20

money. Oddly, Albert

41:22

Blushington, who also described himself as

41:24

having suffered serious war trauma, did

41:26

not want the police to be

41:28

involved in this alleged crime. So

41:32

that left just one final case connected

41:34

with Malabar, the one

41:36

against Captain George William Leslie, who

41:39

was charged with negligence that had caused the

41:41

disaster in the first place. The

41:44

Court of Marine Inquiry heard the case against him

41:46

on the 15th April. Malabar's

41:49

chief officer testified that at 6.45 in

41:51

the morning of Thursday 2nd April, he'd

41:54

handed over control to Captain Leslie. Malabar

41:57

had then been off Cape Banks. northern

42:00

entrance to Botany Bay. And

42:03

the weather had been clear. Ahead

42:05

lay Miranda Point, the northern point

42:07

of Long Bay. The

42:10

chief officer said he hadn't brought this to

42:12

Captain Leslie's attention because he assumed the master

42:14

could see it as plainly as he could.

42:17

Miranda Point was a mile and a

42:19

half distant. The chief officer said that

42:22

the course then being steered should have

42:24

taken Malabar half a mile off Miranda

42:26

Point. He said, the

42:29

master will leave me to allow me to go down and

42:31

have a shave and clean up. Five

42:33

minutes later I heard the master give

42:35

the order, port five degrees. A

42:37

long blast of the whistle followed and about two

42:40

minutes after I heard the vessel grounding. I went

42:42

straight up to the bridge and the captain told

42:44

me to get the boat swung out. Just

42:47

after the chief officer had left the bridge

42:49

a fog had rolled in. The

42:52

quartermaster who had the wheel said that

42:54

Captain Leslie had given three orders. At

42:57

650 he'd said, starboard five

42:59

degrees, steady north five degrees

43:02

east. Two

43:04

minutes later the captain had said,

43:06

starboard five degrees, steady north. Then

43:09

at 654 he'd said port

43:11

five degrees. The

43:13

quartermaster had been in the action

43:16

of turning the wheel to carry

43:18

out this order when Malabar had

43:20

run aground. Another quartermaster corroborated

43:22

this account. An

43:24

engine room officer testified that Malabar

43:26

had been going close to full

43:28

speed, a little over 13 knots.

43:31

Captain Leslie denied giving conflicting

43:33

orders. He said that he'd

43:36

never ordered the quartermaster to turn to

43:38

port. The man had done it by

43:40

mistake instead of turning to starboard.

43:43

Captain Leslie's legal defender played the

43:45

race card by claiming that the

43:47

quartermaster who was Malaysian was maliciously

43:50

lying and was being corroborated out

43:52

of loyalty by his countrymen. The

43:55

court did not believe this. Captain

43:58

George William Leslie found to

44:00

have been negligent. The court found

44:02

he should have steered well clear far

44:04

earlier, and that he should have

44:07

slowed right down as soon as fog began

44:09

to limit visibility. Captain

44:11

Leslie had served as a master mariner

44:13

for nearly 50 years, but

44:16

his career ended with his license

44:18

being cancelled. Yet if you'd

44:20

asked a lot of people in New South Wales,

44:22

they might have said that Captain Leslie was a

44:24

bit of a hero. His folly

44:26

had put food in their bellies and

44:29

beer into their mugs. Captain

44:31

Leslie was even more of a hero

44:33

to a select few, those

44:35

being residents of Long Bay. While

44:39

the village was officially known as brand,

44:41

they hated that it was colloquially known

44:43

as Long Bay, just like the jail.

44:46

Try telling someone you live at Long Bay

44:49

and see how long it is before they make a joke.

44:52

Malabar had put them on the map for

44:54

a very different reason, and now

44:56

they wanted Malabar put on the map. In

44:59

September 1933, the

45:01

residents of Brand, aka Long Bay,

45:03

successfully petitioned the New South Wales

45:06

government for the name of their

45:08

suburb to be changed. Malabar

45:11

existing under that name is Captain

45:13

Leslie's legacy. The

45:17

last recorded flotsam from Malabar was

45:19

found a decade after that name

45:21

change. In December

45:23

1943, a party of soldiers was

45:25

driving a lorry load of sand

45:28

from DY Beach when their wheels

45:30

got stuck. Digging at this

45:32

obstruction, they uncovered a 36 gallon keg

45:35

of beer from Malabar. This

45:37

was wartime. War was thirsty

45:39

work, the soldiers were brave,

45:42

and, well, beer was beer.

45:44

So how was that brew after 12 long

45:47

years in the sand? The

45:49

Sunday Guardian quoted one soldier as saying,

45:52

it had a beautiful head on it. Closing

45:55

in on a century since Sydney's

45:57

happiest disaster, Malabar still provides spectacular

45:59

work. to scuba divers. As

46:02

for the debris and flotsam that reach

46:04

shore, it's a good bet that bits

46:06

of the ship and its cargo can

46:08

still be found in Sydney sheds, gardens

46:10

and on mantelpieces. No

46:12

doubt there are scenes of the

46:15

Malabar's destruction in many photo albums

46:17

because thousands of individuals took their

46:19

cameras out to Long Bay during

46:21

Easter of 1931. Who

46:24

knows, there might even be

46:26

a keg of beer still buried

46:28

under the sand somewhere. I'm Michael

46:30

Adams and you've been listening to Forgotten

46:32

Australia. I'm working on

46:35

new episodes but I'll be re-releasing an

46:37

archived episode to keep you going through

46:39

the next few weeks. All the

46:41

very best for the new year and as

46:43

always thanks for listening and thanks for supporting.

46:52

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