The Loss of the S.S. Waratah.

When P&O acquired the Blue Anchor Line it was still reeling from one of most tragic and mysterious of maritime disasters - the loss of the Waratah in 1909.

En route from Australia to the UK, the Waratah left Durban on 26th July 1909 bound first for Cape Town and then the long home stretch to Plymouth and London.

On the morning of the 27th, she passed the Clan MacIntyre off Cape Hermes.  Waratah remained in the sights of the Clan MacIntyre for a couple of hours before disappearing from view.  The Waratah and her 92 passengers and crew of 119 were never seen again.

In the absence of wireless telegraphy there was no distress call.  Reports of storms and mountainous seas gradually arrived with ships rounding the Cape and all hopes of recovery faded slowly.

The precise fate of the Waratah is still debated today.