Honouring the Men who gave their lives whilst serving in the Merchant Navy
and whose names are on the Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll
and whose names are on the Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll
S.S. MILLIMUMUL
WW2
WW2
MINE SINKS TRAWLER
Captain, Six of Crew Lost
SYDNEY, Friday.-The captain and six of the crew of 12 on the trawler Millmumul, 287 tons, were lost when the vessel was sunk by a mine off the New South Wales coast.
The five survivors were picked up by the collier Mortlake Bank, off Newcastle, and were landed in Sydney this morning. The Minister for the Navy (Mr.Hughes) said to-night that Naval authorities considered that the mine which caused the disaster was one of the field laid some months ago.
The missing men are:- George Rixon, master, of Sefton Park - F. J. Gibson, first mate, of Paddington - O. Osterburg, deckhand, of Chippendale - R. Regan, chief engineer, of Miller's Point - J. Dempsey, second engineer, of Enfield - Harold Hordern. wireless operator, of Darlinghurst - G White, cook, of Balmain.
The survivors are W. Low second mate - W. Grundy, fireman - G. Ogilvie, fireman - P. Kelly, fireman - W. Hamilton, fireman -
Mr. Hughes said that the tragedy occurred in the neighbourhood of where a coastal vessel was sunk by a mine some time ago. After the explosion and sinking of their ship the five survivors righted a lifeboat which had been over turned. They waited among the wreckage until daybreak, hoping that there would be other survivors. When dawn brought no trace of their missing colleagues, they allowed their lifeboat to drift with a strong northerly wind towards Newcastle until they were picked up the Mortlake Bank.
Fouled in Trawl
The survivors revealed that the mine became fouled in their trawl. As they were hauling in their trawl the mine struck the ship and a terrific explosion occurred. Mr. Hughes said that it was believed that the mine was one that escaped the attentions of the minesweepers that had been operating continuously along shipping lanes. That, he considered, was either because its sinker had fallen into a depression in the sea bed, or because it had become waterlogged and clung to the bottom. He believed that the trawl had dragged the mine a long way below sea level. He emphasised that rapid progress was being made in the further development of anti-mine devices for ships, and in minesweeping works to deal with the mine menace in Australian waters. He explained that there was no information of any submarine in Australian waters.
A flickering light led the Mortlake Bank to the survivors.
Tweed Daily (Murwillumbah, N.S.W.) 31-3-1941
TRAWLER SURVIVORS TELL GRIM STORIES
Had Day and Night at Sea
SYDNEY, Sunday:--
Survivors of the trawler, Millimumul, which was sunk by a mine off the New South Wales coast told a grim story of the struggle to free themselves from the wreckage as the vessel sank beneath them. They had spent a night and a day in the lifeboat before being picked up by the collier, Mortlake Bank.
The second officer, John Lowe,said that about noon on Thursday a plane flew over the five survivors in the lifeboat, but did not see them.
Thomas William Grundy, a deckhand, said he was standing near the foregallows at the time of the explosion. "I was watching the foredoor, a board used to keep the net extended, when I noticed a strange cable caught round it. "At this stage, he said, the winches were drawing the net closer to the sides of the ship and shortly afterwards I saw a mine which had been dragged to the surface. "Chief Mate, Mr. Gibson, who had also seen the mine shouted to Capt. Rixon, who was on the bridge, 'There is a mine.' Immediately the captain ran astern, jumped from the bridge and ran aft with the Second Mate Lowe, O'sterburg and Kelly.
DEAFENING DETONATION
"Expecting an explosion, Lowe,Osterburg and I crossed the galley. A few minutes later came a deafening detonation. The ship shivered violently. She had been hit about 40 ft. from the bows. Showers of red hot shrapnel were falling on the deck as the ship rocked. As she began to settle, the Millimumul lurched suddenly and I was thrown into the sea." Low said that when the explosion occurred he rushed to Capt. Rixom and the two of them tried to launch the raft. As they were setting it over the side of the ship, the sea dash ed it back on the deck and up with it.
CLUNG TO RAFT
"It jammed us up against the casing near the wheelhouse and at that instance the Millimumul sank taking us with it. While we were under the water I was still clinging to the raft and suddenly I felt it loosen.
It rose to the surface dragging me with it, but Rixom remained jammed by the wheel house. "When I got on the raft, I yelled at the top of my voice to find if there was anyone about. I heard a few calls from the darkness and passed close to Ogilvie, who climbed aboard. Then Tommie Grundy called out. When we got close to him we found he was lying on the bottom of an upturned lift-boat.
Continuing, Low said: "We grabbed the lifeboat and dragged it along with us. Then we picked up Kelly, a fireman. who was swimming about and put him on the lifeboat because there was no more room there.
A little later Grundy and I got out of our- raft- and with the other two turned the boat right-side up. The four of us got into the boat and made the raft fast with a painter.
Then we heard a call from William Hamilton, another firemen. The boat was rowed about until we picked him up. He was in the cook's meatbox.
"NO SIGN OF MATES"
"By this time all the five of us were in the boat-. We waited until daylight to see if we could pick up any of the others. When the sun arose we found we were surrounded by wreckage but there was no sign of our mates. We therefore bailed out and set sail for land. All day we used the sail when there was any wind and the oars when there was a lull. At night we set a jersey on fire when we saw a collier to attract attention. I learned afterwards that the collier Mortlake Bank did not see the blaze but it attracted the attention of a shore station which signalled to the vessel to look for us. It picked us up at 11 p.m.
NO FOOD FOR 18 HOURS
Kelly, Hamilton and Grundy all had lost their pants and the night was very cold. We had no food for 18 hours. We were brought into Sydney harbor at 6.30 a.m. and taken to Sydney Hospital. There it was found that Ogilvie had a bad arm and Hamilton a cauliflower ear and an injured left arm. The rest of us were all right and after we had been kept a little while to calm our nerves we were allowed to go home.
Captain, Six of Crew Lost
SYDNEY, Friday.-The captain and six of the crew of 12 on the trawler Millmumul, 287 tons, were lost when the vessel was sunk by a mine off the New South Wales coast.
The five survivors were picked up by the collier Mortlake Bank, off Newcastle, and were landed in Sydney this morning. The Minister for the Navy (Mr.Hughes) said to-night that Naval authorities considered that the mine which caused the disaster was one of the field laid some months ago.
The missing men are:- George Rixon, master, of Sefton Park - F. J. Gibson, first mate, of Paddington - O. Osterburg, deckhand, of Chippendale - R. Regan, chief engineer, of Miller's Point - J. Dempsey, second engineer, of Enfield - Harold Hordern. wireless operator, of Darlinghurst - G White, cook, of Balmain.
The survivors are W. Low second mate - W. Grundy, fireman - G. Ogilvie, fireman - P. Kelly, fireman - W. Hamilton, fireman -
Mr. Hughes said that the tragedy occurred in the neighbourhood of where a coastal vessel was sunk by a mine some time ago. After the explosion and sinking of their ship the five survivors righted a lifeboat which had been over turned. They waited among the wreckage until daybreak, hoping that there would be other survivors. When dawn brought no trace of their missing colleagues, they allowed their lifeboat to drift with a strong northerly wind towards Newcastle until they were picked up the Mortlake Bank.
Fouled in Trawl
The survivors revealed that the mine became fouled in their trawl. As they were hauling in their trawl the mine struck the ship and a terrific explosion occurred. Mr. Hughes said that it was believed that the mine was one that escaped the attentions of the minesweepers that had been operating continuously along shipping lanes. That, he considered, was either because its sinker had fallen into a depression in the sea bed, or because it had become waterlogged and clung to the bottom. He believed that the trawl had dragged the mine a long way below sea level. He emphasised that rapid progress was being made in the further development of anti-mine devices for ships, and in minesweeping works to deal with the mine menace in Australian waters. He explained that there was no information of any submarine in Australian waters.
A flickering light led the Mortlake Bank to the survivors.
Tweed Daily (Murwillumbah, N.S.W.) 31-3-1941
TRAWLER SURVIVORS TELL GRIM STORIES
Had Day and Night at Sea
SYDNEY, Sunday:--
Survivors of the trawler, Millimumul, which was sunk by a mine off the New South Wales coast told a grim story of the struggle to free themselves from the wreckage as the vessel sank beneath them. They had spent a night and a day in the lifeboat before being picked up by the collier, Mortlake Bank.
The second officer, John Lowe,said that about noon on Thursday a plane flew over the five survivors in the lifeboat, but did not see them.
Thomas William Grundy, a deckhand, said he was standing near the foregallows at the time of the explosion. "I was watching the foredoor, a board used to keep the net extended, when I noticed a strange cable caught round it. "At this stage, he said, the winches were drawing the net closer to the sides of the ship and shortly afterwards I saw a mine which had been dragged to the surface. "Chief Mate, Mr. Gibson, who had also seen the mine shouted to Capt. Rixon, who was on the bridge, 'There is a mine.' Immediately the captain ran astern, jumped from the bridge and ran aft with the Second Mate Lowe, O'sterburg and Kelly.
DEAFENING DETONATION
"Expecting an explosion, Lowe,Osterburg and I crossed the galley. A few minutes later came a deafening detonation. The ship shivered violently. She had been hit about 40 ft. from the bows. Showers of red hot shrapnel were falling on the deck as the ship rocked. As she began to settle, the Millimumul lurched suddenly and I was thrown into the sea." Low said that when the explosion occurred he rushed to Capt. Rixom and the two of them tried to launch the raft. As they were setting it over the side of the ship, the sea dash ed it back on the deck and up with it.
CLUNG TO RAFT
"It jammed us up against the casing near the wheelhouse and at that instance the Millimumul sank taking us with it. While we were under the water I was still clinging to the raft and suddenly I felt it loosen.
It rose to the surface dragging me with it, but Rixom remained jammed by the wheel house. "When I got on the raft, I yelled at the top of my voice to find if there was anyone about. I heard a few calls from the darkness and passed close to Ogilvie, who climbed aboard. Then Tommie Grundy called out. When we got close to him we found he was lying on the bottom of an upturned lift-boat.
Continuing, Low said: "We grabbed the lifeboat and dragged it along with us. Then we picked up Kelly, a fireman. who was swimming about and put him on the lifeboat because there was no more room there.
A little later Grundy and I got out of our- raft- and with the other two turned the boat right-side up. The four of us got into the boat and made the raft fast with a painter.
Then we heard a call from William Hamilton, another firemen. The boat was rowed about until we picked him up. He was in the cook's meatbox.
"NO SIGN OF MATES"
"By this time all the five of us were in the boat-. We waited until daylight to see if we could pick up any of the others. When the sun arose we found we were surrounded by wreckage but there was no sign of our mates. We therefore bailed out and set sail for land. All day we used the sail when there was any wind and the oars when there was a lull. At night we set a jersey on fire when we saw a collier to attract attention. I learned afterwards that the collier Mortlake Bank did not see the blaze but it attracted the attention of a shore station which signalled to the vessel to look for us. It picked us up at 11 p.m.
NO FOOD FOR 18 HOURS
Kelly, Hamilton and Grundy all had lost their pants and the night was very cold. We had no food for 18 hours. We were brought into Sydney harbor at 6.30 a.m. and taken to Sydney Hospital. There it was found that Ogilvie had a bad arm and Hamilton a cauliflower ear and an injured left arm. The rest of us were all right and after we had been kept a little while to calm our nerves we were allowed to go home.
2nd Engineer Officer James Joseph DEMPSEY
Born: Belfast, Ireland Australian Merchant Navy Died at Sea 26-3-1941, aged 45years Son of John Joseph and Sarah Dempsey Husband of Violet Lillian Dempsey, of Enfield, New South Wales. Honoured: Sydney Memorial, Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales - Panel 8 Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll |
Chief Officer Frederick James GIBSON
Born: Ramsgate, Kent, England Australian Merchant Navy Died at Sea (Newcastel) 26-3-1941 aged 54years Husband of Emily Gibson, of Paddington, New South Wales. Honoured: Sydney Memorial, Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales - Panel 8 Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll |
Chief Engineer Robert REGAN
Born: Island Magee, County Antrim, Ireland Australian Merchant Navy Died at Sea 26-3-1941, aged 52years Honoured: Sydney Memorial, Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales - Panel 8 Son of James and Mary Jane Regan Husband of Catherine Regan, of Millers Point, New South Wales. Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll |
Master George William Clewlow RIXOM
Born: Higher Bebington, England Australian Merchant Navy Died at Sea 26-3-1941, aged 43years Son of John and Rebecca Rixom Husband of Florrie Rixom, of Sefton Park, New South Wales. Honoured: Sydney Memorial, Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales - Panel 8 Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll |
Cook Gordon Henry WHITE
Born: Sunderland, England also known as Wittie Australian Merchant Navy Died at Sea 26-3-1941, aged 54years Son of John and Ann White Husband of Alice Jane White, of Hobart, Tasmania. Honoured: Sydney Memorial, Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales - Panel 9 Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll |