MEN of the MERCHANT NAVY
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Honouring the Men who gave their lives whilst serving in the Merchant Navy
and whose names are on the Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll

S.S. SIBIGO (Netherlands)
WW2

Picture

Advocate (Burnie, Tasmania)  12-4-1945
One of Worst Cyclones Ever Known in Australian Waters

MELBOURNE, Wednesday. - After terrible experiences in one of the worst cyclones ever known in Australian waters, three naval ratings, the only Victorian survivors of the Merchant ship Sibigo, which sank off the Queensland coast on March 16, arrived here to-day. They were A. C. Thomas of East Kew; H. D. Robertson, of East Brunswick; and W. J. Stanfield, of Hampton. For several days before the cyclone, they said, the stormy weather tossed the 1600-tonner about like a cork. When the cyclone reached its height, some of the crew were swept overboard and not seen again. Water poured into every hold, and the rain was blinding. On the order ''Abandon Ship," Robertson and Stanfield managed to get into a lifeboat and Thomas was about to step in when a native seaman cut the ropes at one end. All were thrown into the water as the lifeboat, suspended by the ropes at one end was smashed against the side 0f the stricken vessel. In the fury of the gale, Robertson and Stanfield were washed back on to the deck of the sinking ship. Two of the four rafts had been washed away, but the crew managed to get one into the water.
DRIFTED TO SEA.
With 10 of the crew on this 10ft. by 8ft. hope of life, they drifted out to a sea that became even more furious. The master and one of the mates were unable to make the raft and went down with the ship.
Five times that night the raft turned over, but all but a native seaman managed to cling on. The seas abated next day and transport planes passed overhead, but efforts to signal them were in vain. Then followed five terrible days of heart-breaking drifting. The small ration had been preserved, and they lived on 1 oz. of chocolate, 1 oz. of bully beef and 1 oz. of condensed milk to each man daily. There was no water on the raft, and no rain had fallen since a few hours after the ship went down.
SPOTTED BY PLANE.
On the fifth day an R.A.A.F. searching plane spotted them, circled round and dropped rations. These fell into the sea, and one man who dived in to retrieve them could not make the raft again, and was lost. The loss included signal lights and a walkie-talkie wireless set. The plane circled round for some time and then flew away, its crew apparently thinking that the supplies had reached the raft safely. Another plane was heard overhead after dark, but there were no lights to signal the raft's position. Next morning the eight men remaining were picked up by a searching ship which had been guided to the area by the R.A.A.F. The raft had drifted more than 250 miles in six days.


J H KOEJEMANS
Merchant Navy
Died 16-3-1945, Coral Sea, Pacific Islands - presumed Cyclone
Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll


J W KOSTER
Merchant Navy

Died 16-3-1945, Coral Sea, Pacific Islands - presumed Cyclone
Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll


L S MADARASZ
Merchant Navy

Died 16-3-1945, Coral Sea, Pacific Islands - presumed Cyclone
Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll


G.W. Van HAAFTEN
Merchant Navy
Died 16-3-1945, Coral Sea, Pacific Islands - presumed Cyclone
Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll


P.W.M. Van HARTROP
Merchant Navy
Died 16-3-1945, Coral Sea, Pacific Islands - presumed Cyclone
Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll


J M WILIEMSEN

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