Steamship
"Ballina"
- Information from the Felsch family
history:
"Fredrick Felsch was a river boat skipper and when he was stationed at
Ballina that the boat called "Ballina" sank. The boat was tied to the wharf
when two men were trapped and drowned. No person knew that they were there
until a man came along and said his brother and mate were going to sleep on
board.
Fred was a good swimmer and he broke one of the cabin windows and dived down
and after a while found the two bodies, they were both from Swan Bay.
Also on board was Percy Legge and his wife and two children, they were
sleeping on the top cabin. In later years Percy Legge was drowned in the
surf at Evans Head.
Clyde Felsch who was the skipper of the boat was sleeping on a table in the
bottom cabin and when the boat lurched over he rolled off the table and
jumped out and helped the people off the top deck to safety, not knowing
that anyone else was aboard."
- Information in the Lismore "Northern Star" Newspaper on Saturday the 28th
December 1918:
"Death came in an extraordinary manner to two men, and other persons had
narrow escapes, with the foundering of the steamer "Ballina". Moored to the
Ballina wharf in the early hours of yesterday morning, the victims of the
disaster were James Butler, contractor, of Woodburn and Arthur Thurgood of
Coraki. Being holiday time, accommodation was most difficult, and it is
averred impossible to secure at the popular seaside resort and some people, it
appears, went on board without authority to sleep. The men, it was said, of
these. There were also on the vessel the engineer Percy Legge, his wife and
three children and deckhand named Felsh. About 3:30AM the catastrophe occurred
and in what manner it came about is a mystery. The "Ballina" arrived at the
owners wharf at 11:30 AM in the morning and remained there all day, being
viewed by a great number of people on holidays. At 10:30 or 11:30 at night the
boat appeared to be all right - there was nothing whatever to cause the
slightest apprehension. But there to all human intent and purposes, safely
moored to the jetty by the broad expanse of the Richmond river - something -
the unexplained, so far undiscovered something - went amiss, and in the early
moonlight hours, peaceful sleepers were rudely awaken to find a watery grave
threatening them, and alas for two, a darkness of the water to encompass them
forever. The "Ballina" was a vessel well known for many years to all
acquainted with the river trade and was one of the fleet of Davis Brothers and
Burgess Ltd."
"James Butler was, as stated, a contractor and at one time had a mill in the
vicinity of Woodburn. He was consequently a well known resident and was a
middle age man and was held in the highest respect."
Information in the Lismore "Northern Star" Newspaper on Saturday the 28th
December 1918:
James Butler, age 53, died the 27th December 1918 as a result of a river steamer accident at Ballina
NSW.
"The Funeral of James Butler will leave the Roman Catholic Church at Swan Bay
at 11AM today for the Coraki cemetery - J. McMullen undertaker."
[inquest 13th January 1919, reel 2765, entry no. 41].
Information in the Lismore "Northern Star" Newspaper:
Return to Home Page