ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

THE NERITA TRAGEDY

© Jeff Thorpe 02 January 2024



At 2PM, 10 June 1939, motor launch Nerita sailed from Breakfast Creek
on a snapper fishing expedition between Cape Moreton and Caloundra.
Twelve men were aboard, most well-known Ipswich identities
intent on landing plenty on this three-day encounter.

Nerita was a 45 feet reliable vessel and skipper Edwin Carey experienced
late that day she was spotted in Moreton Bay in good weather conditions,
this the last sighting of the boat, no communication received
thus, zero data was known of Nerita’s further positions.

On 14 June with no contact and two days overdue, a search was commissioned
extensive area covered from Gladstone to Coffs Harbour in New South Wales,
air and sea exploration found nothing to explain the boat’s disappearance,
theories suggested on board explosion or collision with whales.

19 June saw an upturned dinghy from Nerita located near Caloundra
however, no wreckage or any of those aboard were ever found
despite more intense probing of the area by several aircraft,
the mystery of what happened to this day continues to confound.

In March 1940 Ipswich residents raised one hundred pounds
to build a memorial to those who had died,
this took the form of gates at the Showgrounds entrance
a permanent reminder their fate would not be cast aside.

Yet another chronicle of lives lost at sea
harder to grasp in this instance with no evidence to blame,
notwithstanding, the same message has been preached for eons
“going down to the sea” is no game.

Tragic and more than a little scary. As one who has put in many hours on the bay over the years it's always been at the back of my mind that I'm in an environment that can be very unwelcoming. I always wore a life jacket and had the e-pirb close at hand. Nicely told story Jeff.
Wazza

excellently told story Jeff and I will have to check those gates out myself seeing as to how I live in Ippy - sad to say I have walked through them many times and not taken a blind bit of notice.

Thanks Wazza and Maureen. I've shown this poem to a lot of people but, so far, no one has ever heard of this tragedy.
As to the showground gates Maureen, they are apparently the "old gates", still there though replaced by a new set at a different entrance
Cheers, Jeff

I have heard of it Jeff, but not sure when or where, and now you've piqued my interest to look it up.... and “going down to the sea” is no game. How true that is!!