Carton, William

[SS "Koombana": list of crew as per copy of Articles at shipping office, Fremantle, Adelaide Steamship Company, April 1912. provided to the author by Jean Northover, City Beach, Western Australia]

THE CREW AGE BIRTHPLACE

...

W. Carton, A.B. 36 Liverpool

...

["The Crew", The West Australian, Wednesday 03 April 1912, page 7]

The following is the complete crew which left with the vessel, according to the records in the Adelaide Co.'s office:--

...

P. C. Clinton, F. Wilson, H. B. Rea, C. Stanley, T. McDonnell, William. A. Farrell, W. Carton, M. Ryan, M. Dwyer, P. Jenkins, J McGuckin, and F. Gunning, A.B.'s.

...

["Story of the Koombana", The Sunday Times (Perth, WA), Sunday 31 March 1912, page 12]

"P. Clinton, F. Wilson, H. B. Rea, C. Stanley, T. McDonnell, William A. Farnell, W. Carton, M. Ryan, M. Dwyer, P. Jenkins, J. McGuckin and F. Gunning, A.B.'s"

["The Koombana", The West Australian, Friday 12 April 1912, page 7]

OFFICIAL LIST OF CREW

The following official list of the names of the crew who signed on the s.s. Koombana's articles and who were supposed to have gone in the vessel is supplied by the Shipping Master of Fremantle (Captain T. W. Smith). The age, birthplace, and capacity of each member is given:--

...

W. Carton, 36, Liverpool, able seaman;

...

[Agreement and Account of Crew, s.s. Koombana, August 1911 - March 1912, Harbour and Lights Department, Western Australia. State Records Office of Western Australia, Consignment 1056 Item 301]

The register indicates that William Carton came to Koombana from Junee on 16 November 1911.

[Wreck of the KOOMBANA - letters re men's estates, Correspondence between the office of the Chief Harbourmaster, Fremantle, and the families of lost crewmembers, Harbour and Lights Department, 1912. State Records Office of Western Australia, AN16/5 Cons 1056 Item 062]

my image 840

Sunhill,

Iermofeckin,

Drogheda,

Ireland.

17th July 1912.

Sir,

I have been advised by the

Adelaide S.S. Co. Ltd. to apply to you

with regard to payment of wages due

to my father, William Carton, who

was an A.B. on the missing steamer

"Koombana". I enclose a copy of

the letter I have received from the

above company and hope you will

see your way to make arrangements

for payment of my father's wages.

I am,

Your obedient servant,

William Carton.

P.S. I am unable to make out the

[no second page]

[Wreck of the KOOMBANA - letters re men's estates, Correspondence between the office of the Chief Harbourmaster, Fremantle, and the families of lost crewmembers, Harbour and Lights Department, 1912. State Records Office of Western Australia, AN16/5 Cons 1056 Item 062]

my img 839

Letter from Accountant General, Board of Trade, London,

to Secretary, Marine Board, Port Adelaide.

BOARD OF TRADE,

(Finance Department),

7, Whitehall Gardens,

LONDON, S.W.

21st May 1912.

Sir,

I am directed by the Board of Trade to acquaint you

that they have received claims from Harry Hughes, 21 Cecil

Street, Manselton, Swansea (father) - Thomas Taylor, 2,

Easons Angle, Dundee (father) and Catherine Kearns, 36,

Malcolmson Street, Belfast (Widow) for the wages respect-

ively due to the seamen Harry Hughes, Thomas Taylor and

John Kearns who appear to have been serving on the

"Koombanna" Official Number 122725 of Port Adelaide at the

time of her loss in March last.

If any balances of wages are due to the above named

or to any other seamen of the "Koombanna" who are known to

have left relatives in the United Kingdom the Board will be

obliged by your remitting the amounts to this Department

in order that the claims of the legal heirs may be

satisfied.

I am,

Sir,

Your obedient Servant,

(signed) Geo. Fry,

Accountant General.

The Secretary,

Marine Board,

Port Adelaide,

SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

[Wreck of the KOOMBANA - letters re men's estates, Correspondence between the office of the Chief Harbourmaster, Fremantle, and the families of lost crewmembers, Harbour and Lights Department, 1912. State Records Office of Western Australia, AN16/5 Cons 1056 Item 062]

my img 884

Reply to the Board of Trade, London.

14th August

Sir,

In reply ot yours of the 21st May addressed to the

Marine Board, Port Adelaide, which has been forwarded on to me,

I have to state as follows:-

Harry Hughes, wages due £3/10/-

Thomas Taylor, " " £7/-/-, draft forwarded

herewith.

On the application of W. Carton, I forward herewith

draft for wages due (£6/8/-) to his late father Wm. Carton,

A.B. of the S.S. "KOOMBANA". Mr. Carton's address is, Sunhill,

Termonfecken, Drogheda, Ireland, and I have requested him to

communicate with you.

I am enclosing herewith a draft drawn on the Agent

General in you favour to the amount of £16/16/-, being above

wages due, less exchange [-/2/- filled in later].

Yours faithfully,

[this copy unsigned]

SHIPPING MASTER.

[Wreck of the "Koombana" - photocopy of material relating to, Harbour and Lights Department, Western Australia, 1912, State Records Office of Western Australia. Series 1618, Cons. 5055, Item 001, see Koombana Relief Fund correspondence]

EXTRACT FROM LETTER RECEIVED FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE

"KOOMBANA" RELIEF COMMITTEE, PERTH

Dated 31st July, 1912.

--------------

"I give you hereunder a list of persons in Great Britain

to whom the Perth Committee has allotted amounts, and shall be

glad if you will communicate with the Agent-General, requesting

him to pay the sum mentioned in each case, out of the amount he

has in hand, and forward the receipts to me at the earliest

possible opportunity:-

Miss Wardlaw, 36 Bank Street, Hillhead, Glasgow, £47.

Mrs. W. C. Dick, 4 James Park, Burntisland, N.B., £47.

Mrs. W. Clarke, Chestnut Grove, off Marsh Lane, Boudel

Liverpool, England, £65.

Mrs. Levins, 87 Strand Street, Cloyerhead, Drogheda,

Ireland, £11.

Mrs. M. Dwyer, King Street, Abbyside, County Waterford,

Ireland, £11.

Mrs. W. Carton, Droghed, County Louth, Ireland, £11.

Mrs. J. Kearne, 36 Malcolmson Street, Springfield Road,

Belfast, Ireland, $11.

Mrs. Rea, 21 Conderton Road, Loughboro Junction, Camberwell,

London, S.E. £11.

----------------------------------

Further names since received:-

A. Dellar (? English address)

- Clinton ( " Local Committee making enquiries

- Offord ( " " " decline applica-

tion for assistance.

W. Burkin ( " Nothing done so far.

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...

[Quaile, Declan, "The Koombana Tragedy", Termonfeckin Historical Society Review, 2006, No. 6, pages 27-29]

available online at http://www.mcveydesign.com/grandmabelle/book/termonfeckin_review.pdf

...

Three Local Seamen

James 'Nish' Levins, the oldest of the three local men on the Koombana, was born in Clogherhead on 28th June 1879 to Peter Levins, from Clogher village, and Mary Moore, from Sunhill in Termonfeckin parish. James would have followed his father and other family members to sea in his teenage years, like many of the young men from Clogherhead at the time. In 1912 he was a boatswain on board the Koombana, meaning he was in charge of lifeboats, sails and rigging on board.

The second local man, Peter (Petie) Clinton was born in Termonfeckin village on 20th July 1880 to Patrick Clinton and Margaret Gargan. There were several Clinton families around Termonfeckin at this time, at least two at the Yellow Gap and two more on Big Street and it is uncertain to which family Petie actually belonged.[1] He would have been taught by Patrick Brodigan the headmaster at Thunderhill, who was known to have included navigation lessons to those pupils expressing an interest. By 1912 he was listed as an able bodied seaman aboard the Koombana.

A third man with Termonfeckin links was serving on the Koombana in 1912. This was William "Bill" Carton. Though he was born in Liverpool Bill's father, also William, was born in September 1840, in Termonfeckin. William senior emigrated to Liverpool sometime in the 1860s where he worked on ships from the port in that city. He got married in Liverpool and his son Bill was born there around 1875. Bill junior later went to sea, following in his father's footsteps. He married Amelia Alcock from Plymouth and they had three children, one daughter, who died young, and two sons.[2] Like his two companions from Clogherhead and Termonfeckin Bill Carton would have sailed around the continents of the world on various ships.[3] By 1912 he was an able bodied seaman, alongside Petie Clinton, on board the Koombana.

[1] In the 1856 Griffiths valuation for Termonfeckin a Peter and Michael Clinton reside in separate houses at yellow Gap.

[2] One of the sons, Jack Cadon, is buried in Termonfeckin graveyard.

[3] A note inserted into Mickey Moore's 1898 diary (cf. THS Review 2002) suggests that Bill was on board the RMS (Royal Merchant ship) Orega at Montevideo, Uruguay.

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