Clinton, Peter C. (Petie)

[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

...

P.C. Clinton, A.B. 31 Drogheda

...

["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 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.

...

["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:--

...

P. Clinton, 31, Drogheda, 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 both Ryan and Clinton transferred to Koombana from Innamincka on 25 August 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]

[img 479]

63 Guildford St

Russell Sqr

London. W. C

18-4-12

Dear Sir

Please let me

know what the christian

name of Clinton was,

"A.B. Seaman" who went

down on the "Koombana"

Official Number 122725.

I have a sailor son

Andrew Patrick Clinton

whom I have not heard

of for several years,

his age is 27 years, and

he has sailed in

Australian waters,

before now. I am

very anxious about

him. Kindly let...

[I do not have the rest.]

[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]

[img 480]

Mrs E.M.Clinton

63, Guildford Street,

Russell Sq., LONDON. W.C.

Dear Madam,

Your letter of the 18th April addressed to

the Shipping Master at Port Adelaide has been forwarded

on to me and on referring to the Articles of the S.S.

"Koombana" I find that a Mr. P. Clinton signed on same.

His age is given as 31 years and his home address as

Drogheda, so evidently this cannot be your son. If there

is any further information I could supply you with I shall

be pleased to give it.

Yours faithfully,

[no signature on this file copy]

DEPUTY 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.

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

...

[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]

Termonfeckin,

14th October, 1913.

Sir,

As my son Peter Clinton was one of the crew

who perished on the ship KOOMABA (KOOMBANA) and as I

saw in a paper that some help was to be collected for

their friends, I am taking the liberty of writing to

ask if I could get anything being Peter Clinton's father,

who was my sole dependence. It is just lately I saw it

in the paper with your name and in view of the wrecked

ship by your kindly giving me any information you can, you

will oblige.

Your obedient servant,

(Sgd.) PATRICK CLINTON

Termonfeckin,

DROGHEDA,

IRELAND.

[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 Villiam "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.

...