Further to Benlarig reportedly the Mystery Wreck at Cape Jer vis – Marine Life Society of South Australia Inc. (mlssa.org.au),

it seems that there were at least three Benlarig ships. According to Hartlepool History Then & Now (hhtandn.org) , “At the outbreak of the First World War, Ben Line were operating nineteen ships of which seven were requisitioned for use by the Admiralty. The first ship requisitioned, in April 1915, was the Benlarig, which became known as Collier 617. On April 2nd, 1916 (or 1917), she sailed from Freemantle (sic), Australia, bound for Colombo in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), with a cargo of bagged wheat, but was not seen or heard from again. Although there was no firm evidence at the time, sabotage was strongly suspected.”

© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

(Source: https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-939127)

I’m calling this (Screw Steamer) Benlarig No.2. According to Merchant Navy Memorials Tower Hill (benjidog.co.uk) , “the Tower Hill Memorial (has) information about those that lost their lives (from ships)”. That information includes these details about Benlarig No.2: –

“Benlarig was a 3,921 GRT steam cargo ship completed in 1904 by Bartram & Sons for Ben Line Steamers Ltd. – Thomson Wm. & Co.Leith. She set sail from Fremantle on 2 April 1917 bound for Columbo with a cargo of bagged wheat but was not seen again. There were no survivors.”

According to Bing Co-pilot, ” Despite extensive searches, the ship was never seen or heard from again.”

The Merchant Seamen’s Memorial is located at Tower Hill in London. According to Wikipedia, “The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England.”

“Wrecks on the South Coast of South Australia” by Jack Loney says that Benlarig (No.1) was stranded ashore at Cape Jervis in 1900, but was towed free by the tug Euro. This is the reason why it is unlikely that the 26-year old diver who died in the Cape Jervis area in 1968 was diving on the wreck of the Benlarig (although Benlarig No.2 disappeared without a trace in 1917).

By Steve Reynolds

Steve Reynolds is the current President of MLSSA and is a long-standing member of the Society. Steve was a keen diver, underwater explorer & photographer before illness struck. He is chief author of the Society's extensive back catalogue of newsletters and journals.

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