Ahoy Shipmates. Most of you who have played music with me over the years, or been to a Rubbles/Starboard watch/Cactus 5 gig somewhere in my travels, have probably heard my song "The Wreck of the Steamship Coramba". This song has always been very dear to me, in part because it links me to a part of my family that is forever lost to me, and yet keeps that history and family alive in my heart. It also allows me to share with the listener a story from a different time. A time of hardship and deprivation: the Great Depression. When the Coramba was lost seventeen men never came home from the sea, seventeen families lost their sole economic support and over 70 children were orphaned. Uncle Henry Jensen, who raised my mum as his own ,and her sisters, was, sadly among the doomed crew of the little ship when she disappeared on the perilous night of November 30th 1934. One of the great tragedies of the wreck of the Cormaba is that she was safe in port at Warnambool, and her Captain was ordered to put to sea, despite his expressed concerns about the approaching storm. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of Des Williams, Mark Ryan and southern Ocean Exploration the ship has been found. Her find bringing peace and closure to the surviving orphans of the Coramba. I've attached an article and a video of the first dive to the wreck o f the Steamship Coramba. Enjoy. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/sweet-relief-as-wreck-find-ends-76year-mystery-20110604-1fmal.html
