The Bathurst Bay Hurricane: Media, Memory and Disaster Ian Bruce Townsend Bachelor of Arts (Communications) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2019 School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry Abstract In 1899, one of the most powerful cyclones recorded struck the eastern coast of Cape York, Queensland, resulting in 298 known deaths, most of whom were foreign workers of the Thursday Island pearling fleets. Today, Australia’s deadliest cyclone is barely remembered nationally, although there is increasing interest internationally in the cyclone’s world record storm surge by scientists studying past cyclones to assess the risks of future disasters, particularly from a changing climate. The 1899 pearling fleet disaster, attributed by Queensland Government meteorologist Clement Wragge to a cyclone he named Mahina, has not until now been the subject of scholarly historical inquiry. This thesis examines the evidence, as well as the factors that influenced how the cyclone and its disaster have been remembered, reported, and studied. Personal and public archives were searched for references to, and evidence for, the event. A methodology was developed to test the credibility of documents and the evidence they contained, including the data of interest to science. Theories of narrative and memory were applied to those documents to show how and why evidence changed over time. Finally, the best evidence was used to reconstruct aspects of the event, including the fate of several communities, the cyclone’s track, and the elements that contributed to the internationally significant storm tide. The thesis concludes that powerful cultural narratives were responsible for the nation forgetting a disaster in which 96 percent of the victims were considered not to be citizens of the anticipated White Australia. Cultural narratives, coupled with media errors, were responsible for the changing, over time, of much of the data. As a result, most data for this cyclone in official government and scientific databases differ significantly from the best evidence and primary source data. This thesis demonstrates how historical inquiry can produce better evidence to help science study historic events and help disaster managers better prepare for future disasters. i Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co-authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis. ii Publications included in this thesis No Publications included. Submitted manuscripts included in this thesis No manuscripts submitted for publication. Publications during candidature Peer-reviewed articles Nott, Jonathan, Camilla Green, Ian Townsend and Jeffrey Callaghan. “The World Record Storm Surge and the Most Intense Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone: New Evidence and Modeling”. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 95, No. 5, May 2014, 757–765. Conference papers Townsend, Ian. “The Devil in the Data of the Pearling Fleet Disaster”. Paper presented at the Australian Historical Association Conference 2019, Toowoomba, Queensland, 2019. Other publications Townsend, Ian. “Cyclones, Fake News and History: Science and Searching the Archive”. Griffith Review. No. 64, 30 April 2019, 254–263. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree No works submitted towards another degree have been included in this thesis. iii Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects Ethical clearance for research involving human participants was approved by the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics on 12 December 2014. (A copy of the ethics approval letter is included in the thesis Appendices.) Acknowledgements Thank you to my principal supervisor Emeritus Professor Clive Moore for his attention to detail, advice, and patience. Thank you as well to my supervisors Adjunct Professor Ruth Kerr and Associate Professor Ross Johnston for their advice and encouragement. I’m grateful for the generosity of the many descendants who shared their family stories of the disaster. Researchers and scientists who offered suggestions, advice, and provided clarification of their own research included Jeffrey Callaghan, Ken Granger, Camilla Green, John Haviland, John Lamb, Clive Marks. Ewen McPhee, Jonathan Nott, David Payne, Jonathan Richards, Bruce Rigsby, and Anna Shnukal. I am grateful to the Queensland Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, particularly Mike Vitobello, for special permission to view the original death registers. I am also grateful to the staff of the State Library of Queensland and its John Oxley Library for their help, and for the John Oxley Library Fellowship that informed my 2008 novel about the disaster, and which was the catalyst for pursing further study. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service’s North Queensland region staff were also supportive during my field trip to Cape Melville in 2018. My deep gratitude goes to the Traditional Owners of the Cape Melville region, including Bruce Gibson, and particularly Daniel Gordon and his family, and the people of Hope Vale and Wujal Wujal. iv Financial support A University of Queensland Higher Degree by Research Study Grant funded travel to Cape Melville. No other financial support was provided to fund this research. Keywords natural disaster, cyclone, hurricane, disaster history, storm surge, pearling industry, Queensland Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 210301 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History, 20% ANZSRC code: 210302 Asian History 5% ANZSRC code: 210303, Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History), 60% ANZSRC code: 210313 Pacific History (excl. New Zealand and Maori) 5% ANZSRC code: 210399, Historical Studies not elsewhere classified, 10% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR Code: 2103, Historical Studies 100% v Table of Contents ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES, GRAPHS, CHARTS AND FIGURES vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: A veritable mine of [mis]information: The Outridge booklet 24 CHAPTER 2: The hurricane 59 CHAPTER 3: The people 103 CHAPTER 4: Forgetting a disaster: The role of politics, media, and trauma 139 CHAPTER 5: The storm tide: Applying history to science 168 CONCLUSION 211 BIBLIOGRAPHY 222 APPENDICES 255 vi List of Tables Table Page Title 2.1 91 Edwin Munro’s barometer readings aboard the Aladdin. 4.1 154 Timeline showing how events unfolded after the disaster. 5.1 186 Storm surge and tide levels attributed to cyclone Mahina. List of Graphs Graph Page Title 4.1 155 Newspaper articles about the pearling disaster for March 1899. 4.2 162 Newspaper articles about the pearling disaster for 1900– 1974 List of Charts Chart Page Title 1.1 31 Nationalities of people known killed in the pearling disaster of 1899. 3.1 105 Nationalities of men on shipping articles at Thursday Island for 1898. List of Figures Figure Page Title A1 20 Newspaper illustration “Settling the Alien Difficulty”, 20 March 1899. 1.1 45 Example of a telegram showing the lack of punctuation. 1.2 49 Pelican Island, showing the disputed anchorages of the Meg Merrilies. 1.3 53 Air pressure and wind distribution across a cyclone. 2.1 64 Satellite map of Princess Charlotte Bay. 2.2 65 Map of Cape York. 2.3 67 The Coriolis Effect in the Southern Hemisphere. 2.4 72 Roth’s sketch map of country traversed, 1898. 2.5 77 Map showing the Eight Mile Native Police patrol area. 2.6 83 Satellite photograph showing Kenny’s patrol route to Wakooka Creek. 2.7 83 Satellite photograph showing the route of the Northern Road. 2.8 87 The positions of the fleets on the evening of 4 March 1899. 2.9 94 Aerial photograph of Inner Boulder Rocks and Cape Melville. vii 2.10 99 Topographical map of Wakooka Creek with probable inundation area. 3.1 110 “Moyden” written in Magistrate’s Court record, Thursday Island 1899. 3.2 110 “Mayden” written in Death Register, 1899. 3.3 111 Details from “Ship’s Articles of Agreement: Aladdin”. 3.4 112 Edwin Munro’s signature on “Ship’s Articles of Agreement: Aladdin”. 3.5 113 Names written into “Ship’s Articles of Agreement: Aladdin”. 3.6 118 Roth’s 1899 sketch map of his route to Bathurst Bay after the cyclone. 3.7 121 Hotlhouse’s draft manuscript edit that changed the death toll. 3.8 135 Stone and shells at the campsite near the mouth of Wakooka Creek.