Sensation

Bernard Stewart Clarkson, known as Stewie, was born on 31 December 1934. His parents were Bernard Stewart Clarkson and Phyllis May Stewart, married in 1934. He was the only surviving son of three born to Bernard Stewart Clarkson and Phyllis Stewart. His parents later divorced and his mother re-married and had more children. 

Records show Stewie started working in the crayfishing industry when he was 15 years of age when he worked aboard the carrier catcher boat Australis G80 with skipper Fred Cato and Joe Burton at the Wallabi Islands.

Ordinarily, cray fishing would not be an unusual career choice, but Stewie had an extra challenge to deal with. He was in a motorcycle accident which resulted in the loss of one of his legs. He wore a prosthetic wooden leg, which lent Stewie a distinct gait.

Stewie gained the necessary experience and passed the exams to qualify for his master’s certification. Like many other fishermen who were not born into fishing families with a boat, he was employed by boat owners to operate their vessel and consign the crayfish he caught.

Cray fishers in the Geraldton region worked under a share fishing system, taking home a percentage of the catch. It was necessary to catch well to earn a comfortable living. Stewie was known to be a reliable skipper who caught crayfish, earning well for the boat owner, himself and his deckhand.

In 1980, with 15 years of fishing experience, Stewie was the skipper of Sensation. On board with him was his deckhand 23-year-old Neil David Barton. They fished the coastal area around Geraldton, including in breakers on the reefs at the west end of town.

Sensation was a 36 foot [3.97 metres] bondwood boat. In the 1970s fishing boats were built from bondwood, fibreglass or the more recent aluminium.

On 10 January 1980, at 5.45am Stewie and Neil set out to work. It was blustery and choppy as Sensation steamed out through Eve’s Passage at Point Moore. It could be a tricky passage to navigate in bad weather, but Stewie had driven through the area many times and knew it well.

In front of Sensation, Alan Oddy skippered Batchelor Boy through the passage. Alan was watching when a huge wave hit Sensation, and he could tell by the way it had struck the boat, that Stewie and Neil could be in trouble. He turned back through the passage to see if they were ok.

They were not ok. After the first wave, further waves came through the passage and smashed over the injured boat. Batchelor Boy watched in horror as Sensation was smashed into pieces and sank.

Alan immediately started to search for Stewie and Neil. Neil said he was winded by the waves washing over the boat. When he was thrown into the water, he managed to kick his way to the surface, through the debris of the boat. He saw the waves breaking the boat into smaller and smaller pieces. After 15 minutes Neil was picked up by Batchelor Boy, saving his life.

Within half an hour there were nine boats searching the area, finding pieces of Sensation. The area was buffeted by 20 knot south easterlies as volunteers searched the beach, the Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative helicopter went up to search by air, and police and firemen joined the search.

The search continued through 11 January without success. No sign of Stewie was seen. Then, early on the 12 January his body was found by local fisherman Geoff Thompson floating in the sea near where the Sensation had sunk. He was 45 years of age with a wife, Melda and four children: Greg, Debra, Toni and Brad.

Stewie’s funeral was conducted on 15 January 1980. He was buried in the Anglican section of the Geraldton Cemetery.

Following the funeral five of Stewie’s fishermen mates formed a committee and launched a trust fund in his memory.