Still lying on the Kalkudah beach, the boiler of the ‘Lady Havelock’ has a tale to tell
Survivor of the 1907 cyclone
By Prince Casinader
A young girl from Berlin, Mareike Gersmann along with her mother Praemini Gersmann (nee Casinader) and her brother Johaan, recently travelled all the way to Batticalo and then to Kalkudah to gaze at an ancient ship's boiler, lying on the sea beach opposite the well-known David Samuel's hotel. Samuel is a Malaysian who set up a simple bewitching tourist resort overlooking the Indian Ocean.

For 96 long years the boiler has been lying on this beach as a reminder of one of the cyclones which buffeted the East coast. The year was 1907, the date March 10. During this time a number of the so-called 'Lady' ships ran round Sri Lanka, carrying passengers and cargo. Their ports of call were Colombo, Jaffna, Galle, Trincomalee and Hambantota. This was before the advent of the railway to the East.

Kalkudah was also one of these ports of call. These ships were called the 'Lady' ships because every one of them was named after the wife of a former English Governor of Sri Lanka: 'The Lady Blake', 'The Lady Gordon', 'The Lady Havelock' and so on.

The ship's boiler, that for the past 96 years had been lying monster-like on the Kalkudah beach was the boiler of the ship - 'The Lady Havelock' felt that the fury of the famous 1907 cyclone. On board this ship had been the great-great- grandmother of Marieke, a Mrs. R.W. Allegacone, who was intending to travel to Point Pedro where her husband Gate Mudaliyar R.W. Allegacone, CCS, was Magistrate.

On board this ship at that time had been among others, the Revd. J.G. Trimmer, Chairman of the North Ceylon Methodist Church, an English engineer, one Mr. Scott and Mrs R.W. Allagecone, who was taking with her, her daughter Edith, to break a romance that had started between her and a Sinhala Stock Inspector in Batticaloa.

The ship was being tossed about like the proverbial cork. A number of other sea-going vessels were going down like ninepins while the schooner 'Abdul Hamid' sank and was a total wreck with only six of her crew of fourteen being saved. At the same port of Kalkudah, three other lighters suffered destruction, while at nearby Kirankulam the brig, 'Mohana Sundary' was stranded and so too the schooner 'Savundra Letchumy' off Punnochimunia.

The intrepid skipper of the 'Lady Havelock' took a snap decision to run the ship a shore, thus saving the lives of every one of the passengers and crew. Only the boiler of this ship stands to tell the tale. Mareike stood long staring at the boiler of the ship, on board which her grandmother Joyce, and Joyce's mother Pearly, and Pearly's father Mudaliyar W.C.R. Allegacone's mother Mrs. R.W. Allegacone had such a narrow escape.

This is how the Batticaloa Correspondent of the 'Times' reported the news of the devastation of the cyclone - "The howling of the wind and the sound of the rain and falling trees made the night seem a nightmare, and many people ran out into the gale and stood throughout the night in open places, to ensure being out of the way of falling houses and trees." - Roof takarangs were floating about like bits of paper - added the Batticaloa Correspondent of the Times.

The total loss at Kalkudah was the destruction of no fewer than five cargo boats, one passenger boat belonging to steamer agent Vadivel, a cargo boat of Messrs Udayar and Sons and a passenger boat of the customs. Passengers from Batticaloa going on these Lady ships, used to embark according to the monsoon for six months from the Batticaloa sand bar and the balance six months from Kalkudah.

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