Ronald Beswick Blogspot

  My 19 years working in the Maritime Industry introduced me to some of the most decent blokes I've known. Suicide, unexplained disappearances and murder are said to be part of seafaring culture if you believe the myths. During my years at sea only one bloke died on-board and that was due a heart attack. Their were nervous breakdowns and dramas involving drugs and alcohol. In 1987 when I was on the Australian Progress 5 crew members were put ashore in the Philippines because of various sickness and injuries. One of them had a burst stomach ulcer but died later as a result of contaminated blood in the transfusions. Joe Montague was a seaman that I got to know in 1986 when I sailed with him on the Mobil Australis. Joe's nickname was, “the Father of Deck Boys.” He was also a relieving Union Official and alleged Homosexual. I never seen this side of him but I recall seeing him wandering legless and drunk one night in Yarraville. The Chief Cook and myself were in a Taxi so we st...

  We had a Non for profit shop that one of the boys would volunteer to run. It had treats and basic things that were not provided by the company. Batteries, Toothpaste, chewing gum, stamps, pads and envelopes were included so you could write to family. The only communication home was via the ships Radio Operator. I turned 23 on the Australian Pioneer and 28 on the Australian Progress. I had received a radiogram and we also had a Radphone if I needed to make call. It was expensive! Both the Pioneer and Progress carried about 34 crew members. It wasn't unusual to rarely see some engineers who lived on another deck. The age of the crew varied from late teens to 65 years of age. I was always one of the younger blokes. Television could only be watched in the recreation areas. The Cooks and Stewards had a room with a bar that was above the crew. We never had good enough reception to watch it until we anchored somewhere or were in a port. The reason we never had one in our cab...

  I remember dumping stores straight into the ocean on both ships. 20 kilo of T-bone steak, other meat, several boxes of frozen fish and nearly 50 kilo of frozen vegetables. One time we had enough eggs to last over 6 months. Most of them went over the side. It had to be done because some people just didn't know their job. The bloke in the office at Melbourne and some Chief Stewards were the main culprits. Laws had been introduced in regards to dumping at sea on the Australian coast. I was made aware of this through word of mouth and a role the union played. We were still learning and I remember being told to cut the polypropylene straps. Everybody cared about the Dolphins! The Chief Cook earned the same money as a Chief Steward and belonged to different unions until 1988. Nearly all the Chief Stewards I knew had never worked in a Galley before they upgraded. The Cook wrote the menu and the Chief Steward did the rest. They had to work together and most of the times they did. A ...