Mystery

No Light On The Monique

Some residents of New Caledonia are disturbed at the failure of officialdom to issue a public statement of their findings following the inquiry into the disappearance of the small motorship Monique.

THIS vessel, of 240 tons, left the island of Mare, in the Loyalty Group, on July 31, 1953, to sail the 50 miles to Noumea, New Cale donia. She was never sighted again and 120 passengers, including 20 Europeans, lost their lives. The weather was calm at the time.

Recently, the French Merchant Marine declared the ship, and those who sailed in her, officially lost.

Families of the victims may now claim damages.

Pastor Charlemagne, of the Protestant Church in New Cale donia, writing recently in his parish magazine, condemned the lack of

information that had been released to the public—and the apparent failure of officialdom to arrive at the cause of the disaster.

The pastor criticised the poor con dition of many of the ships operat ing out of Noumea and other New Caledonian ports, and said that many wrecks had occurred in sur rounding waters in the last few years. More could be expected if regulations were not enforced.

He recalled a public meeting, held after the loss of Monique, at which a letter, written by the captain of the ill-fated vessel some time be fore his last voyage, had been read.

The captain had complained at the instability of the ship and said that he had decided to settle ashore.

It was well-known also, said the pastor, that the Monique’s engineer carried a loaded pistol so that he could put a quick end to his suf ferings if he were ever trapped in the overturned ship.

Pastor Charlemagne said that evidence, given at the inquiry by certain missionaries who witnessed the Monique’s departure, should be made public. (Shortly after the disaster (See PIM Sept., 1953) it was alleged that Monique was grossly overloaded when she left Mare, and had a seri ous list to port. Copra was said to have been stacked 4 feet above the bridge rail, and the lifeboats stacked with luggage).