Emil Penny

Emil Penny was known to be a competent pearl fisherman by the Shark Bay community. The earliest mention of him was in 1919, when he was 21 years old. It was thought he was a First Nations Noongar man from East Perth. It seems he left there in February 2019 and made for Shark Bay.

Emil worked for Bernard Goldstein, a pearler based in Denham. Medical records indicate that Emil was admitted to Carnarvon hospital and remained there for almost a month in July – August 2019. It appears he was hurt while working as a groom for Bernard Goldstein. The hospital bill was £3-12-0. His bill may not have been paid, because the Medical Department made enquiries about Emil’s whereabouts in 1924.

In January 1925 he was the skipper of the Eric, owned by master pearler William Farr, who considered Emil to be a capable operator of his only pearling vessel.

Emil had a 14-year-old deckhand called Robin Graham who came from the local community and lived in Denham. Robin had approximately six months’ experience aboard pearling boats.

Emil’s closest friend was Clarence Cross, a 25-year-old pearl fisher in Shark Bay who worked with Frank Adams aboard Frank’s lugger.

Shark Bay luggers were built specifically for dredge pearling, pulling four to six dredges under the water. These luggers also made good fishing boats, and many of them fished for snapper when they were not pearling.

At 7am on 29 January 1925 Emil and Graham put out to sea in the Eric intending to fish the pearl grounds off Dirk Hartog Island. The luggers went out from Shark Bay that day despite the southwest winds and a rough sea.

Robin went below for a nap while Emil steered towards the island. There was nothing to do until they arrived at the pearl fields.

Emil stood at the tiller on the edge of the boat, which was the usual way to steer. He held the tiller rope in his hand that was fed through a block. He wore an oilskin coat to keep most of the spray off him. They sailed close to Egg Island, near to dirk Hartog Island where they were bound.

The tiller rope was worn, a fact that Emil was not aware of. The rope chafed in the block fraying it until it let go. Emil had applied his weight to the rope to keep the sails as he wanted them against the strengthening wind. As the rope parted, Emil was unbalanced and fell off the side of the boat.

Robin awoke to the sound of the gear rattling and made his way on deck to see what was wrong. He realised quickly what had happened. Looking back, he thought he saw a dark object in the water about 200 yards behind the boat. Was it Emil’s oilskin coat?

Robin was not experienced enough and did not have the strength to turn the boat around. When he looked back again, he could not see anything in the water. He knew Emil was a poor swimmer and his oilskin would drag him down under the water’s surface. The waters in the area were infested with sharks.

The best Robin could do was to steer towards White Banks where there was another boat in sight, in roughly the same direction the Eric was headed.

Clarence Cross and William Farr were fishing at White Bank, approximately 13 miles from Denham. Clarence saw the Eric, and noticed it was steering erratically. He pointed it out to Frank, and they steered towards the Eric knowing there was something amiss.

Once they got closer, Robin managed to anchor behind Frank’s boat and launch Eric’s dinghy. He told Frank and Clarence what had happened. Clarence and Clarence boarded Eric. Robin was panicked and upset, and it was clear what had happened.

Clarence boarded the Eric and both boats searched the area for Emil. Their search revealed nothing and they sailed back to Denham and immediately reported the incident.

Police Constable Howard was away at Tamala Station, so Clarence notified Justice of the Peace James Nicholas. Then he boarded Eric and put out again to search for his friend. He found no sign of him and feared the worst.

Police Constable RJ Howard returned from his duties at Tamala Station on 31 January 1925 and was informed Emil Penny was missing from the Eric. He immediately set out in the police cutter Shark to search the coastline and the islands for a sign of Emil. He returned without having seen any trace of him.

The police wrote a report and collected witness statements for the inquiry into Emil’s disappearance. Everyone came to the same conclusion: Emil overbalanced when the tiller rope parted and fell overboard. He was a poor swimmer wearing an oilskin coat, who fell into water where there were a lot of sharks.

William Farr handed Emil’s property to the police. His possessions consisted of a blanket, a gold buckle ring and the clothing he was wearing at the time. Police began to look for a next of kin in the southwest to advise them of Emil’s death and hand on his meagre property, beginning in Busselton because Clarence was sure Emil had relatives there.

Emil had arrived alone to Shark Bay and remained there as a single man with no family to speak of. Sadly, his body was lost, and there remained little to show he had been a part of the Shark Bay community.