Star of the West
Vessel Name: Star of the West
Rudolf Ernest Gustav Holtz;
Unknown Dane/Norwegian (Hansen?);
Drowned at sea; Body of Holtz recovered
Left Fremantle on 21 June 1916 and last seen on 5 July 1916
Rudolf Holtz was Naturalised in 1908
Marriage certificate for Rudolf Holtz and Esther Fearn
The fishing boat, Star of the West, left Fremantle on 21 June 1916. On board that day were Rudolf (Dolph) Holtz (48) and a Dane/Norwegian, who has never been properly identified, but one newspaper article of the day stated that he could have gone by the surname, Hansen.
By Thursday 13 July, the Star of the West was overdue and there was some anxiety in Fremantle that she had met with a mishap.
The last reported sighting of the fishing boat was eight days before, around 5 July off Lancelin Island, and since then nothing had been heard of her.
The fears which were entertained at Fremantle for the safety of the Star of the West were well founded. On Thursday 20 July, the Fremantle police received a letter from an Austrian fisherman, named Peter Marn, which was addressed to his wife and sent from Lancelin Island (70 miles north of Fremantle) and dated 16 July. It was the statement of the fishermen on the fishing boats Annie and Ollie.
The statement read:
“This morning we found the wreck of the fishing boat, Star of the West, on the beach, about two miles north from Ledge Point. She was completely broken up. Just outside the wreckage, we picked up the body of Dolph Holtz and brought it to Lancelin.
The face was unrecognisable and the principal tattoo marks were an anchor under a heart, between letters R. and H. with a crucifix below that; these marks were on the left arm and an anchor between thumb and forefinger on the back of the hand. We buried the body”.
This statement was signed by J.H. Hermensen and Jack Anderson of the fishing boat Annie, and C. Hermensen and D. Pateen of the Ollie. Jack Anderson recognised boots as belonging to the fisherman named Dolph. No mention of the other man was made in the statement.
The body of Dolph Holtz was reported to have been interred on Lancelin Island.
Rudolph Ernest Gustav Holtz was born on 15 October 1867 in Stettin, Germany. He arrived in Fremantle in 1890 aboard the vessel Laughing Wave, from Mauritius.
He applied for, and was granted, a Certificate of Naturalisation on 16 March 1908. Rudolph Holtz was married to Esther Jane (Jenny) Fearn on 2 August 1891 in Fremantle and had ten children.