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Sunday Night: May 1

Rahni Sadler speaks to the last survivor of the MV Blythe Star which sank off the coast of Tasmania in 1973.

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On Sunday Night this weekend, Rahni Sadler speaks to Mick Doleman, the last survivor of the MV Blythe Star maritime disaster in 1973.

Only 10 men survived that day when it sank off the coast of Tasmania.

The Last Survivor
Less than a day into a two-day voyage an Australian ship suddenly lists and takes on water at an alarming rate. One by one the 10 crew members were forced from their duties, others shaken awake to struggle through gushing saltwater onto the deck and into a flimsy rubber life raft before the MV Blythe Star lifts its bow to the sky and sinks without a trace.

They’re relieved they made it, the worst is surely over and they expect rescuers will fish them out of their predicament within hours. Only nobody knows their ship has gone down, and little do the men of the MV Blythe Star know they’ve only just begun one of the most extraordinary against-the-odds struggles for survival in Australian maritime history.

And yet, like the plight of the crew, very few Australians know about this incredible high seas drama. Until now. In a stunning, sweeping television first, Sunday Night brings this incredible story to life through the gripping recollection of the last man standing, Mick Doleman.

Mick – until recently a senior figure in the Maritime Union of Australia – has been reluctant to recount the detail of his ordeal until now. Even his family has been unaware of the challenges and life-and-death incidents that swamped their days at sea and lost in remote wilderness.

Now, he’s the last survivor and Mick has resolved that he didn’t want to take his account to his grave. In honour of the men lost in this nightmare at sea and in the time since, he wants the nation to know of their bravery, humanity and their inspirational determination to survive and be reunited with family and friends.

Sunday Night’s Rahni Sadler tells the at times tragic but ultimately heroic and stirring story of the MV Blythe Star in The Last Survivor. And in a moving conclusion takes Mick and his family back to the remote and rugged landfall where he decided he and the remaining crew were not going to die.

Sunday at 8.40pm on Seven.

3 Responses

  1. Wow – I’ve never heard of this story ? I wasn’t even born when it happened. I’m a bit confused why this is not on abc but rather billed as a current affairs news story ? This week has seen some rather big local stories – horrific murders, political gaffes and sledging at others networks… Unsure of the direction on Seven News is taking ?

    1. Hi TasTv,
      That’s very interesting ,recently been there as well . I would be very much interested in viewing that photo especially if it was the Thursday it was loading or the Friday it was also loaded and sailed.
      From your alias I assume you were in in journalism at the time and had gone down to the Prince of Wales Bay wharf taking photos of her as the Premier , Neil Batt had just publicly announced on the Wednesday that the ship , which was currently under a “bare boat charter” was to be bought by the Tasmanian Transport Commission for $28,000
      The doco was quite scant , misleading? on some ot the real details of the saga.
      Any details would be very much appreciated.
      Especially the date and the times of photos and any chance of posting front and back of same.Thanks in advance

  2. I remember this quite well, I have a B&W photograph that I took of her at the wharf, prior to leaving. I recall that there was not much news of her at all, so it will be fascinating to watch.

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