New Book Tells Heroic Story of South Australian Titanic Survivor
She survived the downfall of the “unsinkable” ship.
And somehow, her story has never been told the way it should have been – until now.
A new book by journalist and broadcaster Lisa Wilkinson has brought the story of Evelyn Marsden back to life, shining a light on a South Australian woman who lived through one of history’s most famous disasters.
If you thought Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Titanic love story was something, wait until you hear about Evelyn Marsden.
From the Mid North To The World
Back in the 1890s, Hoyleton in South Australia’s Mid North was a busy little railway town east of Balaklava.
These days it’s a bit of a ghost town, but you can bet Evelyn Marsden’s story has been told over the wood of the local bar once or twice.
Speaking with older Hoyleton locals, her name still rings a bell. Not a full story, but something people remember hearing about, maybe reading about somewhere.
Born in 1883 Evelyn was the youngest daughter in her family, growing up in the kind of place where life was simple. Her father was the stationmaster, and like most country kids, she made her own fun.
Family trips to Murray Bridge turned out to be more important than anyone could have guessed. That’s where she learned to row – and not just a leisurely cruise down the Murray. Evelyn often rowed against the river’s current, building strength and skill that would later help her keep a lifeboat steady on one of the most chaotic nights in history.
A Life That Went Well Beyond Hoyleton
By 1907, Evelyn was in Adelaide training as a nurse at Adelaide Hospital. But staying put wasn’t for her. She had dreams of exploring the world.
She signed on to work aboard ocean liners and ended up seeing more of the world than most people from a small South Australian town could ever have imagined.
Europe. Africa. New York. She saw it all, and then some.
Evelyn sent more than 100 postcards home to her niece Isla, capturing a life world’s away from where she started.
Somewhere along the way, she met a ship’s doctor, William Abel James. They fell in love and got engaged.
The Night Everything Changed
Evelyn signed on as a stewardess aboard the RMS Titanic, the Royal Mail Ship that was meant to show off the absolute peak of shipbuilding at the time. She was 28.
It was a 52,000-tonne luxury liner carrying some of the richest and most well-known people of the early 1900s across the Atlantic.
Evelyn and Dr James had looked forward to boarding the Titanic for its maiden voyage together, but at the last minute, his roster changed – a fete that likely saved his life.
On April 14, 1912, the “unsinkable” Titanic struck an iceberg.
What happened next has been told hundreds of times, but Evelyn’s heroic story has barely rated a mention until now.
On that fateful night, the girls from Hoyleton tended to passengers, stayed calm and did what was needed while everything around her was falling apart.
Eventually she was ordered into Lifeboat 16, reportedly after it was recognised just how many lives she had already helped save.
Eyewitness accounts from that night describe the eerie sound of the ship’s band playing Nearer, My God, to Thee as the Titanic slowly went down.
In the darkness, with panic all around, Evelyn worked alongside the men onboard Lifeboat 16, rowing away from the pull of the sinking ship. She used the strength she’d built on years before rowing against the flow of the Murray. She helped keep the boat steady, and cared for those on board until they were rescued.
Worth Telling, And Worth Remembering
Who would have thought there were six Australians sailing on the Titanic that fateful night, let alone a kick-arse nurse from Hoyleton who found herself in the middle of history and quietly became one of its unsung heroes.
For years, her story sat in the shadows, half remembered by locals and mostly unknown beyond that.
Lisa Wilkinson describes Evelyn as a woman who lived her life rowing against the tide — and it’s hard to argue with that. By bringing her story back into the spotlight, she’s helped cement Evelyn Marsden’s place in history, just as it should be.
You can’t help but wonder how many other stories like this are out there, half remembered and tucked away in country towns across SA.
If you’ve got one, send it our way. Contact us here.
To get your hands on a copy of Lisa Wilkinson’s ‘The Titanic Story of Evelyn’, click here.
