Australia’s forgotten Titanic hero

As the ship slowly sank, a brave Aussie sailor gave up the chance to save himself in order to save countless passengers and crew.

Albert Nichols was the bosun on the Titanic.

It’s a story most of us know by heart: the Titanic hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912 and sank, claiming more than 1500 lives.

But the heroism of one man, the Titanic’s Australian bosun, has long been reduced to a mere footnote in history.

Albert Nichols’ story is told in today’s new episode of the free In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters, with historian Michael Adams, host of the Forgotten Australia podcast:

Nichols was born and raised on idyllic Lord Howe Island, 600km off Australia’s mainland, where his pioneer parents wielded considerable power.

But the NSW government’s appointment of a magistrate in 1878 to run the island threatened the islanders’ sly grog trade and other enterprises.

“The islanders, led by Captain Tom and Mary, Albert’s parents, conspired against this magistrate and framed him for a whole bunch of abuses, including selling sly grog and not reporting a sexual abuse case,” Adams says.

Captain Tom Nichols, father of Albert Nichols, the bosun on the Titanic.

Mary Nichols, mother of Albert Nichols, the bosun on the Titanic.

The newcomer was investigated by a government inquiry and removed from office, but one man fiercely defended him: 18-year-old Albert Nichols.

Nichols even publicly accused his own parents of being drunkards who had acted disgracefully in the affair.

After Nichols’ betrayal, his mother flew into a rage, hit him with a shovel, and threatened to kill him with her gun.

He fled the island in fear for his life, and by the 1890s was working in England, starting a family with his new wife.

In 1909, Nichols wrote to his uncle and aunt about his work with the White Star Line.

“We have got two new ones,” he wrote.

“The largest in the world, they are to carry 40,000 tons and be 800 feet long and their names are Titanic and Olympic.

A letter from Albert Nichols, the bosun on the Titanic, to his aunt and uncle on White Star letterhead in 1909.

Albert Nichols was the bosun on the Titanic.

“I suppose that I shall be transferred to one of them when they are ready so I can say that I am the bosun of the largest ship in the world.”

Nichols joined the Olympic in 1911, then became the Titanic’s bosun.

He was one of the first to learn the Titanic had struck an iceberg and was doomed.

“Turn out, you fellows, you haven’t half an hour to live,” Nichols reportedly told his men. “Keep it to yourselves and let no-one know.”

Despite being told to leave on a lifeboat, Nichols stayed on board, going down with the ship.

“I think he was a hero,” Adams says.

“He died trying to save people and do his duty.

“He could have saved himself with honour, but instead he stayed aboard and got people to safety.”

To find out more, listen to the interview with Michael Adams in the free In Black and White podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or web.

See In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper Monday to Friday for more stories and photos from Victoria’s past.