Bridging the Gap
By Prof. Henry Funtecha

The final trip of M.V. Don Isidro

At the start of the 20 th century, Iloilo was already home to a number of companies operating fleets of inter-island and ocean-going vessels. Some of these ships were owned and operated by the De la Rama Steamship Co. which was the leading shipping company at that time.

In the 1930s, De la Rama Steamship Co. was noted for its two famous sister ships that were considered to be the most luxurious vessels in the local inter-island service during that period – the "M.V. Don Esteban" and "M.V. Don Isidro". It also operated "M.S. Kanlaon", "M.S. Mambukal", and "M.S. Escalante". All of these were modern motor ships of the latest design in their class at that lime. Besides the inter-island steamers, it had seven other ships built in Kiel, Germany and Trieste, Italy that plied the Philippines, the United States and the North Atlantic ports.

In early 1942, because of the Pacific War brought about by the Japanese military expansion, the "M.V. Don Isidro" found herself in Darwin in its supply foraging mission to Australia. Apparently, the skipper, after having commenced the return trip to the Philippines, adjudged correctly that the circuitous return route to Manila Bay was too dangerous because of Japanese aerial patrols. Thus, he decided to sail back to the perceived safety of the Darwin coast.

On February 15,1942, Japanese reconnaissance planes over the Bathurst coast spotted "M.V. Don Isidro", together with the "M.V. Florence D.”, another Philippine inter-island ship that had a similar mission as that of the former, but did not attack the ships. However, on February 19, with the full-scale bombardment of Darwin, the "M.V. Don Isidro" was attacked at the western tip of Bathurst. The ship suffered five direct hits by dive bombers and listed, and burned for several days. Eventually, it rested on her side in the shallow coastal waters.

John Pye's book, The Tiwi Islands (1977), states that Tiwi islanders were able to rescue seventy-three survivors, eleven of whom died later in the bush. Others floundered in the water for up to ten hours. The Tiwi rescuers not only saved the majority of the Filipino crew but also recovered a great cache of undamaged food and drink. It is said that word spread like wildfire on the bonanza and Tiwi people from all over gathered to share in the feast, as they ate and drank for weeks and weeks. Interestingly, the ship's bell was discovered intact and later installed in the Catholic church tower at Nguiu, the center of the Tiwi population.

As the "M.V. Don Isidro" sank in water off Bathurst, the "M.V. Florence D." met a similar fate. It was also hit by the Japanese bombs and immediately and completely disappeared into the water. Some survivors were rescued, but the Filipinos reportedly were hesitant over being rescued because they heard that the Australian aborigines practiced cannibalism. In the end, survivors of both ships were brought to Darwin but no written account is available to tell us what happened to them after this.