was insulated, the starboard side evidently was not. The repairs were performed at Sydney to the chief engineer's satisfaction. From Adelaide the steamer proceeded to Melbourne and Sydney and sailed back for London on 9 January 1909 via Australian, Colony of Natal and Cape Colony ports carrying a cargo of foodstuffs, wool, and 1,500 tons of metal concentrates. Waratah arrived in London on 7 March 1909 to finalize her maiden voyage, and after unloading her cargo, was put into drydock where she was inspected by the Lloyd's inspector and underwent some minor repairs. During her maiden trip the steamer was scrutinized by the Captain and the crew, as one of the criteria used in acceptance trials was the ship's handling and stability. Captain Ilbery was not completely satisfied and, considering he was previously in charge of Geelong, presumably reported to the owners that the ship did not have the same stability as his old vessel. He was especially concerned with the difficulty of properly loading the steamer to maintain her stability, which resulted in a heated exchange between the owners and the builders following the vessel's return to England. The subsequent inquiry into her sinking raised some disputed reports of instability on this voyage. On 27 April 1909 Waratah set out on her second trip to Australia carrying 22 cabin, 193 steerage passengers in addition to a large cargo of general merchandise, and had a crew of 119. The outward trip was largely uneventful, and the steamer arrived at Adelaide on 6 June after touching off at Cape Town on 18 May. Upon loading approximately 970 tons of lead ore at Adelaide, the steamer continued to Melbourne and had to plough through a strong gale which also complicated her berthing upon arrival there on 11 June. She continued on to Sydney where she loaded her cargo for the return voyage, consisting among other things of flour, wool, dairy, frozen meat, and 7,800 bars of bullion, and departed on 26 June. She stopped to complete her loading at Melbourne and Adelaide and set out from Adelaide on 7 July bound for the Colony of Natal port of Durban, on to the Cape Colony port of Cape Town and continuing to Europe. Aside from almost 100 passengers, she also had on board a convict being extradited to Transvaal Colony, accompanied by two Transvaal policemen. Waratah reached Durban on the morning of 25