Lascars Grave ('Clan Ranald' Communal Grave) Print Page 
The plaque was erected at the mass communal grave to commemorate the Lascar seaman who perished in the sinking of the "Clan Ranald." in January 1909. The original commemorative plaque was replaced with a new plaque in 2009, listing the sailors names, and information signage has been erected at the grave site.
A lascar (also spelled lashkar, laskar) was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian Subcontinent or other countries east of the Cape of Good Hope, employed on European ships from the 16th century until the beginning of the 20th century
Wrecked in January 1909 the Clan Ranald shipwreck is one of South Australia`s worst maritime disasters. Forty lives were lost and only 24 members or the crew survived when the Clan Ranald was wrecked in January 1909. They were heroically rescued by members of the local community, and despite being battered and bleeding when the survivors reached shore, 20 of the crew, who were Filipino and Indian, were seized and deported by the Commonwealth for being illegal immigrants. After public outcry against the scandalous treatment of these survivors, the Commonwealth Government was forced to allow coloured persons who were shipwrecked to land in Australia without restriction.
Location
| Address: | Edithburgh - Coobowie Road, Cemetery , Edithburgh, 5583 |
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| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.076694 Long: 137.743742 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Maritime |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 31-January-1909 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 31-January-1909 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 31st January, 2009 |
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Plaque :
''Clan Ranald' Communal Grave'
On 31 January the steamer 'Clan Ranald' sank off Troubridge Hill, south of Edithburgh. 34 Asiatic ('Lascar') crewmen perished, with 31 bodies recovered and buried in this communal grave. The sailors identities were recorded on official documents but the grave was simply marked 'names unknown.'
The 'Lascar' seaman who lost their lives on the Clan Ranald were:
[Names]
This plaque was unveiled on 31 January 2009.
[ Original Plaque ]
This commemorative plaque was erected to mark the burial place of 31 Asiatic seamen - names unknown - who lost their lives in the wreck of the steamer "Clan Ranald" near Troubridge Hill on 1st February 1909.
