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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ007125S
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00:51 This is Sydney's Waverly Cemetery,
00:54 many famous Australians are buried here, and you'll find 00:59 many classic sculpted symbols here of hope beyond the grave, 01:03 and you'll also find a remarkable perspective 01:07 Waverly was built on top of the cliffs of Bronte 01:10 an eastern suburb of Sydney and it looks out over 01:14 the Pacific, a wide blue ocean stands behind all this gray 01:20 burial stone. But what's even more remarkable is that 01:25 here in the cemetery, you can find the figure who represents 01:30 Australia's most fascinating Titanic story. 01:33 Yes, you are going to meet the sole Aussie survivor 01:38 of that Mid-Atlantic tragedy and see how that ship 01:42 set the stage for a true love story. 02:03 Waverly's Cemetery was established in 1877, 02:07 the first funeral took place that year. 02:10 Today you can see many well-preserved Edwardian 02:13 and Victorian monuments scattered about its 41 acres. 02:17 And this burial ground is standing above the Pacific would 02:22 eventually welcome in quite a few significant Australians. 02:25 You could walk by grave markers with remarkable stories 02:29 behind them, here's Henry Lawson he was born into 02:34 poverty and had struggles with mental illness. 02:40 Yet, he would become one of Australia's most famous poets, 02:45 in fact, his poems like The Song of Australia 02:49 would help define a nation's identity. 02:52 Here's another famous Aussie poet Dorothea Mackellar, 02:58 her work includes the well- known My Country, 03:03 perhaps the best known Australian poem with the lines, 03:07 I love a sunburn country a land of sweeping plains, 03:11 of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains. 03:17 Here lies Lawrence Hargrave, the aeronautical innovator 03:22 who invented the box kite. 03:25 Arthur Tauchert was a silent screen star in the 03:30 Australian Cinema, he's best remembered for his film; 03:35 Charles Owen Peart was a young circus entertainer, 03:40 he became famous for diving from a 15-meter tower 03:46 into a small tank of water only a meter deep. 03:49 Sadly, he died in a diving accident when he was only 19. 03:54 But here we have a very different into the water story, 04:00 believe it or not, it involves the Titanic. 04:04 History's most dramatic Ocean Liner tragedy and right here 04:09 lies the one Australian-born person who survived the 04:14 unsinkable ship's downfall, Evelyn Marsden. 04:18 That 1912 event has inspired many books and movies 04:24 of course, including one of the biggest blockbusters 04:27 of all time, Titanic. 04:29 Director James Cameron managed to put together 04:33 quite the love story on that ship with actors like 04:37 Kate Winslet, and Leonardo DiCaprio. 04:40 But Evelyn Marsden's experience on the Titanic involves a 04:45 real love story, a real adventure, 04:48 your about to discover it. 04:50 We've come to the town of Pigeon Forge in Tennessee 04:58 it's not that far from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 05:02 and this Titanic museum allows you to become a participant 05:08 in what it calls, one of the greatest human dramas 05:12 of all time. This is the unsinkable ship 05:18 that sailed out of Southampton, England 05:20 on April 12, 1912, the Royal Merchants Ship RMS Titanic 05:34 It was a maiden voyage, this was the golden era of 05:38 shipbuilding beginning in the 1890s and ending with 05:42 the Queen Mary, the White Starline had taken the 05:46 Trans-Atlantic Ocean liner trade to a whole new level. 05:50 Building a shipyard in Northern Ireland, the Titanic was 05:56 40% larger than the previous vessel, the Lusitania 06:00 that paraded the oceans as the largest vessel on earth. 06:04 Fully loaded, the Titanic weighed more than 52,000 tons, 06:09 this new ship featured a glamorous 1st class Ballroom 06:13 and dining salon, it had four elevators, and a swimming pool 06:18 on board, the first one built into an ocean liner. 06:23 This was the Luxury Liner and this is the Boarding Pass 06:28 that would allow you on board. This is how the richest and 06:32 most famous people in the early 1900s could cross the Atlantic 06:38 in the most stylish way. 06:40 But way down in 3rd class compartments, 06:43 many penniless immigrants were crossing the Atlantic too. 06:47 The Titanic was supposed to be very, very safe, 06:52 it had 16 compartments that included door that could be 06:57 closed from the Bridge, that way water could be contained 07:02 if the hull were ever breached. 07:04 But then, on the evening of April 14, 1912, came that 07:11 fateful randevu with an iceberg. 07:14 Iceberg! Iceberg! Right ahead! Iceberg right ahead! 07:18 [Bell Ringing] 07:20 That day, warnings about icebergs had been sent 07:24 through wireless radio operators up here to the Bridge. 07:28 Imagine the man steering that mighty vessel in this place, 07:32 they must have been confident even in the dark of night 07:36 they had the latest and best of equipment under their feet. 07:41 Captain Edward Jay Smith sent the Titanic, full speed ahead 07:46 at 22 knots, it was sailing south of Newfoundland. 07:51 Suddenly, a lookout rang a warning bell and telephoned 07:56 this Bridge, a towering iceberg had suddenly appeared 08:00 straight ahead in the dark, the helmsman swerved to miss it, 08:04 engines were placed in reverse, but that long, heavy vessel 08:09 couldn't turn in less than a minute. 08:11 At 11:40 p.m., the iceberg scraped along the starboard 08:17 side of the bough, cutting into the Titanic's hull, 08:21 it was the beginning of the end. 08:29 [Music] 08:32 Evelyn Marsden climbed and descended these stairs 08:37 many times, this is the Grand Staircase, 08:42 it cost the museum over a million dollars to build. 08:47 Yes, a handcrafted wooden inlaid 24-carrot gold-leafed feature 08:54 it took 1st class passengers into the elevated 08:58 Ship Board Society, the places where the rich and the richer 09:03 could mingle and have dinner. 09:05 Evelyn Marsden had signed on The RMS Titanic in 1912 09:10 as a stewardess, she was 28 and single at the time. 09:14 Evelyn discreetly watched passengers gliding into 09:18 the 1st class salon, they included famous businessmen 09:22 she recognized like John Aster and Benjamin Guggenheim. 09:26 For a week, she stood by at their beck and call 09:30 and Evelyn also served as a nurse for the 1st class 09:35 passengers, so she would have known this area very well. 09:40 How did this young woman from South Australia make it 09:44 all the way to the Titanic? 09:46 Well, let's go back and see. 09:58 Evelyn grew up back in the 1890s here in the tiny railway town 10:05 of Hoyleton, there's not much left here now, but her father 10:10 came here when Evelyn was 15 to become the station master. 10:19 This teenager would spend her holiday's at Murray Bridge 10:23 a town outside of Adelaide, family, friends, at a farm 10:27 not far from the Murray River. 10:29 Evelyn took a liking to the row boats and learned to row 10:33 quite well. For some reason straining against the tides 10:37 and currents of this river was a challenge she loved, 10:41 and Evelyn would become a member of the Murray Bridge 10:44 Women's Rowing Club. 10:47 In her teens, Evelyn began to see nursing as her life's work, 10:52 after earning a degree, she started working as a 10:56 probationer nurse at Adelaide Hospital in 1907. 11:00 Her salary was 12 pounds a year and she was given 11:05 apartment rations and a uniform, but early on, Evelyn had another 11:10 deep longing, she wanted to explore the world. 11:14 She wanted to experience life in other countries, 11:17 other cities, other cultures, and this young nurse 11:22 dreamed of doing that on the deck of a big ocean liner. 11:25 Now, all that was pretty unique back in the 1890s and 11:32 early 1900s, women typically just stayed at home 11:35 and went to building a nice family nest. 11:37 Furthermore, Evelyn wasn't rich enough to travel that way, 11:42 she couldn't do what those wealthy business people 11:45 did so often sailing from Europe to America, in essence, 11:50 she was the forerunner of todays Ozzie Backpacker. 11:54 But Evelyn eventually did manage to find work as a 12:00 ship stewardess, now she could pursue 12:03 her dream on the world's most magnificent Ocean Liners, 12:07 she was able to visit exotic places in Europe, 12:10 Africa, and the Mediterranean. 12:12 Evelyn would send postcards to her niece Ezila, 12:17 that young woman would keep 100 of them, 12:19 postcards and words from Cairo, the Suez Canal, London, 12:25 Marcé, they documented a life well-traveled. 12:29 But on a voyage to England, Evelyn found something 12:33 even grander, this trained nurse ran into the ship's 12:37 young doctor, William James, he seemed so distinguished, 12:42 so handsome and friendly, and for William, 12:45 Evelyn seemed very charming, hardworking, and optimistic. 12:50 It didn't take long for those two to fall in love, 12:55 they found ways to work together and they could take moments 12:57 to walk around on the upper deck together under a wide sky 13:01 looking out at a vast ocean. 13:04 Their feelings growing stronger and stronger seemed as 13:09 encompassing as the Atlantic. They started making plans 13:13 for a life together. William was working for the White Star 13:16 line as a physician, Evelyn managed to transfer 13:20 over to that company as a stewardess, 13:23 they were hoping to be assigned to the same ocean vessels 13:27 and it happened. Both got a very enviable assignment 13:31 in 1912, they were to be placed on board the new RMS Titanic. 13:38 This couple would become one of the first to experience the 13:42 style, opulence, and state of art engineering of one of the 13:47 wonders of that age. 13:49 One day, Evelyn's niece Eslia got a postcard from William 13:53 after he was assigned to the Titanic, delighted with the 13:57 thought of sailing with Evelyn, he had proposed, she'd said yes, 14:01 now this was his fiancée, so he sent a cousin a warm message 14:06 I shall see you someday soon. 14:09 But then, at the very last minute, Dr. James, who had 14:14 taken off the ship, the White Star Line made a sudden 14:18 roster change, the couple was very, very disappointed. 14:22 They had to say a sad goodbye on the dock, 14:25 little did they realize at the time, this would actually 14:29 save James's life. 14:31 After the Titanic's collision with the iceberg 14:43 Evelyn didn't just panic; she went up on the deck 14:47 and began helping people as the ship leaned ominously 14:51 into the ocean, she scurried about boarding women 14:54 and children onto lifeboat 16. 14:57 As it filled up, Bruce Ismay, the manager of the 15:02 White Star Line spotted Evelyn still looking for more women 15:06 and children, he quickly ordered her to jump in, she protested, 15:11 but I'm only a stewardess, never mind, he replied. 15:15 I've seen you give way to several others, 15:18 It's your turn now, Evelyn was the last passenger 15:22 onto lifeboat 16. [screaming and yelling] 15:32 An officer on the port side of the ship lowered them 15:37 down to the water at 1:35 AM, they were told to move away 15:41 in the bitter cold, so the little boat wouldn't be 15:45 dragged under when that huge vessel plunged down. 15:49 Then, as they moved away, Evelyn could hear a ship board band 15:53 playing the classic hymn Nearer My God to Thee. 15:58 [Music of Nearer My God to Thee] 16:07 That was the song of faith that would keep rising off the 16:11 Titanic's deck as the vessel went down. 16:14 Evelyn would stay on that lifeboat drifting in the 16:17 dark Atlantic for two and a half hours, 16:20 slowly, the other passengers began to notice something 16:24 remarkable, Evelyn was rowing the boat and also 16:29 taking care of the baby, she kept rowing with the men, 16:33 she kept at it at that dark, cold, terrifying night, 16:37 hoping to keep that lifeboat on course away from the 16:41 sunken Titanic and toward other ship lanes. 16:45 Her hands would be rubbed raw by the oars through those 16:49 long dark hours. 16:56 But finally at seven in the morning, the Carpathia 16:59 came over the horizon, that was the only ship that would 17:03 arrive to rescue people on the lifeboats, more than 1,500 17:08 out of the 2,208 passengers and crew on that ship 17:12 had perished. Evelyn was now sailing in a warm vessel 17:17 toward New York, back in London Dr. William James waited 17:23 in agony, he had no idea if his fiancé had 17:26 survived that disaster that killed so many. 17:29 but five days after the Titanic sank, she managed to get 17:34 a telegram out to family, it said simply... 17:38 Evelyn alive! 17:40 William got the word and almost slumped to the ground. 17:44 Now he had life again, now he was going to see his 17:49 beloved Evelyn again face to face. 17:52 Evelyn managed to get on a ship from New York to London, 17:58 this couple's embrace on the dock would stick with them 18:03 for a long time. What had happened seemed remarkable 18:08 to them. William had been transferred just before 18:12 the Titanic departed, Evelyn survived among the hundreds 18:17 who didn't, they were meant to be together. 18:22 So William wasted no time, they got married very quickly 18:27 in Southampton, the happy couple made it back to Australia 18:31 in November of 1912. 18:38 James and Evelyn settled in Semaphore, South Australia, 18:42 Dr. James began his practice as a physician, evidently 18:46 working at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. 18:49 In time, they had moved to Bondi, Sydney, where 18:52 Evelyn's husband continued seeing patients, 18:55 they would have no children but they had a wonderful life 18:59 together. That tragic vessel somehow permitted a 19:03 happy ending. 19:12 The Titanic story has an enduring appeal of course 19:17 many books, shows, blockbusters, it speaks to us of life's perils 19:22 the way we may seem done when we least expect it. 19:26 After all, our world today isn't terribly stable, 19:30 there are big dangers out there, terrorism, for example, 19:34 isn't going away, ethnic and cultural conflicts keep 19:38 blowing up here and there, the world economy 19:42 goes up and down, yes, even more dramatically than a ship 19:46 trying to make it through a storm. 19:48 In other words, there are plenty of threats around us, 19:52 there are plenty of things that can keep us worried 19:55 and anxious. So a big life question is this, 20:00 how can we keep stable, how can we keep steady, 20:04 how can we keep rowing our lifeboat even through the 20:08 dark hours like Evelyn Marsden? 20:11 This Aussie survivor story actually suggests a key element, 20:16 remember what Evelyn was listening to as she rode away 20:20 from the sinking Titanic? Remember the hymn 20:23 Nearer My God to Thee? 20:25 Those musicians on the deck kept playing it even as 20:29 the deck angled toward the ocean. 20:31 Why, because we need to grab hold of something steady in 20:36 our chaotic world and the steadiest thing is this, 20:40 the rock of ages, the God of scripture is the greatest 20:45 source of stability, God is rock steady, supremely at peace, 20:51 tranquility flows out of the Eternal One. 20:55 This changeless consistent God can bring His peace 20:59 so close that it becomes a love story. 21:03 You can get really close to Him, you can make a commitment 21:07 like William and Evelyn did under the wide sky. 21:11 All kinds of people over the ages have found great peace 21:15 and stability getting into the Heavily Father's love story, 21:19 getting Nearer My God to Thee. 21:23 Evelyn and William are lying side by side here in 21:29 Waverly Cemetery, this gravestone reflects 21:38 a life together, the couple's grave was actually unmarked 21:42 until October of 2000, when this headstone was erected. 21:47 Evelyn passed away in 1938 she was just 54, 21:52 William James had to bury the love of his life right here. 21:58 And living without Evelyn just didn't seem doable 22:01 even to a prominent physician a week later, 22:05 William passed away, some say, of a broken heart, 22:09 resting together, resting peacefully. 22:14 Nearer my God to Thee: nearer to thee, 22:31 E'en though it be a Cross that raiseth me. 22:46 Still all my song shall be, nearer my God to Thee 23:02 nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee. 23:20 Where has your life brought you to? 23:23 Can you sense peace, even in the middle of a storm? 23:26 Can you keep rowing to a good place, not just fault or 23:31 misfortune? You know, for me, this Waverly Cemetery 23:36 suggests a good place more beautifully than just about 23:40 anywhere else because the tombstones here 23:44 have this view out to the wide ocean, they stand next to a 23:49 big blue open world, that's what the God of Peace 23:53 can bring us, that's what the rock of ages gives us 23:56 a peaceful, stable life, He enables us to keep rowing 24:02 to a good place. 24:04 Take hold of the rock of ages, this can become your great 24:09 love story, you can make a commitment, you can acknowledge 24:13 the providences toward God, the ways He's come close to you. 24:20 Focus on the tune those musicians played on the 24:24 sinking Titanic, Nearer My God to Thee. 24:27 Nothing helps us more than getting closer to the 24:31 Rock of ages, nothing takes us to a wider peaceful place 24:36 than a relationship with this eternal Heavenly Father. 24:40 Still all my song shall be, nearer my God to Thee, 24:56 nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee. 25:17 There in my Father's home safe and at rest, 25:29 there in my Savior's love, perfectly placed, 25:43 E'en tried to raise to be, nearer my God to Thee 26:01 nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee. [Music] 26:34 If you'd like to experience the peace that only Jesus 26:39 can provide, then I'd like to recommend the free offer 26:42 we have for all our Incredible Journey viewers today. 26:46 It's the booklet Finding Strength In The Midst of Pain. 26:51 This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free, 26:55 I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:59 So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity 27:03 to receive your free gift today. 27:06 Phone or text 0436.333.555 in Australia, or 020.422.2042 27:17 in New Zealand or 770.800.0266 in the United States. 27:24 Or, visit our website tij.tv or simply scan the QR Code 27:30 on your screen and we'll send you today's free offer 27:33 totally free of charge and with no obligation 27:36 you can also write to us at the addresses on your screen 27:40 or email us at info@tij.tv, don't delay, call or text us now. 27:50 Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you that we have 27:54 God in heaven, who loves us and cares for us, 27:57 and who guides our lives. We thank you for the peace 28:00 and happiness that you provide and we ask for your blessing 28:04 upon us and our families. In Jesus' name we pray, 28:09 Amen! |
Revised 2025-11-20