Regrettably, two of the rescuers from the Tug 'Sir Charles Elliott' perished during the rescue.

The Temeraire's motor lifeboat, under the command of 1st Mate Jacob Brochmann, was launched and 10 men were taken off Dunedin Star but the boat took in a lot of water causing the motor to stop. The crew then had to row for an hour and a half before the rescued could be handed over to British Freighter Manchester Division, which had also arrived to help. The lifeboat crew was now too exhausted to continue, so the boat was hauled back on board Temeraire. The following morning the tug Sir Charles Elliott arrived from Walvis Bay, again the Temeraire's lifeboat had to be lowered and the remaining 32 still on board Dunedin Star were taken off in 4 trips. The tug transferred 40 of the rescued crew to the Manchester Division and were transported to Cape Town. Captain Lee, the last to leave the Dunedin Star, with the Chief Engineer and the Senior 2nd Engineer were  put on the minesweeper HMSAS Nerine.

Dawn on the third day 2nd Dec. the British Freighter Manchester Division, which had come up during the night. During the rescue of 40 crew members from the Dunedin Star they were transferred to the Manchester Division. On the 3rd Dec. she continued her journey to Cape Town with these survivors.

On Monday 30th Nov. at 2pm the Nerine, having first stacked the decks with Carley Floats filled with emergency supplies, left Walvis Bay on the 400 mile journey north to the site of the wrecked Dunedin Star. Arriving on the 2nd Dec. she immediately set to work assisting in the rescue during which Capt. Lee and engineers Tomlinson and McGee were put on board. The next day the Nerine discharged some of her supply floats, intended for the beached party, which disappeared, taken by the strong current. Moving closer to shore she again released the remaining floats and then headed home to Walvis Bay.
7th  Dec. the Nerine having re-fuelled and with further supplies, headed back to the castaways. On the 9th Dec the Nerine again arrived at the scene of the wrecked Dunedin Star. Her life boat was launched but was unable to get a line to the shore by rockets. With a rope tied to his waist, heroically, Radio Operator Denis Scully swims ashore and the rescue begins. Of the Dunedin Star beached survivors 14 crew, 2 women and 2 children were rescued. 10th December the operation was repeated again 8 more castaways were rescued. Denis Scully also returned to the Nerine at this time. 

As co-pilot Lieutenant Paddy Nicolay, observer, Lieutenant Johann Doms,  radio operator, Sergeant Bentley Chapman.
3rd Dec. loaded with supplies, at 2pm they took off from Walvis Bay at around 4.20pm Capt. Naude found the shipwreck. After jettisoning the supplies, most of which were destroyed on impact, it was decided an attempt would be made to land the Ventura. About a mile and a half away he identified a flat strip and put the Ventura down. Inadvertently, the plane had landed on a sand-covered section of a salt-pan crust and penetrated the surface. The following day it was discovered that it would be impossible to move the aircraft as the wheels had sunk too deeply into the salt-pan.
17th January 1943 an Overland Convoy set off from Windhoek led by Capt. Naude to recover the Ventura Bomber. 29th January, Although the aircraft managed to get airborne, with Naude as pilot, after flying for just under an hour it developed engine problems and crash landed into the sea 200 yards from the beach at Rocky Point. All the crew managed to get ashore and were later rescued by the returning convoy that had taken them to recover the Ventura.

It is without doubt,  the Ventura Bombers of the South African Air Force were vital in saving many lives of the survivors of the wrecked Dunedin Star. The skills deployed by the pilots can never be overstated, when making drops and landing their aircraft at makeshift runways at Rocky Point to pick up survivors who were then transported to Walvis Bay.

Throughout the rescue operation pilots and crew flew their aircraft, often making several flights a day to drop life saving water, food and emergency supplies to the shipwrecked on the beaches of the ‘Skeleton Coast‘. On occasions they were called upon to drop supplies to Captain Smith’s Land Convoy and report back the convoys progress to Walvis Bay.

The rescue operation did have its lighter moments however, it was reported - Just as the plane was about to leave on another supply run, a report was received, through Cape Town, from a ship some distance to the west of the wrecked liner announcing the presence of a submarine. The Ventura, as the only bomber available, was ordered to make a reconnaissance immediately. There was no time to unload the supplies and replace them with bombs. Capt. Uys took off, knowing that if he located the submarine on the surface and she chose to fight it out, he could drop only tins of water, condensed milk, biscuits and bully beef on her. No doubt the submarine commander, so far from home, would have been glad of those extra supplies.

SA Defence Force Convoy

On the 2nd April 1943 the MV Melbourne Star on her way from Liverpool to Panama was torpedoed and sunk. Among those lost were six survivors of the Dunedin Star disaster.

On the 28th December 1944 the SS Empire Javelin of the Blue Star Line was engaged in carrying 1,448 troops and provisions from Southampton to Le Harve. Whilst 40 miles south  off the Isle of Wight she was torpedoed and sunk. Seven seamen perished with the SS Empire Javelin among them was Chief Electrician Davies survivor of the Dunedin disaster.

On the 4th December 1942 the tug 'Sir Charles Elliott' after helping to effect a rescue of survivors from the Dunedin Star made for home. Unbeknown to those on board she was several miles off course and ran aground and began to break up. In an attempt to swim ashore in the treacherous surf both McIntyre and Korsabseb were to lose their lives. Memorials were erected on the beach by their shipmates which survive to this day.