KOOMBANA LAUNCHED.

I have explored the SS Yongala disaster in depth and come to some contentious conclusions surrounding her loss, 23 March, 1911. It seems logical to have a closer look at the SS Koombana disaster almost a year later and under similar circumstances - same owners. I shall draw my commentary from Trove period newspaper reports and the official Inquiry. It will be a learning curve and as the posts progress I hope to gain insight into the steamer, her souls, the shipowners and the Nor'west coastal service. Trove reports are not always accurate and I welcome comments. Annie Boyd has written a comprehensive book on the subject, Koombana Days, and my intention is not to reinvent the wheel; I simply want to find out as much as I can and attempt to get under the skin of the circumstances surrounding the loss of the Koombana. 

Let us start at the beginning:

The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 24 December, 1908.

THE KOOMBANA LAUNCHED. 

Accounts of the ceremony of launching the steamer

Koombana from the yards of Alex. Stephen and Son,

Limited, Linthouse, on Oct. 2 were received by the

last mail. The Koombana, which has been built to the 

order of the Adelaide S.S. Company, Ltd., is 

310 ft In length (340 ft.) between perpendiculars, with a 

beam of 46 ft (48 ft. 2 in.) and a

depth of 32 ft. (29.5 ft.)

She has been constructed under the British Corporation 

shelter deck rules as a passenger and cargo steamer, 

carrying first and second-class passengers, a large 

number of cattle, and a considerable amount of general 

cargo. Her engines, also supplied by the builders, and a 

set of Babcock and Willcox water-tube boilers will be shipped 

at Princes Dock. The refrigerating machinery on board has 

been supplied by Messrs. J. and E. Hall, Ltd., London. A

Clayton fire-extinguishing and disinfecting installation

has also been fitted. Seven sets of Welin quadrant

davits have been fitted. The vessel was named by

Mrs. S. Elgar of Brisbane, wife of one of the company's

superintendents in England.

Wikipedia offers an excellent summary and one can take more detailed specifications from this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Koombana

Name:	SS Koombana
Owner:	Adelaide Steamship Company
Port of registry:	Adelaide, Australia
Official number:	122725
Builder:	Alexander Stephen and Sons, Glasgow, Scotland
Launched:	27 October 1908
Fate:	Lost at sea, 20 March 1912
Status:	Still missing

Tonnage:	3,668 GRT
Length:	340 ft 1 in (103.66 m)
Beam:	48 ft 2 in (14.68 m)
Draft:	20 ft 8 in (6.30 m)
Installed power:	4,000 hp (3,000 kW)
Propulsion:	Inverted steam engines
Crew:	74

4,000 ihp was not replicated at trials and the figure quoted at the Inquiry was 3,082 ihp, good for almost 15 knots (trials, 14.6 knots).

Net tonnage: 2182

Koombana was a shelter deck class steamer. Shelter deck by definition is 'the upper deck having no protection from the weather, but sheltering the deck below.' i.e. shelter deck rather than spar deck, which was 'the highest steel deck that extended continuously throughout the full length of the ship.' i.e. cattle deck or main deck.

A typical shelter deck - courtesy Gjenvick archives.

SS Koombana - courtesy wikipedia - note prominent top hamper and funnel.

same davits as fitted to Titanic.