MOIRA ACCOUNT.

The Brisbane Courier, Wednesday 27 March, 1912.

Captain Brett Ward, master of the

Moira, which reached Wyndham 

yesterday, forwarded the following 

cable message, via Broome, to the 

Premier :-

"We encountered cyclonic weather at 8 a.m. 

on the 20th, in latitude 19 20 deg. south,

and longitude 117 deg. east, 100 miles 

north-west of Hedland. The Moira was 

run before the storm in a westerly direction

about 150 miles. The storm roughly lasted 

21 hours, the wind gradually shifting from 

east and north-east to south-westerly.

The ship proceeded on her journey, 

passing 60 miles north-west of Rowley

Shoals (255 miles). The steamer Charon 

was near Liguliea reef at 7 a.m. on the 22nd, 

bound for Java. I consider the cyclone was 

more severe nearer the land than with us. 

We did not sight the Koombana."

The Moira encountered the cyclone 8 am, 20 March, approximately 69 n miles from the position where Bullarra encountered the inferior (bottom) aspect of the cyclone, 2 pm, 20 March . This was 7 hours prior and Moira 100 n miles northwest of Port Hedland. If she had been fitted with wireless Captain Ward could have warned both Koombana and Bullarra while anchored at Port Hedland !!

The interesting thing about the Moira account and conceptualized on the image below is that the steamer struck the 'inferior' aspect of the cyclone (wind from east), which was moving more south southeastward than southwestward (as I had imagined) and completely missed the steamer track Koombana would have taken from Port Hedland to Broome! Furthermore, the cyclone was moving roughly 11.1 knots until it approached landfall slowing down ---> stalling ? 

The image of the SS Moira, below, confirms yet another humble steamer which survived the cyclone which took Koombana to the bottom. She was a cargo steamer built, 1901, by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton, for the Australasian United Steam Navigation Company (A.U.S.N.) - 2184 gross tons; 300 ft. in length and powered by a single triple expansion engine.

In fairness to Koombana the complexity of Moira's intersection with the cyclone suggests that she was blown to the west out of the worst of the system, which might explain why she survived and what's more, the influence of the cyclone extended considerably beyond the 50 mile radius, not in terms of a battering gale, but in terms of strong winds and heavy rain.

SS Moira - 1901 (courtesy wrecksite.eu)

courtesy Google Earth

courtesy Trove