A LARGE PATCH OF STRAW AND THE 'MAIN CAUSE OF THE DISASTER'.

The West Australian, 6 November, 1948

THE KOOMBANA SINKING

By W. J. WALKERDEN

WHEN the schooner Alto

bumped against a jetty and

disclosed some faulty timbers,

a Port Hedland dealer was

forced into a decision which was

to provide the only evidence of

the spot where the Koombana

went down with all hands.

The Alto was a softwood

schooner, a relic of the boom

days of big pearling fleets, when

a number of luggers operated

from a mother ship. After

several years of inactivity she

had been bought by an 

enterprising mariner who intended

sailing her to Fremantle with a

payload of mixed cargo, including 

several thousands of empty

bottles which a dealer had

gathered and was shipping

south. When the dealer saw

the condition of the hull he

Lightly loaded and with her ballast tanks emptied to clear the bar, the Koombana left Port Hedland to steam into one of the worst cyclones the North has experienced.

Helpthe condition of the Alto's hull

he refused to entrust his valu-

able cargo to such a fragile

craft; and "Leech's Fortune,"

as the huge stack of empties had

become known, was transferred

as deck cargo to the Koombana.

But about 60 miles from Hedland 

some searchers found a large 

patch of straw. Perhaps

a quarter of an acre in extent, 
it was composed of straw

envelopes in which bottles are

packed--all that remained of

"Leech's Fortune."

1. Stateroom door; painting stage; small pieces of board. SS Gorgon

2. Motor launch starboard bow plank (with insignia). SS Bullarra

3. Small wreckage; (life) boat tanks; lifebelts; panel from saloon / smoke room ceiling. SS Bullarra
(see: https://koombanarevisited.blogspot.com/2019/11/sufficient-warning.html)

4. Bottom board from (life) boat; white painted board. Lugger McLennan. 

5. (life) boat mast and small wreckage (rising from bottom). SS Una

6. Miscellaneous wreckage. SS Una   

7. Miscellaneous wreckage. SS Una. 

(see https://koombanarevisited.blogspot.com/2019/10/captain-rantzau.html)

8. Cabin paneling. Lugger Mina.

9. Smoking room cushion; cabin door. SS Minderoo.

10. Straw envelopes (Leech's fortune). SS Minderoo and SS Gorgon.
(see:  https://koombanarevisited.blogspot.com/2019/11/sufficient-warning.html)
11. Bottom boards (lifeboat); drawer; small teak panel. SS Minderoo.

Meanwhile, out on the pearling

beds, Japanese divers were 

surfacing and reporting heavy

ground swell, an infallible 

indication of an approaching

storm; lugger owners were 

raising anchors and preparing to

make for port or run before the

wind. On March 20, 1912, the

Koombana, lightly loaded, and

with her ballast tanks emptied

to clear the bar, left Port Hed-

land to steam into one of the

worst cyclones the North has

experienced. She was never

seen again.

The captain's decision to leave

port was criticised after the

tragedy, but the facts vindicated

his action. In the open sea

the ship should have been 

capable of riding the storm. 

The tide was receding; had he 

remained in port another day,

at least a week would have

elapsed before another high

tide enabled him to leave port.

In maritime phrase, he would

have been neaped.

As it was, to clear the bar he

had to empty his water ballast

tanks. This was probably the

main cause of the disaster. The

ship, naturally top-heavy, was

made more so by the light

cargo and lack of ballast. Be-

fore she could regain ballast the

blow struck her.

Officially, the spot where she

sank is unknown. A cabin door

and part of a grating was all

the identifiable wreckage found.

That was where the Koombana

sank. Her resting place may

be for ever a secret. Our 

northern waters are deep, and the

playground of uncharted currents. 

She may have drifted far before 

she found rest in the lee of some 

coral island, or the frozen seas

of the Antarctic.

A fascinating, insightful commentary. I believe that the bottles filled with water and did not rise to the surface with the lighter straw envelopes.

courtesy Trove.