'LUCK IN THAT TIME.'

The West Australian, 11 April, 1912

THE KOOMBANA.

CAPTAIN'S LAST LETTER.

Captain Egan, of the Howard Smith Line,

who was schoolmate with Captain Allen, of

the ill-fated steamer Koombana, now missing

on the North-West coast of Australia, has,

says the "Sun" (Sydney), received what is

apparently the last letter written by the

latter to any of his friends in Sydney. It

was dated March 8, and in it Captain Allen

said that he had got through the worst of

the season as far as the climate was concerned. 

"I just kept clear of a blow last trip,"

he added, "but as soon as I got round the

North-West Cape it started, so my luck was

in that time."

This is a tragic revelation in three important respects:

1. Captain Allen acknowledged in writing his patent concern regarding Koombana being caught in a 'blow'.

2. Captain Allen knew that his luck would ultimately run out: 'so my luck was in that time'.

3. The end of March was the tail end of the cyclone season and he and his steamer 'almost' escaped harm.

The extracts are poignant, predictive and utterly saddening.

8 March, the date of the letter, was roughly two weeks before the disaster, written after the 'near miss'. Moxon and Co claimed at the Inquiry that the barometer had fallen two weeks before the disaster, but that 'there was nothing in it'. If Captain Allen's letter is anything to go by, there certainly was something in it! 

A Blow!

courtesy Trove.