WIRELESS - "WHERE IS MZP?"

The Daily News, Perth, 27 March, 1912

WHERE IS 'M.Z.P.?'

THE UNANSWERED CALL. -

THE KOOMBANA'S WIRELESS.

INTERESTING THEORY EXPLAINED.

- 'M.Z.P.! Zip, zip, z-z-z-z, zip!

M.Z.P.!'

All around the coasts of Australia,

and far into the Indian Ocean the

aerials of the wireless-equipped vessels

have been sending off Hertzian waves

with the above inquiry.

'M.Z.P.!' 'M.Z.P.!' - with tireless

energy the inquiry is being made, for

those letters represent the wireless

designation of the steamer Koombana

and along the western, southern, and

even eastern coasts of Australia, are

countless instruments seeking to get

in touch with 'M.Z.P.' and to 'receive'

an 'answer', even if it be the dreaded

distress signals, 'S.O.S.' or 'C.Q.D.'

So far  no reply has been received,

and although from a hundred-and-one

different points the blue sparks have

flashed from the instruments, and the.

continuous snapping of the message

has been followed with tense eagerness 

by a listening at the detector for

a reply, ever so faint, the Koombana's

instruments have remained silent, and

her whereabouts remains a mystery.

From many a high power and low

power instrument has the monotonous

signal gone forth, but nowhere, as far

as can be learnt, has there been picked

up a reply. This fact led a 'Daily News' 

reporter to make some inquiry as to the 

wireless installation on the Koombana

and some interesting particulars were

gleaned, particulars which lead to the

hope that after all the vessel may be 

safe, yet particulars also which have 

their grave side.

When the Koombana was at Fremantle 

last, it was found that some slight mishap 

had occurred to her wireless and an expert 

late at night had to motor to the port in order 

to fix matters up. This was successfully

accomplished and tests made proved

that the instruments were in good order.

Here it may be explained that the Koombana

is fitted with a standard power installation 

enabling her to send messages up to 250

miles in the day time, and considerably 

further at night time, according to the state 

of the atmosphere. In addition to this, she has 

an emergency plant, which is worked, not 

with a dynamo, but on the dry cell principle.

This will only allow of messages being

sent up to 100 miles, and would, with

use, work itself out in about 40 hours.

Some vessels, too, carry three aerials

— that is, the wires stretched from

mast to mast to receive messages —

but the Koombana had but two. 

In charge of the wireless on the steamer

was Mr. Lyon, a young operator from

one of the Commonwealth post offices,

who had been recently broken in to

wireless and whose first trip in charge

this was.

In conversation with a wireless expert 

our representative was given an

interesting theory of what may have

happened to the Koombana to explain

why she had not been heard of per

wireless. Said the expert: 'You see,

in a big storm such as raged up there

it is quite possible that the Koombana 

may have had her aerials carried

away, one or both of them. This

would necessitate a considerable delay,

more or less in extent, according to

the damage done. There is material

aboard the steamer for the repairing

of the wireless, but probably, with the

little experience, Lyon has had this

work would take longer than usual.

Again, supposing the Koombana 

shipped some very heavy seas, and 

the water found its way down to the

machine room, this would have the 

effect of putting out of action the high

power portion of the installation, and

from that time the Koombana although

able to receive from all over the place 

messages through her 'detector',

would be quite unable, except

with the 100-miler, to send any or to

answer. 

Thus, we may say, the position 

may be that the steamer is disabled 

somewhere, and is effecting repairs, 

and. all the time hearing the 'M.Z.P.' 

signal all day and all night long, and 

perfectly unable to reply.

For, of course, by this time, she would

have exhausted the dry-cell machine,

and even if that were not the case it

is not likely that there are any steamers 

fitted with wireless within 100 miles of 

the Koombana to pick up her

message's.''

"How would the atmospheric conditions 

affect the sending and receiving of 

messages?"

"That is a very important point. You

must know, you see, that for some

obscure reason or other it is easier to

transmit messages east and west than

it is to send them north and south.

So there, you see the messages being

sent out for the Koombana are nearly

all going north and south. 

There are, doubtless, operators on 

the other side making a chance of 

picking up the vessel. They may through 

some extraordinary, favorable circumstances,

succeed— if the steamer is afloat —but

the odds are against, owing to the

great extent of land to be passed over.

The atmosphere has a wonderful lot

of influence in the sending of messages. 

This is, of course, only natural, seeing 

that the messages are sent through the 

air. But it is a wonderful thing, but a fact, 

that by means of 'the' detectors attached 

to the wireless instruments — so sensitive 

are they— atmospheric disturbances, 

thunderstorms, etc., can be registered 

long before the barometer registers their 

approach.

And in the Nor'-West, at this time of 

the year, the air is, so to speak, full

of electrical atmospherical disturbances, 

all of which militate against successful 

long-distance wireless." 

"Usually you receive quicker replies

when calling up a vessel?"

"Yes. - As a matter of fact, I know

myself of an instance where a steamer,

and quite recently too, just leaving

Adelaide, sent out a certain urgent

call, and within half an hour  received

no fewer than 22 replies. All day

long and all night long messages are

being snapped out across the water,

and one gets tremendous surprises at

times, in messages being heard which are

being sent from all sorts of unthought of

places. 

Yes, if the Koombana is above 

water — and I fancy she is, for

she is a splendid sea boat — I think she

has had a mishap to her machinery,

which has prevented her from steaming

and consequently put out of gear

her wireless."

And still through the air, calling,

calling, calling, travels the vibrations

of the *'M.Z.P.,' zip 'zip, z-z-z-z, zip,

'M.Z.P.' message — unseen fingers

searching and prying into every hook

where ether is, and still no answer

and no message. Where is 'M.Z.P.'?

This is a fascinating insight into the early days of wireless communication. As yet, the west coast did not have any wireless stations to receive or transmit messages. Communication relied exclusively on the limited number of steamers carrying wireless sets. Certainly, most of the older coastal steamers did not. 

An interesting point is made that although the emergency battery-operated unit might have been working, there were unlikely to have been steamers carrying wireless within the narrow 100 mile range to receive a distress call.

Harry Lyon was clearly a novice, which introduces a number of potential operator-related limitations during a crisis at sea. 

Furthermore, Koombana's wireless had experienced some form of malfunction prior to departure from Fremantle, a problem which might have resurfaced after departing Port Hedland, 20 March. We know that Koombana was in communication with the steamer Gneissenau whilst at Hedland.

Shipping water might have been the final straw for the more powerful unit compounded by the two aerials coming adrift.

We shall probably never know the full details of that awful day and moment, but this comprehensive report gives us important insights.

THE WIRELESS.

Hedland Advocate, 30 September, 1911.

Wireless on. the s.s.

Koombana.

The enterprising A.S.S. Co. has

the Nor'-West mail boat equipped

with Marconi wireless apparatus.

All along the coast great interest

has been manifested in the equipment,

the details of which were courteously 

explained by the operator, Mr J. L. 

Mulholland. In order to obtain an 

efficient service the Marconi Wireless 

Co. insists on the working of both ship 

and stations by officers trained to

obey the same rules and regulations.

Hence the apparatus on the

Koombana is the property of the

Marconi Co. and is worked by that

Co.'s own operator. It is the usual

ship's set, as installed on the English 

mail boats. There is also an 

emergency set aboard, which is 

worked independently of the 

ship's electric supply.

On Wednesday night of last

week, while off Hedland (on the

up-trip) the Koombana was in

communication with the Karoola,

which vessel was steaming past

Cape Leeuwin. The Karoola recently

communicated with Cocos

Island over a distance of 2,250

miles.

During the trip from Fremantle

the Koombana communicated for

several days in succession with the

Ascaulus, Osterley, China, Seuvic,

and the Karoola.

There are now nearly 600 merchant

ships fitted with the Marconi

wireless system.

The Pilbarra Goldfield News, 25 April, 1912

The Koombana.

PROBABLY FOUNDERED MARCH 21.

According to Wireless Message.

Picked up in Bali Strait by Steamer

Montora.

Perth, April 19.

The steamer Montora arrived at

Port Darwin from Singapore last week,

and brought the last message from the

Koombana.

While passing through Bali Strait

on March 21, going towards Singapore,

she spoke the Koombana. The wireless 

operator said he failed to catch the

message clearly, but he learned the

Koombana was in trouble, and the

message ended with confused signals.

This was a further, intriguing dimension to the Koombana disaster. The captain of the Montora later denied this exchange of messages.

Hypothetically speaking could such an exchange have taken place given the range of Koombana's wireless as outlined in the above reports - maximum 250 miles during the day?

The site of the disaster was 700 miles from the Bali Straight. It does seem unlikely, given the north-south axis as referred to, even under the best of circumstances.

courtesy Google Earth

courtesy Trove.