Recent searches (Shipwreck Hunters Australia) for the wreck of Koombana have not been successful but from what I have been told there will be a fresh search based on computer-modeling of flotsam drift patterns. I wish the team every success.
Personally, I believe the following proposal would have yielded the Koombana wreck site had resources been accessible:
"SS Koombana (1912) – Proposal for search Ross Anderson Report —Department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Museum, No. 333 November 2019
Background:
The disappearance of the Adelaide Steamship Company’s 3,668 ton coastal passenger ship SS Koombana with 157-158 crew and passengers in a cyclone, while on a voyage between Port Hedland and Broome, remains Australia’s worst civilian maritime disaster, and one of Australia’s abiding maritime mysteries. Previous searches have focused on magnetic anomalies discovered by aerial magnetometer searches, or contemporary reports of flotsam or aerial sightings of submerged dark objects.
One significant report that has not yet been followed up is from Captain Harry Upjohn of the Adelaide Steamship Company’s SS Bullarra, which was caught in the same cyclone (and miraculously survived after going through its eye). At the Court of Marine Inquiry into the loss of Koombana, Captain Upjohn stated that while searching for Koombana in early April 1912 he had located an oil slick from which he recovered a number of samples:
MR. MOSS. When you were searching for the wreckage of the "Koombana" did you notice any oily substance floating on the surface?
- Yes. Please tell the Court? - It was in latitude 19.11 and 119.25 E.
What distance would that be off Bedout Island?
- About 27 or 28 miles - I cannot say which.
Did you take any samples of this oily substance?
- Yes. Two or three dozen bottles.
What depth was there at this place?
- 30 or 35 fathoms.
Did you see any trace of the vessel in that depth?
There would be nothing to indicate that the Koombana or any other vessel would be there?
- It was getting dark and it looked like the outline of a vessel. The Chief Officer said "It must be one of her decks," I said "No, the decks would not look like that." I could see no more. The engines were stopped and we drifted for about 4 miles.
What was the stuff in the bottles?
- Oily, greasy water.
Have you any idea as to how that came there?
- It looked as if it came from a wreck.
There would be stuff on the ship to make this?
- Yes.
Where are those bottles?
- At the Company's office. We will produce these if desired.
MR. DOWLEY. You saw this at dusk?
- Yes.
(Extracts, Court of Marine Inquiry, loss of S.S. "Koombana", Harbour & Lights Department, Western Australia, 25 April—6 May, 1912. Copy held by Annie Boyd, Testimony of Harry Upjohn, Master of S.S. “Bullarra": http://koombanadays.com/ch12/src/ct/kd12ct002.html)
Although Captain Upjohn’s report was tendered at the Court of Marine Inquiry there is no evidence that this location, was further investigated either at the time, or by any surveys since then. Though further out that his reported 27-28 nautical miles from Bedout Island (the position is within 30 nautical miles) it is significant that Captain Upjohn’s coordinates correlate with the charted depths in the area, and the outer steamer track between Port Hedland and Broome. It is logical that Koombana’s Captain Allen would have attempted to maintain Koombana’s course from Port Hedland to Broome as closely as possible given that:
a) Broome was scheduled as Koombana’s next port of call and was his stated destination;
b) upon reaching the open sea after leaving Port Hedland he would have likely interpreted a large northwest groundswell (reported by other vessels) as indicating the location of the centre of the cyclone i.e. some distance to the northwest;
c) on this basis if he would have known that if he remained on course to Broome he would have been steaming away from the centre of the cyclone. Koombana may have been forced to deviate from the steamer route due to weather stress or unintentional, hypothetical factors such as a flooded engine room, lost steering or broken-down machinery.
Captain Allen may also intentionally have turned Koombana’s bows into large seas (i.e. in a northwest direction) to maintain headway and increase the ship’s stability if he was experiencing difficulty in maintaining stability in large swells and strong winds.
Proposed search area Mapping of previous searches for Koombana on the Department of Maritime Archaeology’s Geographic Information System (GIS) show that Captain Upjohn’s reported location lies within proximity to the steamer route from Port Hedland to Broome and has not been covered by any searches to date.
Following the above the most logical location to search for Koombana is along the steamer route between Port Hedland and Broome, with a priority search area being Captain Upjohn’s coordinates for the oil slick he reported as likely emanating from a wreck. Captain Upjohn’s coordinates of 19.11 S and 119.25 E lie 30 nautical miles (a bit further out than the 27-28 nautical miles from Bedout Island he stated), bearing 30.6 degrees north-east, from Bedout Island in an area of uneven bottom ranging from 23.5 to 34 fathoms (43-62m) depth at chart datum.
It is not clear if Captain Upjohn’s quoted 30-35 fathoms (54-63m) depth refers to different seabed soundings in the vicinity, minimum and maximum height of an object on the seabed, or minimum depth and tidal range.
The shaded box (see below) surrounding Captain Upjohn’s reported coordinates for an oil slick is the proposed search area (WA Museum). The proposed search area is defined by the following coordinates (WGS84): NW corner 119.316 E, 19.151 S NE corner 119.438 E, 19.097 S SW corner 119.388 E, 19.307 S SE corner 119.507 E, 19.256 S This equates to a 14.26 x 18.9 km search area, or 269.51km square search area.
Site formation:
The Koombana shipwreck site is predicted to be protruding above a sandy seabed. If sunk on an even keel it is likely to be buried to around its waterline, consistent with site formation processes of other large steel and iron steam shipwrecks on sandy seabeds (Riley 1988: 191-197). If capsized it would be similarly partially buried with hull remains expected to be exposed above the seabed. The depth of burial may vary with scouring and sand movement in the area.
Much of the upper bridge and cabin superstructure constructed of wood, and wooden deck planking is likely to be deteriorated and missing. The hull plating and deck beams may have partially or totally collapsed, with bow and stern structures, boilers, engines, propeller shaft and other machinery remaining substantially intact.
Search methodology:
The search should utilise appropriate personnel, vessels and equipment for remote sensing of both protruding and magnetic seabed features including side-scan sonar, magnetometer and multi-beam sonar (MBS).
There are geological magnetic disturbances in the Turtle Island and Bedout Island area that may affect magnetometer searches, so side scan sonar and/or multibeam sonar should be employed if possible. Offshore survey vessels such as used in the oil and gas industry based or operating in the Port Hedland area, or scientific research vessels such as CSIRO’s RV Investigator could undertake the work.
Environmental indications such as bird activity and fish shoaling have been reported on other wrecks in northern Australian waters, and may be an indication of a large shipwreck site nearby.
Recording methodology:
If the wreck is located in divable depth a dive team could record the wreck using camera and video. If found to lie in deep water a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) suitably equipped with cameras and lighting could record the wreckage and surrounding seabed. The WA Museum and imaging experts from Curtin University’s Hub for Immersive Visualisation Experiences (HIVE) have worked closely together using specialised 3D imaging and processing equipment to record deep-water shipwrecks, including HMAS Sydney, HSK Kormoran, (Figure 4) and AE1 submarine, and can provide advice and equipment in this area.
Reporting:
Reporting the finding of any shipwreck or other underwater cultural heritage (UCH) such as submerged aircraft is a legal requirement of the Commonwealth Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018. The WA Museum is the delegated agency for the reporting and management of Commonwealth UCH in Australian waters off the coast of Western Australia. Reporting the results and data from any search for SS Koombana—whether successful or not—should be provided to the WA Museum to incorporate into the state archive and Department of Maritime Archaeology’s GIS, to inform any future planning for search areas.
References:
Boyd, A., 2013, Koombana Days, Fremantle Press, Perth. Boyd, and Koombana Days website. Available at http://koombanadays.com/index.html Extracts, Court of Marine Inquiry, loss of S.S. "Koombana", Harbour & Lights Department, Western Australia, 25 April—6 May, 1912. Copy held by Annie Boyd, Testimony of Harry Upjohn, Master of S.S. “Bullarra": http://koombanadays.com/ch12/src/ct/kd12ct002.html Rensburg, A., September 2019, ‘Koombana revisited: Coordinates conclusion’. Available at http://koombanarevisited.blogspot.com/2019/08/coordinatesconclusion.html Riley, J. 1988, The waterline theory of iron ship disintegration, in McCarthy, M. (ed.) Iron Ships and Steam Shipwrecks: Papers from the First Australian Seminar on the Management of Iron Vessels and Steam Shipwrecks, Western Australian Museum, Fremantle: 191-197. WA Museum, Department of Maritime Archaeology, SS Koombana file (189/73).
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to independent researcher Annie Boyd for sharing her historical research into SS Koombana. Thanks to both Annie Boyd and independent researcher Andrew Van Rensburg for email discussions on the search area, and maintaining a strong interest in the search for SS Koombana. Front cover image of SS Koombana: Allan C. Green (1878–1954) - State Library of Victoria – Accession Number: H91.250/1542 Image Number: b41089 (higher resolution version)"
 |
| Proposed search block, courtesy Dr Ross Anderson. Bedout Island central. |
No comments:
Post a Comment