BEDOUT ISLAND LIGHT OUT.

The West Australian, Perth, Friday 5 April, 1912.

THE KOOMBANA,

ALL HOPE ABARNONED,

IN MEMORIAM SERVICES.

Yesterday brought to light no further 

details with regard to the Koombana. 

That she has gone down as the result 

of that Wednesday's terrible storm, 

there seems now no justification for 

doubting. The fact has, therefore, to 

be faced that, her entire complement 

of passengers and crew has also

perished in the waves. Many of the 

churches are preparing to hold 

"in memoriam" services as for the 

dead, and in St. George's Cathedral 

it is proposed to hold such a service 

on Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock. It

will be observed below that a relief fund

in aid of those who have suffered through

tie recent North-West cyclone has been

opened by the Mayor of Perth.

Yesterday the Adelaide S.S. Company formally 

announced by means of a statement. signed by 

the manager Mr. W. E. Moxon and posted in one 

of the windows of their offices at the Port that the 

ill-fated Koombana has been lost at sea, the 

melancholy item being read by is large number of

people who have visited the company's premises 

daily seeking some ray of hope.

Considerable comment has been made as

to the efficacy of the self-tended lights. such

as are used at Bedout Island and elsewhere,

and the opinion has been expressed that

owing to the fact that the light was found

to be out when the island was visited recently, 

they are not reliable. When spoken to in this 

connection yesterday afternoon, the Chief 

Harbour Master (Captain Irvine) stated that 

when the light was first installed on Bedout 

instructions were issued to mariners giving 

particulars as to the installation, and a 

particular warning was on that occasion 

conveyed to them that as the light was a 

self-tended one, too much reliance should 

not be placed upon it. The light, had everything 

gone right, should have remained alight till June 

next, but, as it was, it had remained in good 

working order, day and night, from December, 

1909, till last month. It could hardly be wondered 

at that a cyclone which could bring disaster to

a steamer like the Koombana should have

the effect of extinguishing a light like that

at Bedout. He doubted if, in the event of a

cyclone striking Fremantle, difficulties would

not be experienced in keeping the lights at

Rottnest burning properly. 

The Government  steamer Penguin would 

be leaving, however, towards the end of the 

present month for the North-West to overhaul 

the lights along the coast, and in the mean

time word had been passed to all master

mariners on the coast acquainting them

with the fact that the light was extinguished.

What ghastly timing. Irrespective of whether warnings were issued to masters or not it was the responsibility of the State to ensure that lights such as Bedout were kept functioning. Captain Upjohn (a previous post) found no evidence that the cyclone had struck Bedout with any degree of force. 

However, if Koombana had approached Bedout at dusk ---> night, having been delayed +/- 2 hours filling tanks, there is the possibility that Koombana could have taken a knock on the reef extending out from was western aspect of the island.

Irvine was passing the buck by stating that because the lighthouse was a 'self-tending one' 'too much reliance should not be placed upon it'. Unacceptable!

Irvine was lying when he claimed that the cyclone was responsible for extinguishing the light, because he knew full well by 26 March, from reports, that the light had gone out as early as a week before the advent of the cyclone and Koombana disaster. It is amazing that no one picked up on this and took him to task. 

 'Western Australia—North-West Coast. NOTICE is hereby given that the hurricane which passed over Bedout Island—lat. 19.35 S. 119.6 E.—on the 22nd inst., extinguished the unattended light established on this island in December, 1909. Further notice will be issued as soon as the lamp has been re-lighted. Charts affected. No. 1055—Bedout Island to Cape Cuvier. No. 1048—Buccaneer Archipelago to Bedout. C. J. IRVINE, Chief Harbour Master. Harbour and Light Department, Fremantle, 30th March, 1912.' 

 NOTICE TO MARINERS. Western Australia-North-West Coast. 1516/12. NOTICE is hereby given that the Bedout Island Light, lat. 19.35 S., long. 119.6 E., has been relighted. Description of light as follows:-Unattended, white, flashing every 10 seconds, thus: Flash 2 secs., eclipse 8 secs.; height of focal plane, 66 feet; visible 14 miles in clear weather. Charts affected. No. 1055,-Bedout Island. to Cape Cuvier. No. 1048.-Buccaneer Archipelago to Bedout. C. J. IRVINE, Chief Harbour Master. Harbour and Light Department, Fremantle, 22nd May, 1912.

The s.s. Una. which has been instructed

to proceed to Bedout Island, has also been

ordered by Captain Irvine to communicate,

if possible, with the s.s. Bullarra, and to

instruct her to proceed at once to Cossack

and await further instructions. It is understood 

that the Bullarra will be relieved from any 

further search work. In order to maintain 

the contract mail service between Fremantle 

and the Nor'West ports of the State, the Adelaide 

S.S. Co.. Ltd., have arranged for their steamer

Allinga, which was a regular visitor to Western 

Australia a few years back, to come to the West, 

and take up the running of the Koombana. 

At the end of a long tragic day, it was business as usual for the Adelaide Steamship Company, hastily organising a replacement for the lost Koombana. 

The Allinga will leave the East shortly for Western 

Australia and her date of departure for all ports to 

Derby is fixed for Tuesday, May 7.

The following telegrams have been received by 

the manager of the Adelaide S.S. Co.:

--"This Chamber desires to express its sincere 

sympathy with your company and the relatives 

of the officers, crew, and passengers of the 

Koombana for the sad news just received.-

Carnarvon Chamber of Commerce."

"My Council and residents wish to express

their regret at loss sustained to your company 

through loss of Koombana. Carnarvon's deepest 

sympathy is with relatives of officers, crew and 

passengers, amongst whom there were many 

friends of ours.-

(Signed) W. Giles, Mayor."

MISSING PASSENGERS.

Kalgoorlie, April 4.

Mr. James Crosbie, one of the stewards of

the Koombana, is a son of Mr. Crosbie, of

Piccadilly street, Kalgoorlie, an engine-driver

on the Government railways.

Among the passengers who left Fremantle

by the Koombana was Mr. Jas. Craigie, butcher, 

who was well-known on the fields in the 

early days. After spending seven years

on Mr. C..Blythe's station at Fitzroy Crossing 

beyond Derby, he took a holiday trip East 

and was on his way back to Derby in

the Koombana.

ONE OF THE STEWARDS.

To the Editor.

Sir,-I should be pleased if you will make

an alteration in my brother's name in the

list of stewards of the s.s. Koombana. His

name has been reported as A. Durham, and

A. Deerham, but it should be Henry Durham. 

He has only been in Western Australia

about eight months, having previously had

experience on the Cape route from Southampton 

in the Union Castle Company's liners, and also 

on the Brazil route with the Royal Mail Co. He 

is the son of W. Durham, the well-known butcher 

of Brighton, England.-Yours, etc.,

W. DURHAM, Jun.

Fremantle, April 4.

A RELIEF FUND.

The Mayor of Perth (Mr. T. G. A. Molloy) 

stated yesterday that he had received

the following telegram from the Mayor of

Albany :-

"My Council will co-operate with

yours and other bodies throughout the 

State in any movement to alleviate suffering

through the Koombana and other North

West disasters. I trust you will make a

public appeal."

The Mayor added that he had fallen in

with the proposal contained it the above

telegram and had opened a fund in aid of

the sufferers by the wreck of the Koombana

and the other North-West disasters by 

subscribing £10 10s. His Worship stated 

that he felt sure that citizens would be only 

too ready to help in an effort of this description

and that he would he pleased to receive

subscriptions which would be duly acknowledged 

through the press.

To the Editor.

Sir,-Now that the worst fears concerning

the fate of the Koombana seems confirmed,

permit me to ask you to open a subscription

for the relief of those who have lost their

bread-winners in the ill-fated steamer. I

have heard privately of one or two cases

where distress appears inevitable unless 

relief is promptly forthcoming. Perhaps you

will be kind enough to take charge of a

fund. I enclose on behalf of my partner and

self a cheque for five pounds. Thanking you

in anticipation.-Yours. etc.,

OLIVER A. GREIG.

661 Hay-street, April 4.

We are in receipt of our correspondent's

cheque for £5, and with his sanction we will

Fix this text

forward the sum to the Mayoral fund..

Heart wrenching!

SS Allinga - courtesy Flotilla Australia

courtesy Trove

https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/gazette/gazette.nsf/gazlist/6205E4E859C7A3E548257C1D0015457F/$file/gg023.pdf

CAPTAIN ALLEN'S FEARS.

The West Australian, Perth, Wednesday 4 April, 1912.

THE STORM AT PORT HEDLAND.

CONDITIONS OH MARCH 20.

CAPTAIN ALLEN'S FEARS.

Port Hedland, April 3.

As if to palliate the tedium of the scorching, 

enervating heat Port Hedland was visited 

on March 20 with the tail-end of a willy-willy 

which coming with equinoctial tides, did a 

fair amount of damage. It was fairly certain 

that had it been a full willy willy it would have 

spelt disaster to the lowlands of Hedland. 

Cyclones along the Nor'west were/are referred to as willy-willies. So far the impression is that the brunt of the cyclone struck Balla Balla which would account for the statement at Port Hedland 'fair amount of damage', rather than extensive damage. (In fact the damage was accounted for by flooding rain rather than hurricane winds.)  

It started on Tuesday night with a strong 

easterly wind, and the waves thundered on 

the beach with indications of heavier and 

deadlier surges out at sea. Wednesday 

morning saw about forty luggers running 

to shelter off Port Hedland, where they 

were soon safely anchored. These luggers 

had a rough time on Tuesday night near 

Turtle Island, and the cutting away of masts 

in some cases was seriously contemplated. 

The wind increased its velocity, and it 

continued for three days and nights. The

waves surged up the harbour's entrance, and

the breakers crashed into the sandy Esplanade, 

and washed thousands of tons of it away.

This paragraph is pivotal in the understanding of the sequence of events. Tuesday night, 19 March, was prior to the departure of Koombana from Port Hedland. There is no doubt from the description presented that the captains of Koombana and Bullarra were fully aware of the severity of conditions, which were already so bad that some luggers considered 'cutting away of masts', and during the course of Wednesday morning, 20 March, no less than forty luggers sought shelter at Port Hedland. And yet, Koombana and Bullarra departed into these conditions, which reminds me of Grantala and Yongala departing respective ports into a cyclone off the Queensland coast, March, 1911. 

All four steamers were owned by the Adelaide Steamship Company which does beg the question; were these masters placed under excessive pressure to meet schedules?? One can understand the further pressure placed on Captain Allen of the Koombana, who had to make Broome during the window of opportunity provided by high tide, but Bullarra, an ageing steamer of the coastal fleet, could have postponed departure instead of tackling the brunt of the cyclone.

Captain Allen, of the Koombana, seemed

disinclined to go out, and when he decided

to do so he said, "I am going straight out to

sea, and will be lucky if I get to Broome on

Saturday." 

This is completely logical. Given the existing conditions and actions of the luggers Captain Allen would have been unhinged not to be 'disinclined to go out'. His plan to 'go straight out to sea' makes sense, and was common practice when anticipating severe storm conditions.

'It is evident that she first encountered

the beginning of the blow between

Port Hedland and Bedout Island. 'If

the wind were favorable it is reason

able to suppose that Captain Allen at

once steered a course for the open sea,

and may have had to run out for

about 200 miles.' As it blows very

strongly after these cyclonic disturb

ances, it is evident that she would be

a great way out of her course before

she was able to cut for Broome, and

that it would take at 'least 41/2 days be

fore she reached her destination.'

Fix this 

She left the port at half-past 10 o'clock on 

March 20 with propeller beating out of the 

water. 

In a previous report it was stated that Bullarra departed Hedland at 11 am, suggesting that Koombana departed half an hour prior. 

It makes complete sense that Koombana's propeller was beating out of the water. She had to be in very light condition (near empty ballast tanks) to clear the outer sand bank. This was not a fault of the steamer or her master, it was the reality of negotiating safely in and out of ports along the Nor'west. Could this ultimately be the causative factor responsible for the tragedy? State / ports responsibility?

When passing the entrance to the harbour 

she rolled deeply. Captain Allen stated that 

he would fill the ballast tanks when he crossed 

the outer bank.

Also to be expected, given that waves were 'thundering on the beach'. A light, top heavy, Koombana would have rolled significantly departing the protection of Port Hedland. Note at this stage, Captain Allen intended to 'fill the ballast tanks when he crossed the outer bank'. If Koombana was already 'rolling deeply' how could this have been safely achieved, given that water entering the number of separate ballast tanks would create a destabilising shift in gravity, enhancing a list (created by top heaviness) to a given side. If Koombana was already 'rolling deeply' and conditions were set to deteriorate, I do not believe that it was feasible to fill the ballast tanks in safety and Koombana attempted the voyage IN VERY LIGHT CONDITION (top heavy)!

The ship headed due north, and was followed 

about an hour afterwards by the Bullarra going 

south.

The damage done to the railway line on

the Causeway will cost a good deal to 

repair. The Esplanade suffered most, 

being washed away to the allotment 

boundaries in several places; in fact, 

the Esplanade has disappeared, and 

in its place we now have a sloping 

sandy beach from the rear of the

Resident "Magistrate's. residence 

right round to the jetty. The light tower 

and oil house were undermined, while 

the roadway connected with the town 

bridge was rendered unsafe for vehicular 

traffic. One lugger in port anchored too 

far in the stream, and drifted on to rocks. 

She was only slightly damaged. The 

schooner Alto was also damaged at the jetty.

It was a left-handed circular cyclone and 
from the directions of the wind it is certain 
that the Koombana could not possibly have 
avoided getting right into the centre. 

Not according to my assessment. It is as though commentary willed Koombana into the centre of the hurricane. I suppose no one wanted to entertain the notion that Koombana might have foundered due to her top heavy status and moderate gale conditions.

The Koombana  would be abeam Bedout at 4 p.m. 
on Wednesday,  but out of course to the south. 
The wind was then blowing from the east, but 
at 10 p.m. it changed from  east to east north-east, 
and back in quick succession.

It is unlikely that Koombana was ever near the centre of the cyclone or blown off course to the south of Bedout Island. Koombana was in sight of Port Hedland until at least midday, which implies that she would have been steaming 12.5 knots, an achievement against a gale from the NE. Very unlikely! 

At 10 a.m. on Thursday it was still blowing 

from the east, at noon east-north-east, and 

at 1 p.m. in the same direction, with hurricane 

force. It shifted at 2 p.m. to north-east, and 

remained in that direction till 6 p.m., still

with hurricane force. At 10 p.m. it was

blowing north-north-east, and at midnight

it was north. 

This description confirms that once the cyclone made land it stalled causing protracted gales for more than 24 hours.

When Hedland got the worst of the hurricane 

on the 22nd, the wind was from the north-north-west 

from 4 a.m. till noon.

By this time the cyclone was well inland and had persisted for a full three days!

The general congratulations possessing

people's minds on having escaped the 

full force of the willy-willy in Hedland on top

of the equinoctial tides gave place to feelings

of horror when the tidings came that the

Koombana and all aboard were lost, and

that a host of white people had been

drowned at Balla Balla, a disaster to the

whites never before equalled in the history

of willy-willies on the north-west coast. The

gale, or willy-willy, which caused this terrible 

calamity is described by experienced seamen 

and pearlers as one of the fiercest known on 

the coast. 

The theatre of its most ferocious attacks appears 
to have been that part of the coast between Condon 
(50 miles northeast of Hedland) and Cossack 
(50 miles southwest of Hedland), and out to sea 
from Hedland (nonsensical). 
Harper's lugger arrived here on Monday searching 
from Broome towards the Rowley Shoals and into 
Hedland. She picked up a piece of painted plank six 
miles east (west) of Bedout Island, and the Gorgon 
picked up a cabin door, undoubtedly from the Koombana, 
about 25 miles north (northwest) of the same island. 

The door had been torn off with some force,

the hinges dragging with them the timbers

to which they were screwed. The door was

intact, and little damaged. It appears to be

from a cabin on the second deck, or the 

deck above the cattle deck.

Rather than battered to pieces by hurricane winds, the description rather applies to a uniform volume of water 'popping' the door out from its hinges as the steamer rolled over and down into the depths.

Captain Mills, of the Minderoo, to-day

showed a cushion from the smokeroom of

the Koombana, and other wreckage picked

up between 50 and 70 miles north-west of

Bedout Island. Judging from the direction

of the wind during the gale the opinion is

held that the Koombana went down in the

vicinity of Bedout Island.

At last we have a master's opinion that the drift trend was towards the west, which was where the cushion was actually retrieved rather than the other way round as was suggested by the former chief officer, Captain Clark. 

(The image below draws an interesting relationship between the oil patch discovered by Captain Upjohn and the cushion and bottom boards / drawer.)

courtesy Google Earth

It is thought here that probably the absence of 
a light on Bedout Island caused the captain to 

misjudge his position, and strike a reef in the

vicinity, which runs a long way out from the

island, in which case in such weather he

would have immediately turned over and

sunk. No person could have lived in such a

sea for five minutes, and the vicinity is

noted for the existence of myriads of

sharks. Deep feelings of sorrow pervade
the whole community.

Fix this text

'Absence of a light on Bedout Island'?? How was this possible?? We'll need to dig deeper into this one..

It is always appalling to read of sharks, as in the case of both Waratah and Yongala. 

So much of the Koombana story mirrors that of the Yongala tragedy. The similarities are almost uncanny. The Adelaide Steamship Company, by all account thus far, had learned nothing from the Yongala disaster almost one year prior, 1911. It will be interesting to find out more about whether any cyclone warnings were issued prior to the departure of Koombana and Bullarra from Port Hedland.

My over-riding impression thus far is that whether there was a cyclone warning or not, both Captains Upjohn and Allen should have stayed put in Hedland. They were confronted with evidence in the form of luggers running for the safety of Port Hedland. There can be no excuses for this unless it was expected practice to meet storms out at sea rather than risk wrecking the steamers in port.

pearl luggers, Broome, 1914 - courtesy Pearl Lugger Cruises - History of Pearling in Australia.

courtesy Trove