BUSINESS IS BUSINESS.

The Following document is transcribed as far as possible:

"THE ACTING UNDER SECRETARY (contd.)

the subject this morning and attach herewith his offer. The price asked is ￡10 per day, Government to find coal and water. This, I think, should be reduced to ￡9.

However, I should be glad if you would at once place this before the Hon. the Premier and advise me what action it to be taken.

In order to save time I am forwarding this file by special messenger and on receipt of instructions by telephone will take the necessary action to carry out these proposals.

Chief Harbor Master."    28 march, 1912.

Chief Harbor Master was Captain Irvine who added the following interesting thought:

"I to P.

Arrange with ship to coal "Una" at Geraldton. It is strange how the shipping Co's fix rates even when in the interests of shipping itself - human life not counted.

J.I.     (J Irvine).

Indeed!!

courtesy State Records Office, Western Australia, series 2357, cons 066

GORGON REVELATION ?

The following undated document gives a detailed account of the movements of the SS Gorgon and discoveries made. 

Transcribed as follows:

"Telegram received from 

Captain Mills, S.S. "Gorgon."

Searched within following positions by running parallel lines 30 miles apart lat. 20.15 long 116. Lat 18.40 long. 116. Lat 18.40 long 117.40. Lat. 20. long. 118. from last position bearing East 10 miles, then  north 30 miles then East 15 picked up smoking room settee cushion and part of cabin door; In lat 19.36, long 117.53 and in lat. 19.32 Long 118.10 picked up bottom board of boat, small teak panel. Abandoned further search sunset Tuesday as considered ship is lost in vicinity of Bedout Island."

How is it possible that the above can differ so wildly from the following?

"Tuesday 02 April 1912 10:15 Gorgon. A stateroom door, white one side, polished the other,
still attached to broken stile S 19º 10' E 119º 06' 25 miles north of Bedout

Tuesday 02 April 1912 10:45 Gorgon. Several small pieces of board,
one apparently part of a painting stage. S 19º 10' E 119º 06' 25 miles north of Bedout"

(Ref. Annie Boyd)

courtesy State Records Office, Western Australia, series 2357, cons 066

2 'cushion' sites separated by 32.5 miles

The answer is quite simple.

Captain Mills was the master of SS Minderoo, not SS Gorgon.

However, it is interesting that the 2 positions plotted / given for the smoking room settee cushion were 32.5 miles apart, which gives us pause to reflect on coordinates presented as fact in publications.

Nitpicking aside, the pattern of wreckage distribution is still compelling in the context of Captain Upjohn's oil patch being the wreck site and the prevailing westward trending current.






courtesy Google Earth.

REALITY.

The following document refers to the coaling of Bullarra for her return voyage to Fremantle. The date is 3rd April, 1912, and due to the significance of wreckage discoveries the search was to be called off. There was no further hope of finding Koombana adrift or aground.

What is particularly interesting to note is that there were no plans for Bullarra to return to the site of the 'oil patch' and drag the vicinity with a 'wire' to snag and confirm the position of the wreck. 

Koombana was gone and a mystery 'created'.

courtesy State Office Records, Western Australia, series 2357, cons 066

BIZARRE.

The following telegram throws a spanner in the works. Transcribed as follows:

"Port Hedland, 5 April, 1912.

Irvine Harbormaster file

Arrived last night , searched from Broome to Rowley Shoals & into Hedland, saw nothing, spoke Moira 31st who reports nothing, spoke Bullarra 3rd who reports picked up quantity of wreckage about sixty miles E.N.E. Bedout. Portion of boat bow with Adelaide 'Company's' Badge, Bottom Board, tanks, lifebelt, and portion of saloon panels. Lighter Una cruising off Bedout. I am leaving Hedland today for Broome, will endeavor to fix Bedout light.

Dalziel."

This is a unique account of wreckage being discovered so far to the 'east' of Bedout Island (see image below). If it were to be true the location of the wreck shifts considerably to the E.N.E. The description of what was found is interesting and the word 'lifebelt' did not appear in the mainstream catalogue of wreckage; which was strange considering that these items were generally found in association with shipwrecks, for obvious, buoyancy reasons.

My feeling is that in the turmoil of searches and telegrams being sent, Dalziel got the details of where the wreckage had been found, wrong. The reason for this is that the Bullarra log gave coordinates for the two predominant sets of wreckage discovery. The coordinates in the above case represented a position 20 miles north of Bedout Island, not 60 miles ENE, a vast difference. The second set of coordinates and the potential site of the wreck represent a position some 30 miles to the northeast of Bedout Island. If the account is accurate it implies a massive cover up conspiracy, which seems a bit far fetched.

Once again it all comes down to where the wreck is ultimately found to validate whichever account.

Very intriguing though....      

courtesy State Records Office, Western Australia, series 2357, cons 066

courtesy Google Earth

BULLARRA DEPLOYMENT.

This letter to the Secretary to the Premier, gives us an insight into the tone used by the Adelaide Steamship Company.

Transcribed as follows:

"Dear Sir,

Re: "Koombana"

We have yours of the 1st. The "Bullarra" was despatched from Broome on Monday last pursuant to the arrangement already made with the Chief Harbor Master and the Premier's Secretary that all resultant and incidental expenses should be shared by the State and Federal Governments and this Company equally. Southward freight on the cattle by the "Gorgon", coal supplies, and claims by the consignees and/or owners of stock (if any) will therefore be the subject of contribution and were indeed expressly provided for; and of course there will be wharfage dues and other port charges and perhaps further expenditure in addition, as well as the items mentioned in your letter.

Yours Faithfully,

Manager for W.A.

There is very little reference to sentiment or the glaring fact that Koombana was their property and responsibility. In fact there is the absence of the words "thank you"

courtesy State Records Office, Western Australia, series 2357, cons 066

The generous offer that generated the above response:

courtesy State Records Office, Western Australia, series 2357, cons 066

But there is a subtle twist to this story. The following adopts an entirely different tone:

"Captain Irvine       30-2-12

I have to thank you on behalf of the Adelaide Company for the very keen and unremitting interest that you have taken, and are taking, in this most unfortunate occurrence.

Yours Faithfully,

Moxon

Manager for W.A."

Captain Irvine was to play a central role in the inevitable Inquiry and as we have seen in a past post https://koombanarevisited.blogspot.com/2019/10/moxon.html  he appeared to be assisting the manager - leading the witness if you will - in favour of Captain Allen holding all the responsibility cards in the demise of Koombana in 'cyclonic' conditions. 

Am I wrong or was Moxon 'buttering up' Irvine in preparation for the whitewash Marine Court of Inquiry that was to come and go, leaving a bad taste in the collective mouth of the Nor'West ??

courtesy State Records Office, Western Australia, series 2357, cons 066

UNA FIND.

This is a particularly precious document. The telegram is dated 6 April, 1912, and details the find that precipitated numerous future searches. It is transcribed as follows:

"Port Hedland 47 3/4 collect Chief Harbourmaster 7

Captain Rantzau, Una, arrived, reports no wreckage Bedout reef, picked up mast & life boat gear, several cabin panels, thirty three miles N N W Bedout, wreckage appears be rising from below, waiting instructions from you, taking water before proceeding further.

Gordon wharfinger
8.40
signature

33 n miles NNW of Bedout Island is:

19 06 S
118 52 E

The official coordinates for this position are:

19 07 S
118 53 E

The difference is 2.2 miles (see image below).

The mast was clearly linked with life boat gear and NOT one of Koombana's main masts.

If the wreckage appeared to be rising from below what other explanation can be offered which excludes this being the wreck site?

It suggests to me that as wreckage rose from the seabed it was caught in the prevailing current which in this region is from east to west. The wreckage in question did not rise completely to the surface and as such came up at a position 33 miles NNW of Bedout Island.

This rationale would also support a model where wreckage only came to the surface some time after setting out on its journey with the prevailing current, precluding earlier discoveries, which was indeed the case.

Or, if conspiracy theories are to be considered, the discovery could have been a hoax to redirect attention away from the Bullarra oil patch find.

courtesy State Records Office, Western Australia, series 2357, cons 066

courtesy Google Earth

HAS NOT REACHED HER DESTINATION.

It is unclear who the author of the following document was or the date. But it is clear that it must have been written shortly after Koombana failed to arrive at Broome.

The following is a transcription:

"I have to report that the N.W. mail steamer "Koombana" left Port Hedland on the 20th inst, at 11 a.m. bound for Broome but has not reached her destination. Up to the present nothing has been heard of her but she was observed by the Master of the "Bullarra" for two hours after leaving Port Hedland to be steaming in a N.E. direction, a gale blowing from the E.N.E. at the time. At 4 p.m. on the same day the "Bullarra" being 50 miles to the westward of Port Hedland encountered a cyclone and stood out to sea for 70 miles, reports referring to which have appeared in the press. At noon on the 21st inst. the "Bullarra" reports that the centre of the cyclone passed in her vicinity and on the 23rd she put into Cossack Roads in distress, where she has been lying affecting temporary repairs."

It is interesting that this early in the sequence of events Koombana was reported as having left Port Hedland at 11 a.m. not 10.20 a.m., which implies that Bullarra would have followed at 11.20 a.m.. which was clearly impossible given that Bullarra was 5 miles from Koombana by noon, having followed her out to 3 miles offshore - total of 8 miles steaming in 40 minutes. Bullarra was a 10 - 11.5 knot steamer, certainly not averaging 12 knots from the get go. I think this unlikelihood confirms that Koombana sailed at 10.20 a.m..

In this report the gale was blowing from the E.N.E. which differs from later accounts referring to N.E.. This might be a matter of semantics but is important in two respects:

- it WAS a gale, which would have made the filling of ballast tanks extremely challenging and quite possibly not entirely successful.

- Koombana steamed initially northward which means that she would have had the gale on her starboard, creating challenges from the get-go.

50 miles west of Port Hedland is in the vicinity of Balla Balla where the brunt of the cyclone made landfall. For Bullarra to have achieved this feat, from a position 5 miles to the west of Koombana at noon, by 4 p.m., she would have to have averaged 11.25 knots, which was possible with a gale behind her, but unlikely.  Log recorded Bullarra steaming 10 knots during this time frame. In fact other references refer to slowing engine and standing out to sea 22 miles from Balla Balla at 4.20 p.m..

Details in reports varied and it is our task to scrutinise each and every one in order to approximate the most plausible scenario(s).

courtesy State Records Office, Western Australia, series 2357, cons 066