SS ALLINGA PROMPTLY STEPS IN.

Geraldton Guardian, 4 April, 1912.

THE MAIL SERVICE.

S.S. ALLINGA TAKES THE

KOOMBANA'S PLACE.

Mr. Faulkner informs us that the

Adelaide Steamship Co. have decided 

to replace the ill-fated Koombana

by the s.s. Allinga, a steamer which

for some years past has been engaged 

in the Queensland trade. She is a

twin-screw steamer of 2,342 tons

gross register, and was built by

Scott and Co. at Greenock in 1897. 

She is described as a fine, roomy 

steamer with accommodation amidships 

for about 60 saloon passengers, and 

she can also accommodate about 100 

second-class passengers. She has  a 

fine promenade deck for saloon 

passengers, whilst the second-class 

passengers will, as was the case with 

the Koombana, have the use of the poop 

deck. The Allinga will leave Fremantle on 

May 7, running as far as Derby, and her

subsequent trips will be in accordance 

with the mail contract.

The s.s. Bullarra, on her return

from the search in which she is now

engaged, will resume her running under 

the time-table fixed in continuation with 

the North-West mail steamer.

Once the saloon door had been picked up by the crew of the SS Gorgon, it was time to move on. Relatives of those lost might have viewed this decision as mercenary. It was, however, necessary. 

SS Allinga comprised 279.5 ft.length; 42.5 ft. beam and 13 ft. draught. Clearing the spring tide outer bar at Port Hedland, 19 ft., did not present the same challenge to this steamer. Powered by twin triple expansion engines driving twin screws (272 nhp) Allinga was slow, gaining her a reputation and the nickname, "Lingerer".

Given the standing fine rate of £ 5 per hour for mail delivery delays, one wonders what bill this ageing steamer racked up...

The Week, Brisbane, 12 July, 1912

STEAMER ALLINGA

Strikes an Uncharted Reef.

The Adelaide Steamship Company's

steamer Allinga, which recently was taken

off the company's east coast service to

replace the ill-fated Koombana on the

west coast, was not long in her new

sphere when she met trouble, but, 

fortunately, she escaped without serious 

damage. When on her way southward 

from Wyndham, the north-west terminus 

of her run, to Fremantle, the steamer 

struck an uncharted reef in the vicinity of 

Onslow.

She was able to resume her voyage a few

hours afterwards. The exact position of the

reef is said in be 21 degrees 36 minutes

south, and 115 degrees 31/2 minutes west. (east) 

Since her arrival on the west coast, the Allinga 

has undergone some important structural 

alterations. Most of the deck stock fittings 

have been removed. This does not, in any way, 

interfere with the stock tarrying capacity of

the vessel, but adds greatly to the comfort 

of the passengers. These alterations having 

been made permit of awnings being spread 

on the main deck, and, as in the Queensland 

trade, sleeping accommodation and shower 

baths are provided on saloon decks. Such 

appointments as these are a boon to hot 

climates, and the vessel bids fair to become 

a popular one on the coast.

courtesy Trove, Google Earth and Flotilla Australia.

SS UGANDA; CYCLONE AND CASE OF THE CLAN RANALD.

Evening Journal, 26 March, 1912.

The steamer Uganda arrived this morning

from Singapore. She had a rough passage

down but did not sustain any damage. Signs

of a cyclonic disturbance were noticed three

or four days before arrival but the Uganda

did not see any trace of the missing vessel. 

The SS Uganda built in 1898 by the same builders of Koombana, Alexander, Stephen and Sons, comprised 5,355 gross tons; length 410 ft and beam 51 ft. Triple expansion engines produced 2,274 ihp and 10 knots. Predominantly cargo and accommodation for only 17 passengers.

The distance between Port Hedland and Fremantle is 960 n miles. This suggests that Uganda making an average of 10 knots took 96 hours, 4 days, which correlates with the 'three or four days'. 

The fact that the humble SS Uganda completed her voyage via the Balla Balla cyclone without 'sustaining any damage' and 'noticed the cyclonic disturbance' reflects, in my opinion, that the worst of the system impacted the coast rather than significantly offshore. 

This was further confirmed by:

Steamer Charon was near Legulier
Reef at 7 a.m. on 22nd inst., bound Java.
Consider cyclone more severe nearer land
than with us. Did not sight Koombana.

SS Uganda

The SS Uganda was involved in a rather unsavory incident reminiscent of the TItanic / Californian controversy. The following lengthy link outlines circumstances surrounding the loss of the Clan Ranald. There are echoes of the Koombana ballasting issues and 'the ugly list to port':

https://waratahrevisited.blogspot.com/2016/03/clan-ranald-fascinating-account-and.html

Extracts:

By the President - If the ballast tanks

had to be filled he would have preferred to

have them filled alongside the wharf. 

Warden Ericker - Considering the weather 

and the position of the ship, would it

have been dangerous to fill the ballast

tanks in the circumstances? 

By Warden Berry - If the tanks had been

left partly filled it would have been dangerous. 

direct me to the spot where the wreck was sunk, 

which he said he knew exactly, having seen 

streams of oil rising from her 

This mirrors Captain Upjohn's discovery of a patch of oil resembling the outline of a ship. This was highly significant.

There are several long furrows in the bottom immediately 

to the eastward of the ship, as if her starboard 

bilge keel had bumped several times before 

she finally settled down.

This description might very well explain the discovery of a section of Koombana's bilge keel.

The engineers alone manipulated the valves

to fill the ballast tanks.

By Warden Berry - The various valves of

the ballast tanks were separate and distinct, 

and were always treated so. There

was a double "shut-off" to each ballast

tank - a master (or boss) valve and a separate valve. 

One would not be justified in

concluding that the ballast injection valve

was open because bubbles had been observed

issuing from it when the diver went down,

but that it was shut and leaking. If it had

been open the tank would have been filled

with water long since. There might have

been compressed air in the tank, which escaped 

through the inlet. To do this it would have to pass 

through three valves.

Suggesting a partially filled tank ----> list ----> capsize.

A reminder of how wrong things could go with ballast tanks:

'At 2 o’clock Sunday afternoon, upon being informed by the Chief Engineer of the condition of the engine room and stokehold, the captain ordered starboard ballast tank No. 4 pumped out, and during the latter part of the afternoon No. 5 starboard ballast tank was pumped, but as these pumps had no wing suctions loose water was left in them. Early Monday morning starboard ballast tank No. 2 was pumped. The effect of pumping out these tanks was to increase the list instead of reducing it. The weather and sea grew worse during the afternoon and at about 7:30 P.M. a heavy sea broke against her port side and she lurched heavily to starboard and some of her cargo in No. 1 hold of her upper deck shifted, breaking a temporary wooden partition. After the lurch she had a list to starboard variously estimated from ten to fifteen degrees. The list gradually increased until she capsized; at 4 A.M. Monday it was about twenty degrees; by noon it had increased to about thirty-five degrees. Just how much more she listed in the period between noon and the time she turned over is uncertain. The storm was most severe during Sunday evening and the wind reached about force 10 on Beaufort’s scale (wind at 56 to 65 miles an hour).'

Thayer, G. David. First to Die: The Tragic Loss of the SS Vestris (p. 198). Rapidsoft Press ®, jointly with Our American Stories ® LLC. Kindle Edition.

Clan Ranald courtesy Wikipedia

courtesy Flotilla Australia and Trove.

CAPTAIN RICHARDSON'S THEORY.

The Argus, Melbourne, 28 March, 1912.

Captain Richardson, of the s s Paroo, who

is one of the most experienced navigators

on the north-west coast, in an interview to-

day, said that if the Koombana's master

tried lo run before the wind on his way

to Broome, he should have been heard of.

As he has not been beard of the indications

are that he decided to "plug through". The

wind and tide would combine to make the

leeway so great that the vessel would 

probably "fetch up" on the Rowley Shoals, 

a treacherous coral reef some 120 miles off

Port Hedland.

The first point to note is that the Rowley Shoals are 185 miles from Port Hedland. Ironically, Captain Upjohn's coordinates for the oil patch are closer to Port Hedland at +/- 92 miles. It strikes me as odd that a master so familiar with this section of coast would get a distance so wrong.

The leeway referred to implies that the wind and tide would have to have predominated from the south in order for Koombana to drift onto the Rowley Shoals. If one examines the extent of the cyclone as per Mr. Stevens of the Commonwealth Weather Bureau (image below), there was no impact on the vast stretch of ocean between Bedout Island and Broome. 

If anything, the wind would have been coming from the northwest and west in the stretch of ocean between the north of Bedout Island and Broome - i.e. the steamer track. This would have 'blown' Koombana further towards the coast and Broome, rather than the reverse. There would have been no 'plugging through', but rather 'running with the wind'. 

It was quoted that at the time the ground swell came from the northwest, further reinforcing this leeway direction.

As it turned out, the Muriel and Gorgon thoroughly searched the vicinity of the Rowley Shoals and nothing at all was discovered. All of the wreckage discoveries were made 100 miles to the 'south'.

I believe we can confidently rule out this theory as a potential site for the wreck of Koombana.

courtesy Google Earth.

INSURANCE

Kalgoorlie Western Argus, 2 April, 1912.

The company's boats carried

one-fourth insurance.


What does this mean? Koombana was insured for 75% of her book value of £ 100,000. The one-fourth quoted I assume refers to the shortfall of 25%. Annie Boyd refers in her book, Koombana Days, to Koombana actually only being worth £ 75,000 on the open market. Given depreciation, this was probably standard practice.

It does suggest the Company had faith in Koombana's sea-going abilities which was not a 'spotted' ship; one that was over-insured with the express purpose of making money as a result of total (expected) loss. 

If properly operated, sufficient dead weight lowest down and ballast tanks full, Koombana should have been able to survive most storms at sea. But Port Hedland's bar was a bar too high to fulfill this basic requirement. 

There was never going to be a guarantee of uncomplicated, complete filling of ballast tanks at sea in gale conditions.

courtesy Trove

WHAT CHANCE WOULD THEY HAVE HAD.

Sunday Times, Perth, 4 April, 1909.

THE KOOMBANA KINK

Leaky Boats and Oilless Lamps

A rather serious allegation is made by

a passenger on the steamer Koombana

which was recently stranded on a sand-

bank in Shark's Bay. Our informant states 

that when the vessel went aground a 

dinghy was lowered to take soundings,

but as soon as it touched water it leaked

badly. Then the motor boat was got out, 

but it also leaked badly. ln each case a

man was kept busy baling, and we are 

asked to imagine what would have

happened if it had been necessary to fill

these craft with passengers. Supposing

the Koombana had been wrecked, and

leaky boats were the only means of saving 

the 60 passengers, what chance would 

they have had?

A sobering thought and a subject that was not explored in any meaningful detail at the Inquiry.

courtesy Trove.

BEAUTIFULLY SUMMED UP.

The Herald, Melbourne, 29 March, 1912.

The north-west coast is dotted with

communities in villages, and should a

vessel chance to miss unloading, say, a

packet of tin tacks at one of those ports

there are meetings of local councils and

vigilance committees, and telegrams are

sent to Fremantle expressing indignation. 

Through these dangerous shoals of 

parochialism the masters of the north-west 

passenger and cargo steamers have to 

steer a safe course. 

If there are any doubts as to the pressure Captain Allen was under to depart Hedland that Wednesday morning come what may, let this be a reminder.




courtesy Trove.

A WIFE'S DREAM

The Sun, Sydney, 27 March, 1912.

A WIFE'S DREAM.

FREMANTLE, Wednesday.

- A woman called at the local offices of the

Adelaide Steamship Co. yesterday, and found

out tor the first time that her husband was

aboard the missing steamer Koombana.

She admitted that she had parted from him 

on bad terms, but she did not know where he

had gone.

On Thursday night she had a dream in

which she pictured her husband clinging to

the rigging of the boat. She swam out to his

assistance, but being unsuccessful in her

mission, swam back again.

It is a peculiar coincidence that the Koombana 

left Port Hedland on Wednesday, and must, 

according to the experiences of other craft, 

have met the centre of the cyclone

disturbance on Thursday night.

This report appeared 1 week after Koombana failed to reach her destination. It would only be later that wreckage discoveries would confirm the worst. At this time many held onto the hope that Koombana had suffered mechanical breakdown and would be discovered adrift.

There is something deeply moving in this report. A 'dream', which closely identified with the reality of Koombana's fate. 

Having 'departed on bad terms' and 'swam out to his assistance' but failed, are words steeped in tragedy - that most of us can and never will fully appreciate.

Koombana must be found.

courtesy Trove.