MISSING WITH 125 SOULS ON BOARD.

Globe, Sydney, Wednesday 3 April, 1912.

MISSING WITH 125 SOULS ON BOARD.

If the Koombana has gone the way of missing ships, it makes three disasters of the first magnitude in which Australian vessels have been concerned since 1909. They are:

    Ship                       supposed date of loss             place             lives lost

Waratah                            July 26, 1909             African coast         211

Yongala                            March 23, 1911          Queensland           142

Koombana                        March 20, 1912          Nor'West coast     125

                                                                                                    478  

Eternal father, strong to save,

Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,

Who bidst the mighty ocean deep,

Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea.

If the Koombana has gone the way of the Waratah and Yongala there will be little left to the world but surmise as to the nature of her fate.

No one who has not experienced the frenzy of a Nor'West willy-willy can appreciate fully the grim possibilities of disaster which confronted Captain Tom Allen when he took his last watch on the bridge of his charge, and went hurtling into the willy-willy.

...hoping against hope that his ship will pull through. That is his lot, and only that.

Sea room is a great factor in an ordinary blow, but in the heart of one of these extraordinary disturbances the biggest vessel could no more be controlled than a feather in a gust of wind.

To be capsized or to go under to the onrushing mountains of water bow first is a possibility of every second.

A ship with any freeboard at all is hurled about like a cork, absolutely at the mercy of the elements, and at the worst, the master can only strive to keep his footing on the wildly tossing bridge, prepared to do his best in the case of any eventuality. 

....the captain who finds himself at the business end of a willy-willy can do little but wait.

157 souls perished in the disaster.

courtesy Trove

CAPTAIN RICHARDSON'S OPINION.

Globe, Sydney, Wednesday 3 April, 1912.

THE CAUSE OF HER DISAPPEARANCE.

Captain Richardson of the SS Paroo, who is 

regarded as one of the most experienced 

navigators along the Nor'West coast, in an

 interview regarding the fate of the Koombana,

said that there were only two courses for the 

master to adopt. If he tried to run before the 

wind (from the NE), on his way to Broome,

he should have been heard of. As the vessel

has not been heard of, the indications are that

he tried to plug on through the weather, with

the wind on the starboard bow.

When Koombana departed Port Hedland for the last time she had an ugly list to port, which would have been significantly enhanced by the starboard wind catchment factor on her prominent superstructure. The description of the wind on the starboard bow suggests that the wind was more from the ENE.

Under such circumstances, wind and tide
would combine to make the leeway so great
that the vessel would probably fetch up on
Rowley Shoals, a treacherous coral reef, some
120 miles off Port Hedland. In this case it
would he hard to say how long the vessel
would last. A search of this locality can
only prove this theory right or wrong. 

This is an interesting commentary. 

Firstly the 'experienced navigator' suggested that Rowley Shoals were 120 miles off Port Hedland when in point of fact they were much further out, 180 miles!

It would be three days before Captain Upjohn's discovery of the oily patch and a boat from the doomed Koombana would be published in the press, confirming, together with other wreckage discoveries, the worst fears. 

The location of wreckage and oil in the vicinity of Bedout Island confirms that Captain Allen decided to 'plug on through the weather' because although challenging, it was not cyclone force. 

courtesy Google Earth


courtesy Trove

POSTED AS MISSING.

Globe, Sydney, Wednesday 3 April, 1912.

"POSTED AS MISSING."

A Term Of Grim Meaning.

"The Koombana has been posted as missing"

was the heading of paragraphs in many of the

Australian newspapers during the week. Exactly

what this sentence means is aptly told in a 

description of Lloyd's London:

In the northern end of the room, says the writer,

immediately at the back of the corner-stand is

partitioned off, making a separate apartment,

known as the "Chamber of Horrors" and also

the "Graveyard". Here are posted copies of the

telegrams received reporting casualties, arrivals

and sailings. Unimportant casualties are not 

entered in the Log Book, but the reports of them

on yellow flimsy, are reported here. English

coastal reports are written on brown-tinted paper,

foreign arrivings and sailings on yellow tissue, 

and the ominous announcements of vessels

missing or overdue on white.

High on the top of the partition screen - a 

picturesque feature from any part of the room -

is mounted the bell, surrounded by the rudder-

chains of the once tall British frigate, Lutine,

which after lying for 60 years at the bottom of

the North Sea, is now placed in the very heart

of maritime Britain, both as a relic and to serve

a quaint purpose. When a vessel is unheard of

for so long as to be despaired of by her owners,

an application is made to the committee to have

the ship posted. If the application is entertained,

a printed notice is affixed to the board, in the 

Telegram room or 'Chamber of Horrors', to the

effect that the company would be glad of 

information concerning the vessel. This is done

on a Wednesday. If by the following Wednesday

no news has come to hand, the first notice is

replaced by another saying that ------- , which

left -------, on such and such a day, for -------

has not since been heard of. This is the process

of a ship being posted as missing at Lloyd's, and

on that day the loss is payable by the underwriters

and the crew are dead in law, to the extent that

probate of their wills can be obtained.

When a ship in which any amount of general 

interest is felt is so posted, the caller rings one

short stroke on the Lutine Bell. In the very un-

usual event afterwards of a ship arriving in port,

the caller rings two strokes, and makes the 

announcement from his rostrum. So, after over

a century ago having called the watches and told

the hours to the gallant crews of the two opposing

nations - for La Lutine was one of our captures

from the French - and then rung only to the ebb

and flow of the tides, the ancient bell, linked by

strange coincidence to its early associations,

now tolls only the losses and survivals of the sea.

Within two short weeks of the Koombana failing to arrive at Broome, she was posted as missing. Although only pieces of wreckage were discovered, without evidence of the wreck itself, there was no doubt in anyone's mind - Koombana was gone and there would be no 'two strokes on the Lutine Bell', only one.

courtesy Trove

CAPTAIN WILSON CLARIFIES.

The Advertiser, Adelaide, Saturday 20 April, 1912.

THE LOST KOOMBANA.

CAPTAIN OF THE MONTORO LINER

INTERVIEWED

Brisbane, April 19. 

The Burns-Philp steamer Montoro, from

Singapore, arrived to-day. Captain Wilson 

was questioned regarding a wireless

message which the Montoro was supposed

to have received from the Koombana, and

which ended in a blur. He expressed 

astonishment at the statement. It was true

the Montoro was in communication with

the Koombana on the day previous to that

on which she was supposed to have been

lost. The Koombana was speaking to another 

vessel at the time (the German steamer), 

and there was nothing in the message to 

indicate that she was in any trouble. The 

Montoro experienced the storm in which 

the Koombana was lost. When approaching 

Darwin the weather was so boisterous that 

on reaching Cape Don he turned his ship 

round and stood out into the open sea. Captain

Wilson pointed out the necessity of a light
being placed on that Cape.

Fix this text

So, there was no last desperate call for help from the Koombana. 

courtesy Google Earth

courtesy Trove

FULL MONTH'S WAGES AND LAST MESSAGE FROM KOOMBANA ?

The West Australian Perth, Friday 19 April, 1912.

THE KOOMBANA.

PRELIMINARY INQUIRY.

A preliminary inquiry into the loss of the

steamer Koombana will be opened at

Fremantle on Monday next.

The following is a copy of the circular

which the committee are sending out:

"Dear Sir,-The total loss of the Koombana,

on or about March 20, in a cyclonic 

disturbance off Bedout Island, on the 

N.W. coast, with all on board, has become 

a personal loss to each of us. She was 

peculiarly our ship, trading along our coast, 

carrying our own people; her officers and 

crew were numbered amongst our own 

friends, and our hearts go out in sympathy 

with those bereft of parents and friends, 

and particularly to those who have so 

suddenly been rendered widows and 

orphans. There are cases in which 

comparatively young mothers and children 

have been left destitute, and some elderly 

people whose sole physical support has 

now been taken from them. The desire

is that the burden of their grief shall be

made as light as can be by the removal, as

far as possible, of immediate care, and the

committee has every confidence that Western 

Australia will be true to her best traditions 

and render very substantial aid to all these 

sorrow-stricken and helpless people.

Subscription lists have also been forwarded

to Adelaide. Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, 

and to every town in the State. The money is 

to be distributed after full and careful investigation 

has been made into each case. As the need 

for relief is urgent, the lists will be closed on 

May 7, and the final distribution made as soon 

thereafter as may be. In the meanwhile any 

amounts received should be forwarded to the 

Mayor or any member of the committee, or to the

the Town Clerk, Town Hall, Fremantle. 

Committee: The Mayor (Mr. F. J. McLaren); 

Mr. W. E. Moxon, Adelaide Steamship Co.; 

Mr. A. W. Leonard, Melbourne Steamship Co.; 

the secretary, Lumpers' Union, Mr. F. Rowe; 

the chairman, Chamber of Commerce, Mr. 

Tom Carter; the secretary, Seamen's Union, 

Mr. T. McShearer; Mr. W. A. Murphy. Henry 

Thos. Heynes, Town Clerk and hon. sec."

The Adelaide Steamship Company's only contribution to this agony was to extend payment due to crew until the end of March according to the Workmen's Compensation Act. I wonder what people in the modern era would say about this if it were to happen today?

VESSEL'S LAST MESSAGE.

Eastern files received by yesterday's mail

contain telegraphic, advices from Port Darwin 

dated April 9, stating that Captain Wilson, of 

the s.s. Montoro. which arrived on the morning 

of that date from Singapore, reported that a 

wireless message had been received by the 

Montoro from the Koombana about the date 

that the unfortunate Koombana was lost. The 

message was not decipherable. All that could

be made out with certainty was that the vessel

sending the message was the Koombana.

The Koombana having been lost on March

20. 

How horrifyingly close to finding out what happened, and yet so far....but there again it might not have been an accurate report...

In accordance.with the Merchants'  Shipping 

Act wages payable ,to the men ceased on that 

date. The Adelaide S.S. Co.. however, have 

decided to pay wages up to the end of the month. 

The determination of the company in this regard 

was duly conveyed to Captain Smith, the Shipping 

Master at Fremantle, who in acknowledging the 

communication, wrote as follows to the manager

of the company at Fremantle:

"I am in receipt of your letter of the 17th

inst., and have to acknowledge with thanks

receipt of your cheque for £461 4s., wages

for crew of late ss. Koombana, which will

be paid in accordance with the Merchant

Shipping Act. I am very pleased to find

that your company has been so generous in

paying the full month's wages for March,

and shall be glad.to receive the receipts for

the wages which you are paying, and which

are not included in the cheque.-Yours faithfully

Thos. W. Smith, shipping master."

As I was saying, was this good enough?  

I DON'T THINK SO!

SS Montoro - rather high out of the water - ironic. (courtesy ShipSpotting.com)

courtesy Trove

Fix this textfully, Thos. W. Smith, Shipping Master."

WOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO MAKE BROOME.

Kalgoorlie Miner, Tuesday 26 March, 1912.

However, hope is entertained, that 

she is lying either, at Port Hedland 

or Derby, as mariners who know the 

coast thoroughly say that Captain Allen

would not think of making for Broome 

in the gale, but would prefer to run out 

to sea and come in at Derby.

An interesting thought, but did not pan out.

courtesy Trove

NO RESPONSE TO WIRELESS.

The Mercury, Hobart, Tuesday 26 March, 1912.

NO RESPONSE TO WIRELESS .

INQUIRIES.

FREMANTLE, March 25.

Grave anxiety for the safety of the

steamer Koombana, which left Port

Hedland for Broome on Wednesday

last, is now entertained.

The vessel is now four days overdue,

and it is feared that she has met with

disaster, or has been disabled. The

Koombana is fitted with wireless 

telegraphy, and the German mail steamer

Gneisenau, which arrived this morning,

reported having spoken to her on 

Wednesday last, when she was lying at

Port Hedland. The vessels were then

800 miles distant. 

To-day the Gneisenau endeavoured to

get into communication with the

Koombana, but met with no response.

It is quite possible, however, that the

Koombana's wireless apparatus has

been disabled.

The R.M.S., Mongolia is due from

Colombo to-morrow morning, and it is

quite possible that she has been able

to get into touch with the Koombana,

as she would pass well within the range

of her wireless installation.

The illuminating extract confirms that Koombana had effective wireless communication. But this was limited by no receivers on land and the number of other vessels with equivalent installations; in this case the German steamer Gneisenau and the RMS Mongolia. What use was this at the end of a tragic day? None of the local steamers had wireless.

If Koombana's wireless installation was not disabled due to the gale or 'flooding', Captain Allen might have sent out a distress call if there had been enough time. But it was not to be.... 

SS Mongolia of the Atlantic Transport Line - courtesy Kinghorn.

courtesy Trove