CATTLEMAN AND COORDINATES.

Geraldton Guardian, 30 December, 1926

It was 40 years after that I had my next 

encounter with a willy. This was in

March 1912, while en route from Port

Hedland to Fremantle with cattle on

the s.s. Bullara.

The Koombana Willy.

On March 20, 1912, the ill-fated

Koombana at 10.20 a.m. cast off her

moorings at Port Hedland, and put out

to sea, bound for Broome. Twenty

minutes later the Bullara followed suit

— there was an overcast sky and half a

gale blowing from the E.N.E. I noticed 

as we were leaving the port that some 

half-dozen pearling luggers were making 

their way up the creek, evidently to a more 

sheltered anchorage, and hearing the 

officers in charge of the watch remark 

that we were running out three miles, 

I gleaned that something was expected. 

I subsequently learnt that the glass was 

extremely low, 28 something. Anyhow, I 

had not much time to waste, as my mates 

and self were busy in the lower forehold, 

fixing up arrangements for feeding and 

watering the stock. When we came on

deck for the midday meal, the Bullara

and the Koombana were stern on to

each other, and the distance apart being 

about five miles. As I glanced towards her, 

little I thought I would be one of the last to 

see her afloat. After lunch, while having a 

smoke, looking ahead, I noticed away on 

the starboard bow and just above the horizon, 

a dense mass of inky black clouds and

from descriptions I'd had from old pearlers, 

I was convinced we were in for it. 

The cattleman's observation is crucial to our modern day understanding of the cyclone system's movements. It is claimed that the cyclone had stalled some 130 miles offshore to the 'north' of Bullarra's position, midday, 20 March (18 20 S, 117 40 E). This was impossible, not least of all due to the fact that the cattleman observed the mass of clouds to the west (starboard bow of Bullarra heading southwest), NOT to the north. Furthermore, Bullarra ran into the 'hurricane' 22 miles from Balla Balla. How could then a system 130 miles to the north not have affected Balla Balla and Hedland equally (same radius), which was never the case? 

Furthermore, the reference to running out three miles meaning an anticipation of storm conditions defeated all Captain Upjohn's attempts at the Inquiry to play down the weather, with comments such as 'nothing in it'. The truth must out.

We were down amongst the cattle again fixing up, 

when at 4.30 p.m. Captain Upjohn called 

out to us to look out as she was going to roll.

As he was going to heave-to, we came up

on deck At 6 p.m. you could not pull

yourself along the deck, and at midnight, 

the funnel blew out and lay across the saloon 

deck. We then got a stockless anchor over, 

and 120 fathoms chain to help keep her head 

on, and though without a funnel, steam

was kept up and the engines going

their darndest. One would have thought

to see the smoke rising out of the saloon 

deck that the ship was on fire.

Well it. was 4.30 p.m. the second day

when the wind veered into the south

west and soon died out. We were then

60 miles off Point Sampson. The cable

and anchor were hauled in and we

headed for the Point, dumping dead

bullocks the whole way. What a gruesome 

sight greeted us when we went among our 

cattle, particularly those between decks. 

In one pen of six, five were dead. We arrived 

at Point Sampson next morning and were 

surprised to hear that the Koombana was 

missing and further that they only had a stiff

blow at the Point, loosening some of

the whaling pieces and girders. Here

we got material for a jury funnel, and

after a two days' stay, went back in

search of the Koombana.

Balla Balla.

We are the Bullara called at all ports

on our way up to Port Hedland, including 

Balla Balla, De Pugh, the port where 

copper ore from Whim Creek is

shipped. At the time of our arrival

there were two sailing ships loading.

They were the square rigged ship.

Crown of England. and the barque

Concordia. The ore was taken off the

lighters. The Bullara was due back

there to pick up 27 passengers at 6

p.m. on the first day of the willy. It

was at Balla Balla that the Willy hit

the land. The Crown of England was

blown on the rocks of De Pugh Island,

and within an hour only a few of her

ribs were left protruding out of the

water, and ten out of eighteen, of her

crew were drowned. The Concordia was

also wrecked, but her hull was salvaged

and towed to Fremantle and is now

doing duty as a coal hulk. The whar-

fingers, with three passengers in a 

motor boat, waiting to come onto the

Bullara on her arrival, disappeared, and

nothing was found of them again. Several 

miles of telegraphic wire were blown down 

and communication was cut off. We proceeded 

on our way in search of the missing steamer on 

to Broome, where we transferred what

was left of the cattle onto the Gorgon;

I joining that vessel also. It was this

boat that picked up a state room door

that was floating about 25 miles off

Redoubt (Bedout) Island. There was 

also some other wreckage in the form of 

several pieces of panelling floating about 

in the vicinity of the door. Soundings were

taken and a depth of 50 fathoms recorded. 

'Captain Townley, of the Gorgon, reported on arriving 

here to-night, 25 miles north by west of Bedout Island,

we sighted a white panelled piece of wood. Stopped and

picked it up. The description is : Panelled door, painted

white, one side has been polished. The other fittings

were marked with crossed flags, and Walker and Hall in

brackets, and ornamented with a Grecian urn. The

door had apparently been forced off by pressure, as both

handles on the white side were gone, and on the reverse 

side had been driven in.' 

The stateroom door was discovered at S 19º 10' E 119º 06', according to the Gorgon log. This position is almost due north of Bedout Island, 24.5 miles. The depth at this location is in the region of 42.6 fathoms (78 m) rather than 50 fathoms.

What is most interesting is that Captain Townley of the Gorgon had no trouble establishing where he was relative to Bedout Island. His coordinates were a mere 0.5 miles out (24.5 vs. 25 miles).

Why Captain Upjohn estimated between 27 and 28 miles from Bedout Island for the oil patch does not correlate with his coordinates, 30 miles from Bedout . Why? Iron ore in the bedrock interfering with compass readings??

See Coordinates Conclusion post for further discussion. 

It was not always straight forward establishing coordinates for positions in the vicinity of Bedout Island as illustrated by the widely varying coordinates for the island itself between 1864, James Martin; earlier charts and the 1912 coordinates, as per the Government Gazette - less than 0.5 mile deviation.

courtesy Trove and Google Earth.

CONDON.

The West Australian, Perth, 12 January, 1939.

Koombana Disappears.

The steamer Koombana went down

off Condon with all hands during a

willy-willy which raged in the vicinity

of Cossack from March 16 to 21, 1912.

It is singularly interesting that the author of this report, circa 1939, chose Condon as the frame of reference for where the Koombana went down. Captain Upjohn's oil patch coordinates are exactly 50 miles almost due north of Condon. The two rockets seen by drover Olive were roughly in the vicinity of 22 miles N.N.E. of Condon and that site is merely 5 miles from the dreaded Amphinome Shoals which received attention when the steamer Bambra ran into an object, circa 1922.

Note: Cossack, 129 n miles to the southwest of Condon does not even make it onto this image.

Courtesy Trove and Google Earth.

Fix this

ONE OF THE MYSTERIES OF THE SEA.

Mirror, Perth, 30 March, 1935.

WHAT BECAME OF

THE KOOMBANA?

A Nor-West Maritime Mystery Recalled

By the Buffeting of the Koolinda This Week

The severe buffeting which the Koolinda has received on

her last couple of runs along the Nor-West coast recalls

firstly what a storm-tossed coast this part of Western 

Australia is in the 'willy-willy' period of March, and secondly

one of the tragic disasters of earlier days when the Koombana

disappeared.

What became of the Koombana and her passengers ? 

It is one of the mysteries of the sea — for to this day

not a soul knows.

On February 8 of 1912, with Captain 

Allen in command, the s.s. Koombana 

left Fremantle for Wyndham via ports. 

A vessel of 3,499 (3,668) tons register and 

340 feet in length and capable of doing 

about 15 knots, she was reckoned the finest

and most up-to-date on the Nor'

West coast. She was constructed at

Glasgow and was only running for

a couple of years.

She had a crew of 80 odd and an original 

passenger Iist of 47 when she set out on 

her trip of doom. The last seen of her was 

on March 20 at 1 p.m., when she was 

sighted by the Bullarra, two hours out of 

Port Hedland and heading northeast, the 

gale that was then in evidence being one 

blowing from E.N.E.

And her subsequent fate? ,

Only from pieces of wreckage and 

deductions of mariners could any story be

built— and that but a story of surmise.

Maybe the hapless steamer was over

whelmed by a cyclone — maybe she was

caught in the terrible toils of two cyclones. 

Almost certain it is. that she did not strike 

a reef or rock and founder from that cause. 

But with not a solitary survivor left to tell the 

tale none can say exactly what her fate was. 

It was a memorable storm which began on 

March 19 and .

PLAYED HAVOC

along the coast between Roebourne and

La Grange Bay to the south of Broome,

and it was accompanied by heavy down

pours of rain. Appalling as was the ferocity 

of the disturbance ashore, it was even more 

vicious at sea. Nearly nine inches of rain 

deluged itself on Roebourne in 24 hours, 

while the hurricane howled and shrieked 

as it blasted a trail of destruction along its path.

Point Sampson wharf was severely buffeted, 

telegraph and telephone lines went down like 

ninepins, and small craft became, in a number 

of cases, just play things of the elements. The 

lighters, Clyo, Enterprise and Steady were 

wrecked on Depuch bland and on the night of

March 20 the pearling lugger Clare, was

also wrecked off the same island. Another 

vessel, the Crown of England, of

1,847 tons met destruction on Depuch

Island, and a number of lives were lost.

In reality the brunt of the cyclone impacted Balla Balla through Point Sampson and Roebourne. Port Hedland and Bedout Island did not sustain damage, confirmed by reliable reports. Clearly Koombana's intended course took her away from, not towards, the cyclone. Bullarra, heading southwest, struck the inferior margin of the cyclone 22 miles from Balla Balla. Whatever befell the Koombana did not include being battered to pieces by the cyclone. Some argue that the pieces of wreckage suggested the latter, but if she had rolled over and struck the seabed, her superstructure would have been damaged creating such. 

The Bullarra rode through the waves

safely, but not unscathed, emerging after

A HEAVY BATTERING

from the ocean minus a funnel, a lifeboat

and about 45 head of cattle, which were

washed overboard. And when she reached 

Cossack Roads safely, passengers heaved 

sighs of relief and lauded the skill of Captain 

Upjohn and the seaworthiness of the boat. 

When the Crown of England went down, 

seven men and a cabin boy perished, 

Captain Olsen and nine others comprising 

the survivors.

Appalling and devastating, cyclones are liable 

to occur in the Indian Ocean between December 

and April. They have ravaged our Nor- West coast 

repeatedly and in December they generally make their

presence felt along the northern portion of the Nor-West 

coast and when they get as far south as Shark's Say 

customarily tear in approaching the close of the cyclone 

season— March.

Not often does a year go by without

one of these visitations— more or less

fierce — occurring in the Nor-West. They

may spread themselves in area over a

distance of 20 to 30 miles and over 100

miles in diameter. Nowadays, of course,

wireless warnings can convey tidings to

captains of vessels of the approach of a

willy-willy.

The foregoing will give some idea of the

dirty weather that the ill-fated Koombana 

struck. For a number of years the Nor-West 

mail was taken by the Bullarra; when, the 

Koombana came from England the Bullarra 

was withdrawn from the run but a short time 

before the Koombana met her doom was 

again on the run in conjunction with the 

Koombana.

When Captain Allen of the Koombana

left Port Hedland he is credited with

saying, 'I am going straight out to sea

and will be lucky if I get to Broome on

Saturday.' Terribly prophetic words!

The vessel took her departure at 10.30

a.m. on March 20 so light that the propeller 

was beating out of the water, and as she 

went through the harbour entrance

she rolled noticeably. Captain Allen is

said to have remarked that he would fill

the ballast tanks when he crossed the

outer bank. The ship took a course north

and about an hour later was followed by

the southward bound Bullarra.

What became of the Koombana?

For a while alarm was not felt

about her. but when she became well

overdue the worst was feared. And

with the finding of pieces of wreckage 

came the realisation that a terrible tragedy 

had occurred: The State was stunned 

by the mystery and the magnitude of the 

disaster, and with breathless interest 

conned every scrap of information about

the wreckage recovered and theories

of the ship's fate.

The Koombana was the sole steamer 

operating on the Nor-West coast that was

fitted with a state-room, and the captain

of the Gorgon (not the present one) 

reported that he had found the door of a

state-room 50 miles from Port Hedland

north of Bedout Island, where there was

a lot of small wreckage. Captain Clark,

who had at one time served as chief of

officer on the Koombana for 15 months,

and who left in June 1910 to take up duty

with the Harbor Trust, expressed the

view that the state-room door

BELONGED TO THE KOOMBANA

and considered that the vessel had really

been caught between two cyclones blowing 

in contrary directions, 'in the midst

of which no ship would survive.'

Absurd.

Captain Mills of the steamer Minderoo

reported on reaching Port Hedland that

be had picked up a smoke-room settee and

part of a cabin drawer 70 (55) miles west of

Bedout Island and the bottom parts of

a boat about 50 miles west of the island.

The s.s. Una conducted a search in the

vicinity of Bedout Island without seeing

any wreckage on the shore or any indication

of the missing vessel. At a point 33 miles 

N.N.W. of the island however some wreckage 

was discovered and amongst it was a mast 

from one of the ship's boats and what seemed 

to be some cabin panels. As all wreckage visible

was recovered from the sea before the crew went 

to dinner, and there was

MORE. WRECKAGE

about after dinner, it was considered that the 

wreckage was coming up from the bottom of 

the sea. Captain Upjohn of the Bullarra reported 

the finding of the bow of one of the Koombana's 

boats with the company's crest upon it. And from 

such grim relics as these the public of the day built

their own conjectures as to the fate of the Koombana; 

But the secret of just what actually happened the

dead took with them to their watery grave.

By a grim coincidence the company

which owned the Koombana lost another

vessel on the other side of Australia in

mysterious circumstances 12 months before. 

On March 26, 1911, a Queensland liner, 

Yongala, which departed from Mackay on a 

trip to Townsville on March 23, was posted as 

missing. The latitude at which the two ships 

met their doom

IN CYCLONIC STORMS

although they were the breadth of a 

continent apart, was practically the same.

A lucky man to escape death on the

Koombana was a Mr. Thomas, who, 

until the Koombana left Fremantle on 

her last trip north, was third mate on 

that ship. In order to join the Harbor 

Trust at Fremantle he left the Koombana 

at Fremantle and thus unknowingly 

stepped out of the shadow of death. 

He gave it as his opinion that the 

Koombana was a wonderfully good sea 

boat.

But her fate remains one of the

mysteries of the sea.

courtesy Iemandanders

important update:  
https://koombanarevisited.blogspot.com/2019/08/coordinates-conclusion.html

Courtesy Trove and Google Earth