page_title: SS Koombana
section_title: Early north west trips
hierarchical_section_title: SS Koombana / Service history / Early north west trips
caption_attribution_description: English: Gantheaume Point, Broome, Western Australia.
context_page_description: SS Koombana was a late Edwardian-era passenger, cargo and mail carrying steamship. From March 1909 to March 1912, she operated coastal liner services between Fremantle, Western Australia and various ports in the northwest of that state. She is best known for disappearing at an unknown location north of Port Hedland, Western Australia, during a tropical cyclone on 20 March 1912, killing 74 passengers and 76 crew; in total, 150 people died.
  Other than a small quantity of wreckage, no trace was ever found of the ship, which was presumed sunk along with several other vessels during the same storm. At least a further 15 people died in other ships and near the cyclone. As accurate passenger lists were not kept at the time, the exact number of deaths is not known; however, all on board are presumed to have perished. The loss was almost certainly Australia's worst weather-related maritime disaster in the twentieth century.
  In her short career, Koombana also played a significant role in the public life of Western Australia.
context_section_description: Koombana departed from Fremantle on her maiden north west trip to  Derby on 12 March 1909, and from Geraldton the following night.  She was expected to reach Carnarvon on the evening of 15 March 1909, but that morning she ran aground on a sand bank known as Bar Flats, 14 mi (23 km) from Denham in Shark Bay.
  A subsequent inquiry by the Chief Harbourmaster, Captain C J Irvine, established that the master, Captain Rees, had mistaken the mark buoy in the north side of the channel leading to Denham for the outer or westerly buoy.  In the hazy prevailing weather, Captain Rees had been prevented from verifying his position by bearings from the headlands, and there was little warning of the approach of shoal waters.  The Chief Harbourmaster therefore concluded that more care should have been exercised when approaching Bar Flats, and the speed of the ship reduced to "slow" until the vessel's position had been definitely ascertained.  However, in light of Captain Rees's past good record, and in the absence of any damage to the ship, he recommended that no further action be taken.
  Initially, Captain Rees expected to be able to float Koombana off the sand bank the next day.  With the haze having lifted by the following morning, the ship became visible from Denham by the aid of glasses.  Efforts were made to refloat her by emptying the ballast tanks, etc., but to no avail.  Crew members then sent the motor launch towards Denham, but in the heavy seas its motor was swamped, and it returned to Koombana using its sail.  Denham was reached only on a second attempt.
  On 18 March 1909 at 02:30, the SS Winfield left Geraldton to lighten her.  The task of refloating Koombana took several more days, with the officers and crews of both ships working day and night.  On 24 March 1909, Winfield herself ran aground for half an hour, while turning to come alongside.  An attempted tow that day was unsuccessful, but at 14:30 the next day, after cargo had been taken out of Koombana's forehatch, she was finally refloated.
  Meanwhile, there was disquiet in Carnarvon about the non-arrival of the mails being carried by Koombana.  In a telegram to the Postmaster-General in Melbourne, Carnarvon's town clerk complained that the monthly delivery of mails had been delayed by eight days.  He pointed out that plenty of boats were available, at the scene of the stranding, to convey them the 70 mi (110 km) to Carnarvon.  Further north, the Port Hedland Advocate called for Shark Bay to be cut off the list of north-west trade calling places, due to its ever-shifting sand banks.  However, Koombana was largely forgiven when she arrived in Carnarvon a few days later, even though a quantity of Carnarvon cargo had to be overcarried.  Residents and the local media marvelled at the comfort of her cabins, while passengers spoke highly of the efforts of the officers and crew to refloat the stricken vessel.  Koombana then covered the 280 mi (450 km) from Carnarvon to Onslow in the record time of 20 ½ hours.
  Koombana's second north west trip, departing from Fremantle on 17 April 1909, was similarly eventful.  In Geraldton on 21 April 1909, the vessel embarked a ministerial party comprising the Premier, Newton Moore, and the Minister for Works, James Price, accompanied by four other State MPs.  The party had journeyed from Perth to Geraldton by train, and then continued by Koombana all the way to Derby, before returning by Koombana to Fremantle.  Its objective was to visit the North-West ports, inspect recent Public Works projects, and "... meet the residents of the various ports and ascertain their wants ...".  A highlight of the party's tour was the opening on 27 April 1909 of the new Port Hedland jetty, at which Koombana had just become the first ship to berth.  The jetty's construction had been expedited to enable the landing of the rails for construction of the Marble Bar Railway.
  Shortly after leaving Broome for Derby on the evening of 28 April 1909, with the ministerial party aboard, Koombana struck an uncharted submerged obstruction about 1 mi (1.6 km) from the Gantheaume
caption: Gantheaume Point, Broome, ca. 1910.
exif: {}