YONGALA PLYING THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN TRADE AS LATE AS DECEMBER, 1910.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 3 December, 1910

Arrivals:

Yongala steamer from Melbourne.

Although this might seem utterly insignificant it has bearing on the Inquiry into the loss of the Yongala. I shall return to this important issue.

FLEXIBILITY OF ROUTE.

The Daily News (Perth) Tuesday 18 May, 1909.

YONGALA FROM THE EAST,

DUE FREMANTLE THURSDAY.

The steamer YONGALA, which, as

already reported In 'The Dally News,'

sailed from Adelaide at 2 o'clock on

Saturday afternoon for Western 

Australia, is bringing across a large 

number of passengers, 1,600 tons of general

cargo, and one horse. She is due at

Albany to-night, and Fremantle on

Thursday.

Three years after Yongala was deployed to the East Coast, she still made voyages back to Fremantle, as demand required. This will have bearing on the question of additional ballast which we will come to in due course....

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YONGALA AND LOCH VENACCHAR.

The Register (Adelaide) Monday 18 September, 1905.

THE SHIP LOCH VENNACHAR..

The ship Loch Vennachar, from Glasgow,

has not yet arrived at Port Adelaide, and

there is a growing uneasiness in shipping

circles in regard to her. Twelve days have

elapsed since she was spoken by the steamer

Yongala in lat. 35.21 S. and long.133 E., 

or about 100 miles west of Neptune

Island. At present nautical authorities are

at variance concerning the need for alarm.

On the one hand it is contended that the

stormy weather of last week was never

so violent from any quarter as to prevent a

fine vessel like the Loch Vennachar from

making headway into port. On the other

hand it is considered probable that the

north winds which prevailed just about the

time the Yongala spoke the ship may have

delayed her, and that in the subsequent

gales from the north-west and west Capt.

Hawkins was blown away south, and has

not succeeded in regaining his leeway. On

Sunday evening Capt. C. J. Clare 

(Superintendent of the Life-saving Department) 

informed a reporter of The Register that,

personally, he thinks the ship has been

blown away to the south, and it will take

her some time to recover her former position. 

Considering, however, the anxiety

which is now felt in some quarters, it is

proposed, in the event of no tidings being

received this morning, to send away the

steamer Governor Musgrave on a search

expedition this afternoon. Should that

course be adopted, after consultation with

the agents of the Loch Vennachar (Messrs.

George Wills & Co.), the Governor Musgrave 

will skirt the western and southern coasts of 

Kangaroo Island, and possibly any

other locality where a ship might be in

distress. The Loch Vennachar is a well

found ship of 1,486 tons net register, and

is commanded by Capt. W. S. Hawkins,

who has made several voyages to Adelaide.

For some years he was master of the Brabloch, 

and in 1903 he transferred from the

Loch Ness to his present command. The

Loch Vennachar on her last voyage from

Glasgow reached Port Adelaide in October,

1904.

The Advertiser (Adelaide) Tuesday 28 November, 1905.

THE LOCH VENNACHAR,

BODY FOUND ON KANGAROO,

ISLAND.

WRECKAGE IDENTIFIED.

On Monday evening the superintendent of

the live-saving service (Captain C. J. Clare)

received a telegram from the officer in

charge of the live saving apparatus at 

Kangaroo Island (Mounted-Constable Thorpe),

who had been sent out to scour the inhospitable 

southern and western shores of the

island for traces of the missing ship Loch

Vennachar, which could settle her fate 

beyond doubt. The message had been carried

from West Bay to Cape Borda, and telegraphed 

thence to the mainland. It stated that while 

inspecting the shelter hut at West Bay on Sunday, 

Mounted-Constable Thorpe found a decomposed 

body, apparently that of a youth, lying on the 

beach close to Shelter Hut Creek, which runs 

past the hut at a distance of 200 yards. The

beach in the vicinity was strewn with

wreckage, consisting of large,spars, a 

number of ship's buckets, which all had the

name Loch Vennachar painted on the sides,

the stern of a ship's boat with "Loch Vennachar" 

painted on it, and a large quantity of heavy 

wreckage, with iron and brass fittings, and 

ropes attached. There was also a wooden 

ladder, cases of tinned fish, reels and bales 

of paper, some sailors' working clothes, 

and about 30 hogsheads and half hogsheads 

of whisky, which by the marks were consigned 

to Adelaide and Melbourne firms. , , .

West Bay is situated on the extreme western 

end of Kangaroo Island. Its southern point 

is Cape Bedout, which is midway between 

Cape Borda and Cape de Couedie. In his 

telegram Mounted-Constable Thorpe stated, 

that he fixed the wreck of the Loch Vennachar

in the vicinity of Cape Bedout, and

there appears to be good ground for the 

assumption, in view of the large quantities of

wreckage which have been washed up in the

neighborhood. This being so, the opinion

formed when the wreckage was first discovered 

on the south-eastern part of the island, that the 

vessel had gone to pieces south of Cape Hart or 

a little farther to the westward, in attempting to 

make Backstairs Passage, after being blown 

south by the gale, must prove incorrect. 

On the other hand the present discovery 

strongly supports the calculations of 

experienced navigators at Port Adelaide 

that the Loch Vennachar went down soon 

after she was spoken by the steamer Yongala 

in the vicinity of the Neptune Islands on 

September 6, when the sailing ship was 

86 days out from Glasgow to Port Adelaide.

Another significant example where the Yongala was confronted by a serious gale, but unlike the Loch Vennachar which succumbed, proved her seaworthiness..... for the time being.

Loch Vennachar - wikipedia

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COMPLAINT AGAINST CUSTOM REGULATION.

The Register (Adelaide) Saturday 23 January, 1904.

COMPLAINT AGAINST CUSTOMS

REGULATION.

On arrival of the Adelaide Steamship

Company's steamer Yongala from Western

Australia on Thursday complaints were

made by several of the passengers that the

vessel was unduly delayed at the Semaphore 

by the customs official. The master (Captain James Sim), 

when seen on Friday, stated that the complaints 

were well grounded. 'The boarding officer,' he said,

'was attending a sailing vessel when the

Yongala reached the anchorage, and the

steamer was kept waiting 50 minutes before

he arrived to transact the departmental

business, which consisted of his obtaining

a passenger list and signing one or two

documents - a delay of 50 minutes for a 

couple of minutes' work. I would not have

objected to the delay so much, had the 

officer been engaged with a mailboat or with

some urgent business on another vessel, but

seeing it was known that the Yongala was

approaching, it was most unfair for the

official to first devote attention to an 

unimportant sailing ship, which would probably

be anchored there several days, and to

cause my vessel nearly an hour's detention,

to the annoyance of 50 or 60 passengers who

were anxious to get ashore. I am at a

loss to understand why the customs should

board interstate steamers at the Semaphore

at all, for in Sydney, Melbourne, and Fremantle 

the practice of boarding outside the port has been 

discontinued. Of course, in exceptional circumstances, 

such as illness, we should signal from the roadstead 

to be boarded. But at the Semaphore, although,

we are trading within the Commonwealth; and 

coming from a clean port with the passengers all 

in good health, we are lulled up coming in and 

bailed up going out. To me it seems farcical that 

such an unnecessary distinction should be made 

in this state.' The boarding officer who was on

duty subsequently made an explanation.

...and subsequently boarded a barque.While 

he was preparing the stores list and

sealing up stores on board, he learned of

the arrival of the Yongala, and as it was

impossible to leave his work half finished.

He completed it hurriedly, but without risking 

the accuracy of his check, and then

steamed away to the Yongala— the trip

thither occupying 20 minutes. He did not

note the time, but believed that the vessel

was not delayed so long as Capt. Sim had

stated. There was more than a couple of

minutes' work on board, as there were 10

bags of mails to be transhipped to the

launch, which he had to check. In the

circumstances the Yongala, he thought, was

given every possible dispatch. The other

question as to why steamers like the 

Yongala should be boarded at all outside 

remains unanswered.

This report gives us an impression that the Interstate steamer service, and in particular, the Adelaide Steamship Company regarded itself above 'unimportant sailing ships' - a prestigious passage option offering luxurious, fast steamers. Keeping schedule was as important to their reputation - see previous post: 

http://yongalarevisited.blogspot.co.za/2016/08/mishap-to-yongala.html 

The complaint seems unreasonable and if nothing else there was the practical matter of '10 bags of mails to be transhipped to the launch' whether Yongala made port or not. The Adelaide Steamship Company was based in Adelaide and yet this was the only alleged port where ASS steamers were expected to 'endure' this process. Was there, perhaps, also an undercurrent of disenchantment with the Company ?? 

Semaphore Esplanade and Jetty C1890. Photo courtesy of State Library of South Australia B17600.

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YONGALA IN GALES.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 22 October, 1909

YONGALA IN GALES.

Captain William Knight, commander ot the Adelaide

S.S Company's passenger steamer Yongala, which

arrived here yesterday from Mebourne, reports having 

experienced a strong southwest gale and high seas as

far as Green Cape, and thence northerly winds to the

Heads.

This report is interesting in two respects. Yongala was not exclusively deployed for the Sydney - Cairns run after 1906 and she safely negotiated extreme sea conditions prior to the cyclone, 1911. She proved her seaworthiness in such storms and 99 successful voyages before the tragedy.

SYDNEY TO CAIRNS.

The Brisbane Courier, Tuesday 21 May, 1907.

The Steamer Yongala. ,

The arrival of the Adelaide Steamship

Company's steamer Yongala from Sydney

yesterday is of interest inasmuch as this

will be the first voyage made by this fine

vessel to Cairns, via ports. The Yongala

should prove a valuable acquisition to

the company's fleet already operating 

between Melbourne, Sydney, and Queensland 

ports. The vessel was built to

Lloyds 100 A1 requirements and has a.

length of 365 feet with a breadth of

45 feet and a depth of 30 feet and was

designed from special plans arranged in

Australia to fulfil passenger and cargo

requirements. The vessel has accommodation

for 110 first class and 130 second

class passengers and is splendidly fitted

up. 

...and the ventilation throughout  the ship

has been fully attended to by electrically-driven 

fans are fitted in suitable positions so that the

air can be constantly and rapidly changed.

The Yongala has the electric light and

all the most modern fittings which are

to be found on the best passenger steamers, 

the saloon being a large and handsomely 

furnished apartment. The Yongala has made 

many fast voyages while engaged on the 

Western Australian trade and she is claimed 

to be one of the fastest ocean greyhounds 

trading on tlie Australian coast. She will leave 

Brisbane for Cairns via ports at 2 pm today.

A change of deployment and a reputation for speed. 

TOWNSVILLE JETTY TROUBLE.

Morning Post (Cairns) Tuesday 22 October, 1907.

Townsville Jetty Trouble

YONGALA GANG REFUSE WORK.

A hitch occurred this morning at

the Adelaide Co.'s wharf (says the

Townsville "Star"- of Friday), when

the gangs told off to handle cargo for

the steamer Yongala, on her trip

from Cairns to the South, declined

to commence work. The reason for

this miniature strike, so far as can

he learned, was very trivial, and the

action of the men not altogether

worthy of themselves. It appears

that through the negligence of an

officer appointed to keep the time-book

the tally of the lumpers for the week

was not available in sufficient time

to enable the wages cheque to be

drawn by the Company before the

bank closed yesterday. At the request 

of the manager, the bank officials agreed 

to accept a dheeme half an hour later 

than the ordinary time for closing, but 

it was not possible to adjust things in 

the time, consequently, the weekly pay 

was postponed until this morning. The

money was available as soon as the

office opened this morning, but the

the regular hands refused to commence 

work until they had been "squared" for the 

past week. Matters were amicably adjusted 

by 11 o'clock, and the holds were manned

and everything is now proceeding

smoothly. The Yongala will sail at

her advertised time this evening at

7.30 o'clock.

In connection with the above, it

might be mentioned that the amount

of pay to be distributed amounted to

.£513, divided among 168 men, which

if evenly distributed, would amount

to over £3 per man for the week. As

it is, one man received over £11 10s

for his week's work, 10 received over

 £9 each, six received over and  £3 -

1 received over £5, the balance being

distributed over the remainder of the

men.

Does this report suggest tardy management on the part of the Adelaide Steamship Company, or were cracks starting to show regarding their balance sheet?