The Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday 29 March, 1911.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM KNIGHT.
Captain William Knight, who was in command
of the Yongala, was for about 20 years
in the service of the A.S.N. and the A.U.S.N.
before joining the Adelaide Company 14 years
ago. He had a fine record of service on the
Australian coast, was a master of the old
school, and one who thoroughly understood
his business. His first thought always seem-
ed to be that of his ship and her safety; all
other things were of minor importance. It
was said of him by many people that he
knew the coastline of Australia better than
many people know their front gardens. In
nearly 40 years he had but one serious mis-
fortune in the loss of a vessel. He was
essentially a fighter, and when his certificate of
competency was suspended, he moved all the
powers that be to regain it. Meanwhile, he
was offered a position as mate on the Marloo,
then running to Fremantle. Shortly afterwards
he was again given a ship, and, though it was
before the expiration of his term of suspension,
no objection was raised by the Marine Board,
who had been told something by high naval
authorities. As a matter of fact, the lighthouse
was the cause of the whole trouble, its position
having been wrongly charted. Captain Knight
found much satisfaction in his victory over the
board, and ever since he had been looked up
to as a model of cautious navigation. For
some years prior to joining the Adelaide
Company he had command of the Wollowra,
belonging to the A.U.S.N. Company. Mrs.
Knight resides in Sydney and has no family.
'the lighthouse, the cause of the whole trouble, its position having been wrongly charted'. This is an intriguing sentence. The incident in question requires further investigation. The implication is that under the command of William Knight his vessel ran aground off the lighthouse in question. Whether the lighthouse was correctly charted or not is immaterial in context of the function of such a prominent warning beacon.
I shall return to this in the next post....
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| Captain William Knight, 62 years old (courtesy wikipedia) |
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