SEARCH ABANDONED.

The Advertiser (Adelaide) 15 April, 1911.

THE YONGALA

SEARCH ABANDONED. 

Brisbane, April 14:

Mr. Wareham, manager of the Adelaide

Company, stated to-night that so far as the

company was concerned, the search for the

wreck of the Yongala had been abandoned.

It had been intended to send the small

steamer Pelican to make a final survey of

the reefs, but the weather conditions 

prevented tile Pelican leaving port, and 

it was decided to give up the search. 

With reference to the offer of apparatus

for revealing objects some distance below

the surface of water. Mr. Wareham

said when the apparatus is received from

Melbourne he will ask Captain Mackay,

the portmaster, to have it tested in 

Moreton Bay. If the test is satisfactory the

apparatus will be tried at Nares Rock and

at other reefs.

Concerning the company's contribution

to the Yongala relief fund, Mr. Wareham

said the directors would contribute, but

the amount would depend on the relief 

required.

By 14 April, 1911, all hope of Yongala disabled and adrift, was abandoned. This was 3 weeks after Yongala failed to arrive at Townsville. Compare this with the case of the Waratah which disappeared off the South African coast, July, 1909. Searches continued well into 1910 - an almost obstinate refusal to accept the harsh reality that Waratah and her 211 souls were lost.

The Adelaide Steamship Company directors did not see the point of further expense incurred by on-going searches and giving false hope to relatives of those lost. The Lunds, owners of the Waratah, on the other hand persisted with the notion that their flagship could not have foundered in a storm of 'exceptional violence' or due to any other cause. 

One does wonder what role was played by value of cargo??

There were no reports or rumours of valuable cargo aboard Yongala. Waratah on the other hand was rumoured to be carrying a vast amount of gold and silver. Appeasing the vain hope of relatives was one thing, recovering valuable assets was quite another....

SS Yongala

SS Waratah

How very similar these two steamers were - both lost without a trace.