Friday 21 October 2016

MAILS AND PASSENGERS.

Bendigo Advertiser, Saturday 1 April, 1911.

The Yongala had on board 120 bags of
mails, including 21 bags from Melbourne
and Sydney. She also had 79 registered
articles and 43 receptacles, containing 533
parcels.
Some sad facts are related in connection 
with the disaster. Miss P. Carroll, one of 
the vessel's passengers, was travelling 
from Brisbane to Townsville to see her 
sister who was dangerously ill. Their mother 
died only a few months ago and Miss Carroll 
was the main support of her home. She had 
charge, during the trip, of Mona Shannon, 
aged 33 years, who was returning to Townsville,
where her mother is now frantic with
grief.
Mr. Matthew Rooney, his wife. and
young daughter were residents of Townsville. 
Mr. Rooney was a very prominent
citizen of 35 years' standing, and was the
head of a big firm of limber merchants
and shipowners. He leaves a grown-up
family. He was nearly too late for the
steamer when leaving Brisbane, and Mrs.
Rooney expressed the hope that they would
be late.
One of the passengers by the ill-fated
vessel, named Smith, rushed down to the
steamer just as she was casting off. His
destination was Charters Towers.
Mrs. Murray was returning to Cairns
from New South Wales with four children,
the youngest of which its father had not
seen.
A lady resident in Brisbane is distracted 
because she induced her brother,
who was on the Yongala, to delay his 
departure from Brisbane for a week.
Many bereaved persons are completely
prostrated, and in some cases not a word
has escaped their lips since hope of the
vessel's safety has vanished. A wife of
a fireman on the steamer waited until mid
night at one of the newspaper offices on
Monday night for news. She declared she
had no fears for the safety of her husband, 
because he was such a good swimmer.


How these people must have anguished at the mercy of lip service delivered by the Court of Inquiry.

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