The Queenslander, 15 April, 1911.
TOWNSVILLE, April 11.
Inspector Malone to-day received a report
from Constable Portley, at Mundingburra,
in respect to the carcass of a horse found
on the beach at the mouth of Gordon's Creek,
three miles down the coast from Ross River.
The bones are there, minus the head and hoofs.
The colour of the hide was bay. The strong
odour rising shows that the body had not long
been dead. The remains are under water at high
tide. The horse could not have got there
from land, owing to the boggy state of
the country, and must have been washed
up by the sea. An aboriginal lad living
near there, who is very intelligent, and
can read and write, says that he first
saw the carcass on April 2. It was then
very much swollen, and the hind legs
were missing. It is thought that this
may be the remains of Moonshine, the
racehorse which was on the Yongala. The
aboriginal says that the same day — April
2 — he saw a lot of Swede turnips on the
beach.
Yongala departed Flat Top, Mackay, 1.40 p.m., Thursday, 23 March. She was in relatively light / tender condition (top heavy). Cargo weight accounted for 29% of maximum load and 164 tons of stabilising pig iron ballast had been removed because it caused a jerky recovery uncomfortable for passengers.
Captain Knight elected to depart for Townsville despite strengthening wind from the southeast and a falling barometer. I believe the decision was based on an assumption that the weather system was coming up the coast, rather than one into which they would be steaming.
Captain Knight elected to depart for Townsville despite strengthening wind from the southeast and a falling barometer. I believe the decision was based on an assumption that the weather system was coming up the coast, rather than one into which they would be steaming.
There was no cyclone warning.
Heading north to Townsville and believing they could outrun the weather, Yongala made an average of 16 knots assisted by a 2 knot current. Yongala passed Dent Island, inside passage, Whitsundays, at about 5 p.m. (erroneously reported as 6 p.m.) and was subsequently seen by residents of Cannon Valley Beach an hour later, coinciding with dusk at 6 p.m.. This was the riskier but quicker, inside passage passing between Armit and Gumbrell Islands.
Having cleared the Whitsundays without mishap, Yongala headed northwest in open water parallel with the coast and the outer Barrier Reef. She cleared Nares Rock without difficulty and arrived at a position 11.5 miles out from Cape Bowling Green Light, 17.7 miles from where Grantala lay anchored to the west due to deteriorating weather conditions.
We know from the chronometer time, 11.45 p.m. (conclusive in my opinion) and a wreck site within the large steamer track, that the disaster must have been sudden and catastrophic. Also, the time and site matches a plausible 15 - 16 knots (favourable, 2 knot current).
My belief is that the intense cyclonic system 30 miles in diameter was actually a hybrid cyclone (see image below) predominated by a gale from the south - the masters who experienced the storm reported gale force wind directions in keeping with this.
By the time Yongala was almost upon the eye of the cyclone, the gale would have shifted rapidly and violently from south to north, bringing the wind force to bear on the top heavy steamer's starboard bow and beam.
Heading northwest, Captain Knight would have been confronted by an unfolding catastrophe and certain knowledge of Yongala's inability to recover quickly enough in such conditions. I believe he attempted to bring the steamer's bow into the gale.
What followed must have been extreme and sudden, Yongala capsizing within minutes. The rudder is still in the half to starboard position and the wreck lies facing north. If there had been enough time for recovery, I believe the rudder would have been corrected to maintain the heading.
An explosion was heard by residents south of the disaster site, suggesting that the furnaces burning under full steam reacted to the cold sea water rushing in.
The main hatch was compromised as the steamer foundered and lighter cargo in hold 3 liberated into the tumultuous sea.
Passengers would no doubt have been confined to cabins due to conditions, essentially trapped as the disaster unfolded.
I choose to believe that Yongala foundered so quickly there was little time for protracted suffering and Yongala's 122 souls now rest in peace, cosetted by some of the Coral Sea's most illustrious and doting residents.
Max Gleeson presents an engaging theory based on dive observations that lifeboats on the starboard side of Yongala were swung out in preparation for evacuation of the ship rather than a sudden, extreme event.
A great deal of wreckage was subsequently discovered after the disaster spanning large swathes of the coast from Cape Bowling Green to Palm Island in the north. No lifeboat(s) or section thereof from the starboard side were discovered. Only a section of lifeboat 1 from the port side was found, suggesting that no one escaped Yongala.
A possible reason for starboard davits being in the 'swung out' position could be forces linked with Yongala coming to rest on her starboard side.
Heading north to Townsville and believing they could outrun the weather, Yongala made an average of 16 knots assisted by a 2 knot current. Yongala passed Dent Island, inside passage, Whitsundays, at about 5 p.m. (erroneously reported as 6 p.m.) and was subsequently seen by residents of Cannon Valley Beach an hour later, coinciding with dusk at 6 p.m.. This was the riskier but quicker, inside passage passing between Armit and Gumbrell Islands.
Having cleared the Whitsundays without mishap, Yongala headed northwest in open water parallel with the coast and the outer Barrier Reef. She cleared Nares Rock without difficulty and arrived at a position 11.5 miles out from Cape Bowling Green Light, 17.7 miles from where Grantala lay anchored to the west due to deteriorating weather conditions.
We know from the chronometer time, 11.45 p.m. (conclusive in my opinion) and a wreck site within the large steamer track, that the disaster must have been sudden and catastrophic. Also, the time and site matches a plausible 15 - 16 knots (favourable, 2 knot current).
My belief is that the intense cyclonic system 30 miles in diameter was actually a hybrid cyclone (see image below) predominated by a gale from the south - the masters who experienced the storm reported gale force wind directions in keeping with this.
By the time Yongala was almost upon the eye of the cyclone, the gale would have shifted rapidly and violently from south to north, bringing the wind force to bear on the top heavy steamer's starboard bow and beam.
Heading northwest, Captain Knight would have been confronted by an unfolding catastrophe and certain knowledge of Yongala's inability to recover quickly enough in such conditions. I believe he attempted to bring the steamer's bow into the gale.
What followed must have been extreme and sudden, Yongala capsizing within minutes. The rudder is still in the half to starboard position and the wreck lies facing north. If there had been enough time for recovery, I believe the rudder would have been corrected to maintain the heading.
An explosion was heard by residents south of the disaster site, suggesting that the furnaces burning under full steam reacted to the cold sea water rushing in.
The main hatch was compromised as the steamer foundered and lighter cargo in hold 3 liberated into the tumultuous sea.
Passengers would no doubt have been confined to cabins due to conditions, essentially trapped as the disaster unfolded.
I choose to believe that Yongala foundered so quickly there was little time for protracted suffering and Yongala's 122 souls now rest in peace, cosetted by some of the Coral Sea's most illustrious and doting residents.
 |
| courtesy Google Earth |
 |
| courtesy Google Earth |
Max Gleeson presents an engaging theory based on dive observations that lifeboats on the starboard side of Yongala were swung out in preparation for evacuation of the ship rather than a sudden, extreme event.
A great deal of wreckage was subsequently discovered after the disaster spanning large swathes of the coast from Cape Bowling Green to Palm Island in the north. No lifeboat(s) or section thereof from the starboard side were discovered. Only a section of lifeboat 1 from the port side was found, suggesting that no one escaped Yongala.
A possible reason for starboard davits being in the 'swung out' position could be forces linked with Yongala coming to rest on her starboard side.
The following extract gives us an idea of the forces unleashed by the cyclone:
Cairns Post, 17 October, 1911.
Captain McKenzie further stated that
between Cape Upstart and Cape Bowling
Green there is now visible in the bush the
track of the awful south-west tornado, which
it is believed drove the Yongala out onto
Broadhurst Reef. For a width of fifteen miles
the whole of the trees, including many immense
ones, being torn out by the roots and levelled.
It is clear from this description that Yongala was subjected to an intense, narrow, system of formidable force, causing her to capsize rapidly. One could argue that such a force would have destroyed even the most 'stable' of vessels.
The Week, Brisbane, 31 March, 1911.
The Week, Brisbane, 31 March, 1911.
A veteran master mariner firmly adheres
to the belief that the vessel turned turtle
in the cyclone, and explains the fact that
the cargo mentioned had come ashore by
pointing out that it was quite likely that the
cargo of the overturned vessel falling upon
the hatches, would burst them open, the
lighter portion finding its way to the surface.
courtesy Trove
courtesy Trove
For all readers with an in interest in this subject Max Gleeson's online video, 'Mystery of a Generation' is compelling and beautifully compiled.
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