The Advertiser, Adelaide, Monday 9 November, 1903.
'could not help being struck
by her elegant appearance and
the length of her funnel, the latter
feature being devised to provide a
better draught for the inferior quality
of coal met with at the antipodes.'
This extract is fascinating. It certainly explains why a tender steamer, such as Yongala was, required a very tall funnel, contributing to top heaviness. The funnel would also have presented a significant surface area vulnerable to wind force - tipping the balance in a dangerous list. There is a possibility that if this funnel had been readily blown off by the gale, 23 March, Yongala might have survived the onslaught. But the funnel was built into the structure of the steamer and by remaining firmly affixed might instead have contributed to dragging the steamer over and under...
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