NO CYCLONE WARNING?

The following extract from the previous post:

The Grantala, which is a sister ship to the 

Yongala, left Townsville at 4 pm. on Thursday, 

and arrived off Cape Bowling Green about 

7.30 p.m. the same day. As it was then blowing 

very strongly the captain decided to anchor. 

Much has been said about the cyclone warning which was patched through to Flat-Top shortly after Yongala departed at 1.40 pm, 23 March. The above extract suggests that Captain Sim of the Grantala departed Townsville INTO THE CYCLONE at 4 pm, 23 March.  Why was he not warned and why did Grantala not remain in Port??

I am of the firm belief that the system for reporting imminent cyclones along the Queensland coast was deficient. The meteorological bureau at Brisbane had reported the approach of a severe cyclone shortly after Yongala departed Flat-Top which implies that Townsville (almost at the heart of the so-called cyclone) received the same warning. Why did Captain Sim depart under these circumstances as late as 4pm??

I can only think that either the message was not relayed, which is peculiar considering the worst of the 'cyclone' was anticipated off Townsville, or the message was received and Captain Sim made the call to depart Townsville nonetheless. If it were the latter the explanation might revert back to a common thread presented by captains off that part of the coast late 23 March; they did not believe it was a classical cyclone but rather a frontal system moving up the coast. If this were the case, there is enough solid reason for departing Townsville and making a judgment call as the voyage progressed. This call was made off Cape Bowling Green and Captain Sim weighed anchor for the night.

It is strange that this crucial issue did not warrant cross-examination at the Inquiry.

SS Grantala

WELL DOWN TOWARDS HER LOAD LINE.

The Western Champion, Saturday 1 April, 1911.

The Yongala was well down towards

her loadline, having altogether 1800

tons of dead weight below her decks.

Inquiry:

The vessel left Brisbane on the 21st March with a total dead weight of 1,885 tons, fully manned, equipped, in excellent trim, draft aft 22 feet 6 inches, forward 17 feet 9 inches, leaving a clear side of 10 feet 6 inches,

....roughly an overall draught of 20 ft. which is 4 ft. short of loadline, not well down to it!! Protesting Yongala's stability despite the facts.

This reminds me of the Koombana disaster and the following quote (wikipedia):

She is said to have been "... built to scrape into the most horrible little bays and estuaries," and "... slightly unstable because [she] had to be shallow enough to get over the sandbar at Port Hedland.

SS Koombana:

Tonnage:	3,668 GRT
Length:	340 ft 1 in (103.66 m)
Beam:	48 ft 2 in (14.68 m)
Draft:	20 ft 8 in (6.30 m)
Installed power:	4,000 hp (3,000 kW)
Propulsion:	Inverted steam engines
Crew:	74

SS Yongala:

3664 gross tons

1825 net tons

350 ft. length

45.2 ft. beam

27.2 ft. depth of hold
30.5 ft. hull depth

These two steamers shared so much more than specification similarities and their stories were almost a case of deja vu. I have every intention of following up this blog with one devoted to the Koombana disaster...

SS Koombana

SS Yongala

MORE ON PASSENGERS AND PORT ACCESS.

The Western Champion, Saturday 1 April, 1911.

Among the passengers were Mrs.

Murray, wife of a solicitor at Cairns,

who was returning home from a trip

south with her family of two boys and

two girls, and probably another sister

just out from Scotland. Mrs. Murray

was a sister-in-law to Mrs. Berrie, of

the Post and Telegraph Dept., Barcaldine ; 

Mr. J. O'Brien, traveller for Brisbane firm, 

was another passenger. Mr. O'Brien was 

in Barcaldine a fortnight  ago. He intended 

going across to Winton  from Longreach 

en route to the Towers, but finding the road 

impassable returned to Rockhampton and 

boarded the Yongala for Townsville. Another 

passenger was Mr. M. Rooney, a well-known 

Townsville timber merchant, has already been 

twice wrecked. His wife and daughter were 

also on board.

Rockhampton:

Mr. T. Kelly, chairman of the Harbour

Board, said the new dredger, Archer, was

doing excellent work, and the board expected 

in twelve months to have a depth of 20ft. in 

the river at dead low water spring tides right 

from the Bay to the town wharves.

This gives a further important insight into the limitations posed by silting of river mouths accessing ports such as Rockhampton. This was a very real limitation affecting draughts of steamers plying the Queensland coastal trade. Yongala's relatively low draught, enhancing top heaviness, was a necessity for the trade. Ballasting became the watchword for safety and it did not help matters that cargo was routinely loaded on deck and in the case of Yongala's final voyage, heavier cargo loaded ABOVE lighter cargo in number 3 hold - oh dear - the Queensland Marine Board certainly had reason to steer Yongala into a 'perils of the sea finale'.

 

REVISED PASSENGER LIST.

The Mercury, Hobart, Thursday 30 March, 1911.

When the Yongala left Mackay on

Thursday last she had on board the

following first saloon passengers.

For Townsville.-

Mr., Mrs., and Miss Rooney, 

Miss Uhr, 

Miss Buxton,

Mr. Stach,

Mr. and Mrs. Elsdale,

Mr. F. Voney, 

Miss P. Carroll, 

Mr. and Mrs. W. Lin, 

Miss M. Shannon.

For Cairns.

Miss Davids,

Mrs and Miss Murray, three children, and maid.

Mr. and Mrs. Reath,

Mr. W. J. Fulton, 

Mr. A. S. Dette, 

Mr. M. Parton,

Mr. S. Manwaring,

Mrs. M. A. Woodward, and 

Nurse Magee.

The second saloon passengers for

Townsville were:-

Mr. and Mrs. Manhey, 

Mr. O. F. Thompson, 

Mr. Barclay,

Mr. A. Carraroy,

Mr. K. Tareeves,

Mr. F. Brickenrige, 

Mr. E. Schneider, 

Mr. W. Coade, 

Mr. R. Coade, 

Mr.F. Sutherland, and 

Mr. J. Sutherland.

The second saloon passengers for

Cairns were:-

Mr. D. J. Jolley,

Mr. D. Davis,

Mr. A. Peauta , 

Mr. W. Griffiths, 

Mr. E. E. Pankhurst.

A lady named Miss Gaffney had booked 

a first saloon passage for Innisfail

some time in advance of the sailing

of the vessel, but it is not known
whether she was actually on board.

Fix this textwhether she was actually on board.

Campbell not listed.

BAROMETER DROPPED FROM 29.75 TO 21.25!

The Advertiser, Adelaide, Tuesday 13 June, 1911.

Captain Sim:

He was in charge of the Grantala at the 

time the Yongala, disappeared. He was 

anchored off Cape Bowling Green because 

of the bad weather.After he had anchored it 

gradually got worse, and the wind veered 

round by west from south-east to north-west. 

He then knew he was on the right-hand 

semi-circle of the cyclone. He did not think 

Captain Knight would take the inside course 

through the Whitsunday Channel at night. 

and especially such a night as March 23. 

When the witness left Townsville that night 

the barometer was 29.75 and it went down 

to 21.25 later.

Questioned as to the force of the wind

that night, Captain Sim said that when he

was anchored it was not more than 71

miles per hour. He had it broadside on

for a time, and it did not give the Grantala

a list of more then 10 deg. The wind

was heaviest between 5 pm. and 3 am.

The witness did not notice anything 

phenomenal in the currents or tides 

that night. He did not think the Yongala 

could have been overcome by the elements 

alone. He thought she must have struck

something. He would rank the Yongala 

with the best boats on the Queensland

coast.

Captain Sim was caught between a rock and a hard place at the Inquiry. He wanted to be as truthful as possible but ended up delivering mixed messages. He knew Captain Knight well and must have had difficulty imparting a vital untruth that Captain Knight was likely to have used the outside passage on the night of 23 March. Captain Knight had only used the outside passage on about 3 occasions and for the rest had used the inside passage in darkness and bad weather. But the outside passage was crucial to avoid aspersions cast in the direction of the Queensland Marine Board - dearth of morse lamps at lighthouses along the Queensland Coast - see previous post.

Although Captain Sim came to the odd conclusion that he did not think 'the Yongala could have been overcome by the elements', and played down the force of the wind (Grantala only listed to 10 degrees) and the currents / tides as nothing out of the ordinary, he dropped a bombshell in the form of; 'the barometer was 29.75 and it went down to 21.25 later'. This extreme change in barometer reading was more likely to have been 29.75 down to 29.25 but still suggests a storm of exceptional violence. So much so, trees were uprooted in a swathe 15 miles broad. If Captain Sim had truly believed the storm to be not that severe why on earth did he anchor in Bowling Green Bay? After all his Grantala was identical to Yongala and if Yongala could have 'managed in the elements', why couldn't Grantala??

This poor man must have felt terrible after he stepped down from the witness stand. He was a loyal employee of the Adelaide Steamship Company and a prominent master of the Queensland coastal trade. Perhaps he hoped that the truth would emerge via expert cross-examination. However, Captain Mackay, representing the Queensland Marine Board had no intention of allowing the true facts to emerge into the light of public opinion.

courtesy the Australian National Maritime Museum.

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.

WIRELESS INSTALLATIONS.

The Advertiser, Adelaide, Saturday 1 April, 1911.

MR. HUNT URGES ITS ADOPTION.

Melbourne, March 31.

Mr. Hunt, the Federal Meteorologist,

suggests that the wreck of the Yongala 

advances yet another argument for the 

general equipment of at least all passenger

steamers with a wireless installation, so that

vessels making long runs on the coastline

may be warned of the existence, approach,

or development, of dangerous weather 

conditions. The department, he points out,

addressed a circular note to all companies

whose vessels carry wireless installation,

and has without exception received promises 

of co-operation. Owing to the absence of land 

stations, only one message has been received, 

which was followed up by an account for 50/. 

He advises that at the next meeting of the 

shipping interests the subject of co-operation 

with the department should be discussed, and 

its decision communicated to the Government.

Yongala, like Waratah, was due to have a wireless system installed after this final, fatal voyage. Although never to be Mr. Hunt made the point abundantly clear - there was no use having a wireless if there were no land stations to transmit warnings.