KEROSENE DELIVERED TO STORE KEEPER.

The Argus, Melbourne, Wednesday 18 October, 1911.

THE LOST YONGALA.

FINDING OF WRECKAGE.

Brisbane, Tuesday - What are believed to 

be further tidings of the ill-fated steamer 

Yongala have been brought to Brisbane

by three well known businessmen in

this city who recently visited North

Queensland. While at Halifax the party, 

which included Messrs R Brown, B G Burt, 

and A H Orchard, was informed that a 

large quantity of cargo and wreckage, 

presumed to belong to the Yongala was 

lying on the beach at Hinchinbrook Island.

Soon after the loss of the Yongala was 

reported, Messrs. Robinson Bros, cane-

growers at Halifax, went out in the motor 

launch and searched the adjacent coast line.

Since then they have recovered a number of 

articles, among them several cases of kerosene 

which were addressed to an Italian store keeper 

in the district and duly delivered to him. It is

stated that there is still a quantity of cargo, 

including kerosene and benzine lying

on Hinchinbrook beach. The members

of the party brought back several mementoes

of the wreck.

Despite the magnitude of the disaster, business continued and the kerosene was delivered to the store keeper in question.

PROMINENT FUNNEL EXPLAINED.

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...

YONGALA WAS FAST!

The Courier-Mail, Friday 27 April 1934.

STEAMER CANBERRA

35 Hours from Sydney to Brisbane.

With the passenger accommodation

fully occupied, and with a large cargo

for Brisbane and North Queensland

ports, the steamer Canberra arrived

from Melbourne and Sydney yesterday

morning. The trip from the wharf at

Sydney to the Brisbane Wharf occupied 

35 hours, equalling a performance

put up by the Yongala in March, 1906.

The Canberra was built in 1913 by Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd, Linthouse, Clyde, Glasgow. Like Yongala she was a combination passenger / cargo (refrigeration) steamer of 7707 gross tons; 4307 net tons; length 410 ft.; beam 57.2 ft.; depth 38.4 ft.. Canberra was powered by twin quadruple expansion engines producing 1202 nhp. Supplied to the Howard Smith & Co based in Melbourne, she serviced the same coastal routes as Yongala. She could cruise at 15 knots (pushed to 17 knots) and had a formidable appetite for coal giving rise to the nick name 'Hungry Mary'.  

Yongala in terms of visual appeal, luxurious appointments and outright speed was a gem of the coastal trade. But she will always be remembered for succumbing to a cyclone and dragging 121 souls to their deaths off Cape Bowling Green, Queensland, 23 March, 1911.

Canberra - courtesy State Library of Queensland - John Oxley Library.

FREEBOARD - 11 FT.

It was stated at the Inquiry that Yongala departed Flat-Top with a clear side of 10 ft.. This is freeboard and in terms of a steamer with a depth of hull of 30.5 ft. gives us an average draft of 20.5 ft. final voyage which did not correlate with the same Inquiry's claim of 19.75 ft..

To further complicate matters:

The West Australian, Tuesday 13 June, 1911.

He (Henry Adamson, superintending engineer, 

Adelaide Steamship Co) estimated that at the 

time of the disaster the Yongala had a freeboard 

of 11ft. to the weather deck.

If we use this expert assessment it gives us an average draught of around 19.5 ft. which was more in keeping with the official draft figures.

A steamer the size of Yongala should generally have had a freeboard of 8.75 ft.. The actual freeboard of 11 ft. difference 2.25 ft. does suggest a tender steamer.

CAPTAIN DIBBLE - THORN IN THE INQUIRY'S SIDE.

Cairns Post, Wednesday 14 June, 1911.

'George Dibble, master mariner, 

said he was familiar with the coast, 

and had worked out a theory as to 

what might have happened to the 

Yongala. He thought Capt. Knight 

followed the usual inside course 

between Armit and Gumbrell Islands, 

because all the masters he knew took 

that course in all weathers.'

Despite attempts by numerous expert witnesses to establish the unequivocal fact that Captain Knight was not a risk-taker and used the outside passage, this master mariner shot these attempts to pieces with his candid admission. It was nothing short of an indictment of practices tolerated along this treacherous stretch of the Queensland coast. 

However, Captain Knight et al were superb navigators and although the distance between Armit and Gumbrell Islands is only one mile, this inside passage was safely negotiated in all weathers and conditions of visibility. The final outcome for Yongala and her souls had nothing whatsoever to do with navigating the inside passage.

The Queensland Marine Board representatives, on the other hand, stopped at nothing to steer the Yongala out to sea via the outside passage. The fact that residents of Cannon Valley collectively saw Yongala passing en-route via the inside passage was 'suppressed' by the Court and if acknowledged, would have opened Pandora's Box.

The stakeholders, including the Adelaide Steamship Company and the Queensland Marine Board, were literally lining up to clear their collective name and avoid the wrath of a grieving public...

PURPOSE OF PIG IRON WAS TO INCREASE DRAUGHT.

Cairns Post, Wednesday 14 June, 1911.

'Edward Northcote, general manager 

of the Adelaide Co.. and master 

mariner, said when the pig-iron was 

placed in No. 2 hold (forward) of the 

Yongala for the West Australian run 

he was not concerned about her stability 

which had been established by experience 

in several voyages. It was put in to make 

the vessel more comfortable and to increase 

her draught.'

By stating that the pig iron was put in Yongala to increase her draught was an admission that Yongala was an inherently tender steamer with a relatively low draught. As it turned out the pig iron did not make Yongala more comfortable due to the increased righting force. Passenger steamers of the time relied on relatively low GM (increased tenderness) for a long slow comfortable rolling pattern.

It was argued at the Inquiry that Yongala had proved her worth by successfully negotiating severe storms off the Great Australian Bight in the years prior to the disaster. But that was when she had the all-important pig iron on board. She was not the same steamer (without stabilising pig iron) when she foundered off the Queensland coast, March, 1911!!

THE BUILDERS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DESIGN OF THE VESSEL.

Cairns Post, Wednesday 14 June, 1911.

Mr. O'shea, for the Adelaide Steamship Company:

'The builders were responsible for the 

design of the vessel which was 

registered in the highest class of Lloyds 

and remained at that class up to the 

time of her loss.' 

The Adelaide Steamship Company submitted specification requirements to the builders which allowed for relatively low draught and a significant top hamper, including prominent funnel which was built into the ship. Responsibility for the design of this high-powered tender steamer was a shared responsibility. It reminds me of the Waratah Inquiry where the owners also tried to dump responsibility of Waratah's design in the builder's lap despite the fact they had submitted specific requirements which pushed the tenderness and 'overloading' equation to the maximum.