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The SS ''Koombana'' was a late Edwardian-era passenger, cargo and mail carrying steamship. From March 1909 to March 1912, she operated coastal liner services between Fremantle, Western Australia and various ports in the northwest of that State. She is best known for disappearing at an unknown location north of Port Hedland, Western Australia, during a tropical cyclone on 20 March 1912,〔 killing 74 passengers and 76 crew; in total, 150 people died.〔 Other than a small quantity of wreckage, no trace was ever found of the ship, which was presumed sunk along with several other vessels during the same storm. At least a further 15 people died in other ships and near the cyclone. As accurate passenger lists were not kept at the time, the exact number of deaths is not known; however, all on board are presumed to have perished. The loss was almost certainly Australia's worst weather-related maritime disaster in the twentieth century.〔 In her short career, ''Koombana'' also played a significant role in the public life of Western Australia. In April/May 1909, she carried the Premier of Western Australia, Newton Moore, on a tour of the northwest, which included the official opening of the jetty at Port Hedland,〔〔 now the highest tonnage port in Australia.〔 ''Koombana'' was also the first ship to berth at that jetty.〔 In November 1910, ''Koombana'' was part of a welcoming flotilla of vessels at Broome, Western Australia for the inaugural arrival in Australia of the Royal Australian Navy's first two destroyers, and .〔 Twelve months later, in Fremantle, she was the subject of a divisive industrial dispute that had nationwide implications.〔 Additionally, the loss of ''Koombana'', and the associated withdrawal of her owner, the Adelaide Steamship Company, from the northwest coastal trade,〔 was a major impetus for the early development of the State Shipping Service of Western Australia, which was to dominate that trade for the rest of the twentieth century.〔 ==Concept and construction== ''Koombana'' was the first passenger and cargo vessel to be built exclusively for service on the Western Australian coast, and her mission was to develop trade with the north west of the State.〔 Owned and operated by the Adelaide Steamship Company,〔 she was constructed under the British Corporation shelter deck rules, to carry first and second class passengers, a large number of cattle, and a considerable amount of general cargo.〔〔 When the order for ''Koombana'' was placed, the Adelaide Steamship Company was the major operator of coastal shipping between Fremantle and Western Australia's northern ports. Since 1900, the service had been provided by SS ''Bullarra''; ''Koombana'' was ordered as ''Bullarras much larger replacement.〔 In the design of ''Koombana'', special attention was given to her intended engagement in this unusual semi-tropical trade.〔〔 Of steel construction, ''Koombana'' was built in Linthouse, a district of Glasgow, Scotland, by shipbuilders Alex. Stephen & Sons, and launched on 27 October 1908,〔 following a delay owing to labor troubles.〔 Her naming ceremony was performed by Mrs S Elgar, wife of one of the owner's superintendents in England.〔 At the suggestion of the Premier, Newton Moore,〔 she was named ''Koombana'', after Mr Robert Forrest's "Koombana" mill, near Bunbury, Western Australia.〔〔 The name ''Koombana'' also conformed with the owner’s established tradition〔 of using a local Aboriginal language word as the name of each of its ships. "Koombana", first recorded by John Arrowsmith in 1838 as "Koombanah", is the Noongar name of a bay, now known as Koombana Bay, adjacent to Bunbury.〔 The word "Koombana" has been defined as meaning bay ("ana") of spouting whales ("koomba"),〔 and also as meaning "calm and peaceful".〔 In view of ''Koombana''’s ultimate fate, the latter definition may now convey a touch of irony. By the standards of the time, ''Koombana'' was a modern, luxury vessel, and contrasted starkly with the corrugated iron and canvas of the ports she was built to serve. She has been described as being ''"... as luxurious as the Titanic ..."'' and as ''"... the last word in seagoing opulence."''〔 Following her arrival in Fremantle during her delivery voyage, she was praised as ''"... the acme of perfection as regards the comfort of passengers, facilities for handling cargo, and appliances for skilful navigation ..."'' 〔 However, she was also criticised as ''"... too good for the trade."''〔 ''Koombana'' was long between perpendiculars. She had a beam of and a draught of .〔 Her tonnage was .〔 All of her compartments were fitted with watertight doors, and she was capable of carrying 900 tons of ballast water.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「SS Koombana」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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