Today is the last day of the Kimberley portion of this trip, and the morning is spent at Koolama Bay. Formerly known as Rulhieres Bay, it was renamed Koolama Bay after the State Ship (SS) Koolama, which was attacked in this area by Japanese bombers in 1942.
Captained by the now-legendary Jack Eggleston, the SS Koolama was subject to several aerial bombing and strafing raids by Japanese planes, sustaining significant damage to the stern of the ship, with three (non-fatal) casualties among the crew. It was the breakdown in the relationship between the Captain, who wanted to repair the ship and head to Wyndham, and the first officer, who wanted to abandon the ship, that has become one of the interesting maritime incidents in Australian naval history.
Captain Eggleston allowed First Officer Reynolds to take the passengers and most of the crew ashore at Pangali Cover, where they built a camp and awaited rescue. The Captain and a small team of volunteers took the Koolama around the headland to Tranquil Cove, where they worked to repair the ship. The Koolama’s distress signal was picked up in Broome and Darwin, and the closest aboriginal missions were alerted, and headed to the site. On their arrival, First Officer Reynolds, the senior officers and all but a small number of remaining volunteers elected to walk the 100km to the Drysdale River Mission. Bear in mind that this was in February – the wet season, and involved crossing the Drysdale River in flood. A week later, sufficient repairs had been made to the Koolama to get her to Wyndham, with Eggleston and 23 crew, passengers and military personnel on board.
In the ultimate act of irony, Captain Eggleston successfully navigated the ship to Wyndham, only to have the Koolama capsize from pump failure during a Japanese attack on Wyndham shortly after arriving.
This morning is a 9am zodiac cruise around Pangali Cove and Tranquil Cove. As with the last few days, the combination of wind and out-going tide is creating a lot of choppy water, with the only respite in the coves themselves.
Pangali Cove is where the some say mutinous First Officer Reynolds set up camp next to the fresh water source running down into the cove. Today it is spectacular with milder temperatures in the 28-33⁰C range, but in wet season the mosquitos and flies must have been unbearable enough for a 100km hike to sound like a good idea.
Tranquil Cove, where Captain Eggleston and the volunteers repaired the Koolama is also picturesque, with a currently dry waterfall into the tidal estuary. Wildlife is scant, with some sooty oystercatchers easily outnumbered by hermit crabs. The geology shows the same patterns of honeycomb erosion as the King George River gorges, with an interesting crocodile head resemblance to one of the rocks.
This afternoon L’Austral heads to Darwin for an early morning arrival to let the majority of the passengers off the ship. Those that are staying on board are starting the next tropical expedition up into the Indonesian archipelago.
