Koolama was built in 1937, by Harland and Wolff of Glasgow, Scotland for the State Shipping Service, at a cost of £250,000, and was registered at Fremantle.

[6] In January 1942, following the outbreak of war with Japan, Koolama carried members of the ill-fated 8th Division and their equipment to Ambon and West Timor, in Netherlands East Indies.

On 10 February 1942, Koolama – still under Captain Eggleston – sailed from Fremantle, bound for Darwin with Australian Army personnel and equipment, as well as some convicts on work release and regular civilian passengers.

Although the soldiers on board were armed only with rifles, the ship carried a 50 mm (1.97 in) gun on its rear poop deck, which was intended for use against submarines and could not be aimed above level for anti-aircraft purposes.

[2][7][8][9] One 60 kg (132 lb) bomb, dropped from a height of 800 m (2,625 ft), went through wooden decking, struck a civilian passenger, Raymond Theodore "Bluey" Plummer, glancing blows to his head, arm and foot, before falling into an engine room and exploding.

[8] The following day, as the evacuees awaited help in an inhospitable area of mangroves, inhabited by many saltwater crocodiles, Japanese planes attacked again without effect.

The captain wanted to refloat Koolama, using the high tide, and head back to the small port of Wyndham; he believed that the ship could pump out enough water to survive 48 hours at sea, and could be steered with its engines.

After enduring a week on the shore, most of the passengers and crew members began to walk to Drysdale River, guided by a priest.

By 1 March, all possible on-site repairs has been completed and the badly damaged Koolama, with Eggleston, 18 crew members, three civilian passengers and two military personnel, was refloated and set off for Wyndham.

The bomb damage, including blown rivets, was worsened by the stress of movement, and as Koolama approached the port on the morning of 2 March, about 24 hours after leaving Rulhieres Bay, its pumps could no longer keep up with the inflow of water.

Meanwhile, some of the crew and passengers at Rulhieres Bay were rescued by flying boat, and arrived in Broome on 3 March 1942, just after a devastating air raid on the town.