[1] In June 1908, she sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, for Auckland[4] and by August 1908 had been chartered to carry coal from Newcastle to the West Coast of the United States.

[13] The ship also visited Portland, Oregon, berthing at a wharf of the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company's vast Albina Yard, on the eastern bank of the Willamette River.

In early 1916, during World War I, she was taken off the United States to Australia run[19] and used to transport Canadian troops and also as a collier and food supply vessel.

It was repaired in Auckland Harbour, without entering a dry dock, by first shifting its cargo forward so that its propeller and tail-shaft gland were clear of the water.

[29] Up to July 1918, Captain Lockie briefly had been the master of the four-masted barquentine Lyman D. Foster—a ship with a colourful history—that later disappeared, in March 1919, between Nukuʻalofa in Tonga and San Francisco, carrying a cargo of copra.

Co. steamer Levuka (bound for Sydney) together with a passenger, the owner of the creatures, Mr Ellis Stanley Joseph, a wildlife importer and exporter.

[34][38] She subsequently called at Townsville, then Rockhampton (Port Alma), Brisbane (Bulimba)[39] and Newcastle, where she moored at Kings Wharf and then moved to take on bunker coal at 'the Basin',[40] before arriving at Sydney at 1:10 a.m. on 3 June 1921.

In an article in The Newcastle Sun of 25 June 1921[54] a relative of one of the engineers of the Canastota was quoted as saying:"My own opinion is that the she has become a total loss through an explosion of her benzine cargo.

Chatham "went as far to westward as her coal would permit, and a look-out was kept aloft all day, while searchlights were going continuously at night", returning on 30 June without seeing any sign of the overdue ship.

SS Marama, from Sydney en route to San Francisco, via Auckland, had instructions to deviate from the usual track and keep a sharp lookout for Canastota.

Captain Brown of Maheno also reported to his employers, the Union Steamship Co. of New Zealand, that the hatch was of a type found only on a sailing vessel and so could not be from Canastota.

[63] If wreckage were to be found washed up on land, a likely place to find it would be Lord Howe Island, based on the prevailing current in the Tasman Sea.

The French steamer Saint Joseph, en route to Newcastle from Nouméa with a cargo of manganese ore,[68] called at Norfolk Island on 10 July 1921.

The residents said that there was no derelict or wrecked ship on the easterly reefs but, until the visit of Saint Joseph, the small island community had been unaware that Canastota was missing.

"In Sydney, George Parkes confirmed that the casks of tallow in Canastota's cargo were branded 'TT', stating that the small 'o' was probably a mark left by the firebrand.

Isolated Lord Howe Island was totally reliant upon passing ships for any communication and the news of Canastota's fate remained unknown to the outside world, from 14 July when the first flotsam was found until the radio report was made by Captain Weatherill on 1 August 1921.

Around the beginning of August 1921, a 'Walker's Cherub Mark II' taffrail log attached to an Oregon plank was found washed up on a beach near Seal Rocks on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales.

A Preliminary Inquiry into the presumed loss of Canastota was conducted by Captain Fergus Cumming, Superintendent of Navigation, commencing on 14 August 1921 and taking evidence at Sydney and Newcastle.

[35] The finding of the Preliminary Inquiry was that, "in some manner the s.s. 'Canastota' was destroyed by fire or explosion, shortly after leaving Sydney, and as all the crew are considered to have perished with the vessel, no direct evidence in regard to same can possibly be furnished.

"[35] In his opinion, Tillet also raised the matter of cost; "I have hardly remind the Department of the huge sum spent on a recent maritime investigation here, with no discoveries of practical value notwithstanding the very able report by the Royal Commissioner."

[35] This is a reference to the Royal Commission of 1919-1920—its report included implicit criticism of coal port and shipping operations that were overseen and regulated by the Department of Navigation.

[35][86] The precaution of fitting flameproof metal gauze over ventilator openings was mandated in rules of the Board of Trade, for all British-flagged ships carrying a petroleum cargo, but nothing indicates that Canastota had them.

[40] It began, "If ever a proper inquiry be set on foot as to the cause of the disappearance of the steamer 'Canastota,' which sailed from Port Jackson for America, via New Zealand on 13 June 1921, several startling facts will come to light.

The evidence will show that, on at least two occasions, the intensely dangerous condition of the interior of the vessel was brought under notice, and that in spite of these serious warnings, the 'Canastota' was allowed to proceed to sea."

[35] Although the 'Floating Bomb' article made serious allegations and identified several potential witnesses, the individuals concerned were not interviewed for the Preliminary Inquiry, the findings of which were reported at the beginning of September 1921.

C. Dawson, Secretary of the Brisbane Branch of the Waterside Workers' Federation has written to several members [of the Queensland state parliament], saying: — I am authoritatively informed that no permit was applied for or granted by the Harbour authorities for the shipment.

In reply, Fihelly confirmed that there had been no application for a permit nor an inspection of the cargo and stated that he had approved a recommendation of the Marine Board of Queensland to initiate legal proceedings.

At the time of the loss of Canastota, the shipment by sea of volatile flammable liquids as 'case oil' in ships designed for general cargo was already viewed as a dangerous anachronism.

[99] In 1924 Vacuum Oil opened its bulk petroleum products terminal at Pulpit Point, a small peninsula at Hunter's Hill on Sydney Harbour.

It caused many problems, accidents, and wastage of valuable fuel, until the British started reusing and later copied their German enemy's excellently-designed and robust jerrycan.