[23] After her arrival in Fremantle on 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 ...".

[10] The drawing room had satinwood panelled walls, a bookcase with up-to-date library, and other furniture, including a Broadway piano and a pair of Chippendale-style writing desks.

Its ceilings were white painted canvas with a gilt-edged floral design; its main entrance and the stairway leading to the promenade deck were both panelled in mahogany.

[26] Koombana had a refrigerating plant supplied by J&E Hall of London,[11] and two large freezing chambers, with a total capacity of 1,800 tons of cubic space,[clarification needed] perishable cargo.

[9][30] At a reception held on board her in Melbourne on 5 March, the federal Attorney-General, WM Hughes, responded to a toast to the Commonwealth Parliament by acknowledging the immense proportions that the Australian shipping industry had recently assumed.

She was expected to reach Carnarvon on the evening of 15 March 1909, but that morning she ran aground on a sand bank known as Bar Flats, 14 mi (23 km) from Denham in Shark Bay.

In the hazy prevailing weather, Captain Rees had been unable to verify his position by bearings from the headlands, and there was little warning of the approach of shoal waters.

The Chief Harbourmaster therefore concluded that more care should have been exercised when approaching Bar Flats, and the speed of the ship reduced to "slow" until the vessel's position had been definitely ascertained.

Residents and local newspapers marvelled at the comfort of her cabins, while passengers spoke highly of the efforts of the officers and crew to refloat the ship.

In Geraldton on 21 April 1909, the vessel embarked a party comprising the Premier, Newton Moore, the Minister for Works, James Price, and four other State MPs.

[4] Shortly after leaving Broome for Derby on the evening of 28 April 1909, with the ministerial party aboard, Koombana struck an uncharted submerged obstruction about 1 mi (1.6 km) from the Gantheaume light, damaging her bottom on the port side forward.

[50] After Koombana's return from Sydney, she maintained regular monthly trips from Fremantle up the coast, with annual diversions to the eastern states for an overhaul.

In June 1910, Koombana took another ministerial party on part of a tour of the northwest, when the Colonial Secretary, Mr J D Connolly, travelled aboard her between Fremantle and Port Hedland.

Koombana formed the centrepiece of a welcoming flotilla of vessels, which also included the survey sloop HMS Fantome, and numerous schooners and luggers.

[58] Dense blue smoke rising from the ship while her crew strove to free her caused alarm in Denham, where observers feared a volcano might be erupting near Dirk Hartog Island.

[63] Early in November 1911, as Koombana steamed south from Shark Bay to Geraldton, her chief steward, Frank Johnson, entered the bakehouse.

Subsequently, the general secretary of the Firemen and Seamen's Union, Mr Cooper, telegrammed the crew from Sydney advising them to resume work, to avoid seriously jeopardising a case before the Arbitration Court in the eastern states.

[69] Koombana left Port Hedland for Broome on the morning of Wednesday, 20 March 1912 with a fresh north easterly blowing, followed by Bullarra,[1] which had recently returned to the northwest passenger and cargo trade.

On 2 April one of the search ships steamed through a quantity of wreckage about 25 nautical miles (46 km) north of Bedout Island and 100 kilometres (62 mi) offshore.

[87] Early in his seafaring career, Captain Allen worked on sailing ships, as master of a tug, and on several occasions for the Adelaide Steamship Co. As quartermaster of the Orient Steam Navigation Company's Cuzco, he was one of a couple of hands who, in heavy seas, volunteered to go over her stern and secure her propeller, after she had broken her screw shaft.

In 1901 he was chosen to take the royal yacht HMS Ophir up the river, when the then Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) visited Australia.

[93] Soon after, the company withdrew Allinga from the route, after it lost the contract to the State Shipping Service of Western Australia,[94] that the Scaddan government had recently established.

The company's withdrawal was a major impetus for the early development of the State Shipping Service, which was to dominate the northwest trade for the rest of the twentieth century.

[96] In 1946, Edward Angelo, a former long time MLA for northwest electorates, who had travelled on over 100 ship voyages, wrote that "Although I greatly admired [Koombana's] appointments, I never liked her, considering her too top heavy.

In response to the Court of Marine Inquiry's report, the article commented that "[n]o attempt whatever was made to produce independent expert evidence as to the stability of the steamer, and by that we mean her ability to live in a cyclone, and not her constructional strength."

The Navy crew comprised aviators Deborah Anderson, Brad Huotari and Glenn Gosnell with navigators John Sheppard and Ruth Perron.

The loss led to Mark Rubin buying De Grey in 1912 with 63,000 sheep for a 100,000 pounds, and Mulyie and Warrawagine Stations in 1916 providing the wool for the British Army in both World Wars.

[8] Early in 2012, to commemorate the centenary of Koombana's loss, the Port Hedland Historical Society organised a program of activities for the weekend of 17–18 March 2012.

It included a Captain's Table dinner, a ceremonial laying of floral tributes at Port Hedland's Koombana lookout and an exhibition of artefacts at Dalgety House Cottage.

According to WA Museum chief executive Alec Coles, "The exhibition relates what is known of Koombana’s final hours, and describes the far-reaching search which took place following her disappearance.