O.N.120729, 4758 gross tons, length 370ft x beam 49.7ft, one funnel, two masts, single screw, speed 15 knots.
Built by Sir James Laing & Sons, Ltd, Sunderland (Yard No.610), she was completed in October 1905 for Huddart, Parker & Co. Pty., Ltd, Melbourne.
On 17th April1927 she was wrecked 1.5 miles west of Gabo Island, Victoria on voyage Hobart to Sydney with passengers and general cargo. [Register of Merchant Ships completed in 1905 by Wm. A. Schell] [Reference]
Radio station: Back in the year 1993, a special publication in the form of a regular radio magazine highlighted in its 74 pages the early radio history in Australia. On page 8 of this magazine, "The Dawn of Australia's Radio Broadcasting", the story is told of a small radio transmitter that was installed on two different ships in Australian waters.
In 1919, the AWA company asked their Technical Director, William Bostock, to construct a special transmitter for use in the planned tests and braodcasts from two ships in Australian waters. A single Marconi Q-valve from England was used and when it was fed with 240 volts, it glowed a bright cherry red.
This small transmitter was installed in the coastal steamer, Riverina and tested for three weeks during the month of April, 1919. Later that same year, additional similar tests were carried out aboard another ship, the Bombala. These tests broadcast were heard quite widely and were decribed as very successful. [Story by Dr. Adrian Peterson]
Location: Australian waters