Arthur Mowbray Christie’s life Insurance policy with the Australian Mutual Provident Society

Dubbed Australia’s Titanic, the SS Koombana was built as a luxury passenger steamer to transport, promote and support trade in the northwest. The SS Koombana had been purpose-built to navigate across Port Hedland’s notorious sandbar. On the 20 March 1912 Koombana steamed out of Port Hedland into the path of an oncoming cyclone, never to be seen again. Arthur Mowbray was her marine engineer and one of the estimated 157 crew and passengers who went down with the ship. The details of her demise remain a mystery as, despite many attempts, the wreckage of the SS Koombana, and its rumoured cargo of gold and pearls, has never been found. Without precise passenger lists, it was this insurance policy with the Australian Mutual Provident Society that confirmed Arthurs’ presence on board the Koombana on its last, fateful journey.