Qualla: MV Koolama https://qualla.com/mv-koolama-1937 en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:27 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/q/v/7/0/mv-koolama-1937-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: MV Koolama https://qualla.com/mv-koolama-1937 MV Koolama: Introduction https://qualla.com/mv-koolama-1937/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. A single bomb fell through wooden decking, struck a civilian passenger named Raymond Theodore Plummer, peeled away his scalp as far as his nose along with a piece of his skull, continued into the engine room, and detonated. Plummer's brain was partly exposed. He remained alive, albeit unconscious. Two other passengers were also injured. Captain Jack Eggleston, wounded himself, was already making his decision: he would beach the ship. It was 20 February 1942 — the day after Japan had bombed Darwin for the first time — and the war had arrived off the Kimberley coast.

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]]> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/q/v/7/0/mv-koolama-1937-wp/qv70-mv-koolama-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full MV Koolama: Built for a Different World https://qualla.com/mv-koolama-1937/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Koolama was built in 1937 by Harland and Wolff in Glasgow, Scotland, at a cost of £250,000, for the Western Australian State Shipping Service. She displaced 4,068 tons, stretched 348 feet, and could carry 200 passengers, 90 crew, 500 live cattle, and a freezer hold of cargo. Her ...

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]]> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/q/v/7/0/mv-koolama-1937-wp/qv70-mv-koolama-built-for-a-different-world.mp3 0:06 2 full MV Koolama: The Attack https://qualla.com/mv-koolama-1937/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. On 10 February 1942, Koolama sailed from Fremantle for Darwin carrying Army personnel, some convicts on work release, and regular civilian passengers. The ship was armed, though not well — a 50mm deck gun intended for submarines that couldn't be aimed upward, and Vickers machine ...

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]]> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/q/v/7/0/mv-koolama-1937-wp/qv70-mv-koolama-the-attack.mp3 0:06 3 full MV Koolama: The Bay That Took Her Name https://qualla.com/mv-koolama-1937/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Survivors from the beached ship made their way overland toward the Drysdale River Mission at Kalumburu. The mission — itself soon to become a wartime RAAF base — received them and provided what assistance it could. One man died on the walk. He was the only fatality from the attac...

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]]> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/q/v/7/0/mv-koolama-1937-wp/qv70-mv-koolama-the-bay-that-took-her-name.mp3 0:06 4 full MV Koolama: The Koolama Incident https://qualla.com/mv-koolama-1937/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. There is a second story attached to the Koolama — murkier and more contested. In the chaos of the evacuation and the overland march to the mission, allegations arose of a mutiny among some of the ship's company. The resulting inquiry cleared everyone, but the question simmered fo...

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]]> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/q/v/7/0/mv-koolama-1937-wp/qv70-mv-koolama-the-koolama-incident.mp3 0:06 5 full