The mystery of the disabled steamer.

1898
The installation of a telegraph line went someway to end the isolation of Cape St George Lighthouse.  Before the telegraph line was connected it could take days before news from the lighthouse would reach authorities by horseback. The line owned and controlled by the government was used almost exclusively by the lighthouse keepers to report the passage and status of passing ships as well as the  weather in the vicinity of Jervis Bay.  The line ran its path through rugged terrain suspended on poles. Adverse weather and falling trees could break the line at any time,  the lack of communication would cause great concern for the shipping agents and owners in Sydney. 

1915  - A report in the Daily Telegraph in Sydney described Jervis Bay "as one of the most important signal stations on the South Coast." 

The mystery of the disabled steamer.
13 January 1898 - A telegraph reached Sydney from Jervis Bay stating that a three-masted schooner-rigged steamer, with a yellow funnel, was towed into the bay at 8.15 on the same morning. The steamer signalled, "machinery disabled". When these sort of incidents happened,  it was important for owners and agents to know the name of the vessel, where it came from and where it was going.  If a name wasn't easily discernable, ships could usually be identified by shape, the number of masts, funnels and colours.

 

And that's where this mystery begins.

What was the name of the vessel, where did she come from and where was she going?

Sea travel was the most convenient and important form of transport at the time.  Newspapers were in contact with shipping agents and monitored the agent's notice boards daily. All ship movements were reported and sometimes could occupy multiple pages in a paper.  Any news of an incident involving a vessel would get the immediate attention of newspapers.  In this case, the news reporter after his investigation was left perplexed about the identity of the vessel.  His inquiries showed there wasn't any steamer of her description expected at Sydney or Newcastle, or known to be bound north or south from either of those ports. At first, it was thought it may have been the German mail steamer,  I.G.M.S.Konigin Luise from Bremen,  but this was quickly discounted as the German vessel was a lot bigger and was a two-masted fore-and-aft-rigged vessel,  very different from the description of the vessel at Jervis Bay.

Konigin Luise - Arrival of 'Königin Luise' in Fremantle, W.A. - 3 August 1919

It was then thought she may have been an Adelaide Co,'s steamer as they are denoted by yellow funnels, but there were no three masted steamers in the current fleet.
The mystery caused a good deal of interest in shipping circles, but because the telegraph line was only for the purposes before-mentioned and controlled by the government, investigation by paper correspondents was met with frustration, finding out which vessel was in distress was made almost impossible. The journalist in his efforts approached "official circles" but was met with what he described as a "remarkable ignorance of the fact."

The mystery ship remained that, a mystery, much to the frustration to all those with an interest in shipping matters, and to the newspaper correspondent and its readers.

No further details are known.