It couldn’t be, could it? LOST THEIR LIVES ON THIS SPOT The Committee felt that a plaque marking an air disaster was psychologically inappropriate at the airport. It is located on a small hill, on the north side of a forestry track. Minister Of State For Air : Minister Of State For Civil Aviation Then I realise it must be a delayed flight coming in to land (thankfully) safely at Canberra Airport. Just great! I was glad to encounter them, as their presence meant that loose dogs were unlikely. Inexplicably, just as Mr Evans and his friends jumped into the relative safety of their car, “something hit the bonnet.”. I was sure I’d charged the camera fully before leaving home. Just shy of a couple of kilometres walk into Fairburn Pine Plantation, between Canberra Airport and Queanbeyan, is a little known and little visited (outside the odd ghost tour) memorial. I quickly left, having proved my courage to myself. There are also tales of people claiming they hear the noise of a phantom plane crashing. I regained the car and returned to my home - but the memory of that sinister place lingers with me still.”. "This was a dreadful calamity," he told the House of Representativesthe next day. Every direction appears devoid of life, just tall darkened tree trunks lined up like thousands of giant tombstones. One other issue raised in the aftermath of the crash concerned the almost impossible travel itinerary imposed on Government Ministers at that time, a burden which had them regularly travelling between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. Minister Of State For the Army: Minister Of State For Repatriation, THE HONOURABLE SIR HENRY SOMER GULLETT. Over time the costs of maintaining this website have risen substantially (in fact they are probably larger than those of many companies who exist for profit). THIS MEMORIAL CAIRN HAS BEEN ERECTED THE HON JAMES VALENTINE FAIRBAIRN, MP MINISTER OF STATE FOR AIR - MINISTER OF STATE FOR CIVIL AVIATION This column’s recent expose on the Air Disaster Memorial (ADM) has promoted a large amount of correspondence, particularly regarding on the site’s spooky nature. A bronze plaque is centrally placed on the monolith bearing an inscription to: Brigadier the Honourable G Street MP, the Minister of State for Army and Repatriation; the Honourable Sir Henry Gullet MP, Vice President of the Executive Council; the Honourable J Fairbairn MP, Minister for Air and Civil Aviation; Lieutenant General Sir Brudenell White, Chief of General Staff; Mr R E Elford, Private Secretary to the Minister for Air; Lieutenant R H Hitchcock, pilot; Pilot Officer Weisener, assistant pilot; Corporal J F Palmer, wireless operator; and Aircraftsman C J Crosdale, fitter, all of whom were killed at this location. "For my three colleagues were my close and loyal friends. Your help would be greatly appreciated. R. G. Menzies, who had also been Prime Minister at the time of the accident. If so, I’d love to hear from you. My melancholic contemplation is broken by the noise of an aeroplane. Still needing photos of the memorial for my story, I return the next day in daylight. The concrete kerb around the monolith appears to have been replaced before this time. When we started talking again the noises would come back, this went on until we left,” recalls Mr Evans. It’s amazing the effect that a cloak of darkness can have on you. WHO WHILE SERVING THEIR COUNTRY Andrew Tink, the author of a book about the air disaster, has raised questions about who was flying the plane when it crashed. The traffic island footprint was intended to be evocative of an aircraft wing. MR. RICHARD EDWIN ELFORD The road deteriorates into a series of muddy puddles and within a few paces, the traffic noise of Fairbairn Avenue gives way to silence. Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au, © Monument Australia 2010 - 2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - Designed by, Pialligo Avenue, Fairbairn Pine Plantation, Majura, 2609. Instead, a cairn and memorial plaque on the site of the crash was approved by the Minister for the Interior, W S Kent Hughes, on 9 February 1952. At his death, Gullet was Vice President of the Executive Council and Minister for Scientific and Industrial Research. I swing around, pine cone at the ready, to see the back end of a sick-looking fox as it scurries under the wreck of an abandoned car. The request, in January 1952, was referred to Prime Minister Menzies, who was Chair of the National Memorials Committee and very supportive of the project. footsteps, breaking twigs and people talking. An interpretive plaque and concrete traffic island were unveiled in the presence of the Honourable Wilson Tuckey MP, Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government, on 13 August 2003, the anniversary of the crash. Have you had an experience at the Air Disaster Memorial? PILOT OFFICER RICHARD FREDERICK WIESENER, RAAF Co-pilot On 6 May 2013, I accompanied ABC Canberra radio’s Alex Sloan, ACT Government Minister Shane Rattenbury, and campaigner Estelle Blackburn, on an walk to the memorial. ", Those killed were : The request, in January 1952, was referred to Prime Minister Menzies, who was Chair of the National Memorials Committee, and also very supportive of the project. The Air Disaster Memorial is a large granite monolith with a commemorative plaque that marks the location of a plane crash in 1940 that killed ten people, including four senior Government figures. “No one saw what it was, but there was a 20 cent sized dent left on the bonnet,” says Mr Evans who high tailed it out of the forest as fast as he could. Ten people, including three Commonwealth Ministers and the Chief of the General Staff, were killed on 13 August 1940, when their RAAF Lockheed Hudson crashed while preparing to land at Canberra Airport. The final paragraph of Air Disaster Canberra describes the unsatisfactory state of the memorial to the victims. Not in the mood for taking risks, I carefully place the cone on the ground. With nothing more to gain, I jog back to Fairbairn Avenue, careful to dodge every pine cone along the way. The plaque at the airport never eventuated. AIRCRAFTMAN CLASS I CHARLES JOSEPH CROSDALE RAAF Flight Mechanic. A memorial was suggested in Parliament by Dr Maloney (Labor) on 14 August 1940. Thick cloud cover blocks out any light provided by the near new moon. Is it a ghost? Menzies was deeply affected by the crash, both personally and politically. terms and conditions Phew! He was a key member of the Menzies ministry. The memorial has a special association with these men because it commemorates their untimely deaths in a single accident while traveling back to Canberra in an RAAF plane as part of official duties, and that most of these men were important figures in the defence of Australia at a time of war. The monolith was dedicated on 13 August 1960 in the presence of the Prime Minister, the Hon. It sounds quite close. 49 countries in six years: Aussie photographer reveals most beautiful places on Earth, Save more than $900 on Gold Coast apartment stay, Restored national park cottage offers some of the best views in NSW, $1000 bonus value for Kangaroo Island and SA holiday, Save up to $5000 on voyages in 2021, 2022 or 2023. As if that’s not enough to send shivers racing up my spine, this forest also has a close link to one of Canberra’s unsolved mysteries – the murder of Keren Rowland, whose body was found near the Air Disaster Memorial on May 13, 1971. It was not clear where the sound was coming from; if we were quiet and tried to listen the noises would stop.
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