Personally, I think it's only a matter of handling your throttles wisely". It was received by the No. General Sir Cyril White, Chief of the General Staff. Surrounded by thick vegetation the memorial is simply a large rock sitting on a round bed of gravel. How Canberra could become a test case for high-speed rail, First Look: NoshersCBR - the Belconnen food van producing fantastic burgers, Minister vowed to double down on Robodebt even when told it was illegal, royal commission hears, Department of Finance executives encouraged conduct in alleged fraud conspiracy, barrister claims, Big agenda, big deal if the APS isn't at capacity, Getting loud about live music and the night-time economy. Delete if not allowed. I quicken my pace to a sort of panicked shuffle you know that movement halfway between a walk and a run that you instinctively break into when youre worried someone is following you. One of those promoted in the reshuffle was Harold Holt, recalled from Army service and thus gaining a promotion that eventually led to the Prime Ministership. Anyone else have any stories? The national memorial service held in Melbourne was regarded as the most emotional funeral in the young nation`s history. [19] Goodwin was assisted by Thomas Mills, a representative of the Crown Solicitor's Office. [25] This conclusion contradicted initial newspaper reports that the victims had been killed by the post-crash fire. Behind, is the older memorial, erected on the site of the crash in 1960; a single monolith of stone with a metal plaque. However it was not until Dame Annabelle Rankin wrote to the then Minister for Air, William McMahon, about the request by Sir Brundenell White`s relatives that a small cairn be erected at the point of the crash in memory of those who lost their lives, that the suggestion was given serious consideration. Almost as ridiculous as the uphill rolling cars is the myth that, if your car stops on the cattle grid near the memorial, a ghostly nurse who was present after the 1942 aircraft crash, and who tried to help, will coming running from the forest and try to get into the car, as if to help you. The cairn commemorates ten people, including three Commonwealth Ministers and the Chief of the General Staff, who were killed in 1940 when their Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Hudson crashed while circling prior to landing at Fairbairn Airport. This Friday is the 70th anniversary of Canberra's worst air disaster - when a Lockheed Hudson bomber plummeted into a hillside near Queanbeyan, burst into flames and killed all 10 people on board instantly. Though it was not dread, it was a distinct feeling of unease asI headed down to the opening in the forest at the site of the ADM. The crash took place at 10:15a.m. in fine weather, in what the Melbourne Herald called "ideal flying conditions". Your one-stop destination for the latest Capital region property and real estate news. The request, in January 1952, was referred to Prime Minister Robert Menzies, who was Chair of the National Memorials Committee and very supportive of the project. The area became known as a popular make-out spot before the road leading to the memorial was closed. A. F. Mr. Richard Edwin Elford A Narrabundah reader recently attempted his own nocturnal visit, and like me, left more than a little unnerved. Months passed with no sign of Keren. Along with the Chief of the General Staff, General White, we lost four of our top Military experts in one terrible accident. [1] [20], Being an RAAF flight, responsibility for the crash lay with the Department of Air rather than the Department of Civil Aviation and its Air Accident Investigation Committee. At the election, Fairbairn's seat of Flinders and Street's seat of Corangamite were retained by the UAP, but Gullett's seat of Henty was lost to an independent, Arthur Coles, who was one of the two independents who voted to bring down the government in 1941 (then headed by the Country Party leader Arthur Fadden), allowing John Curtin of the Australian Labor Party to become Prime Minister. Racawicka 2, 37-700 Przemyl, Polska - email: [email protected] - KRS 0000240966 According to Canberra local, Tim the Yowie Man, the War Memorial is regularly subjected to a good nighttime wrecking thanks to a resident poltergeist. The traffic island footprint was intended to be evocative of an aircraft wing. The memorial commemorates a plane crash that occurred in 1940 and killed 10 people, including 4 senior government figures. Thankfully its neither. [34], Jack Butt, a local farmer and former soldier, was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the crash. In some circles, the night time trip to the memorial is considered a rite of passage. 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. Rolling Hills Asylum is one of the creepiest places in New York. The deaths of the three cabinet ministers severely weakened the United Australia Party government of Robert Menzies and contributed to its fall in 1941. [16][17], More recently the RAAF Historian C. D. Coulthard-Clark, in his book The Third Brother, called into question the flying ability of the pilot-in-command, FLTLT Hitchcock. The attacks killed 2,996 people and injured over 6,000 others and . Sarah Collins you will have to make a special trip to the north side so we can go!!! Kerens father told police that she had just been through a broken engagement and was approximately 5 months pregnant. This remote and slightly eerie site would make a good setting for a scene in my next book, and I am contemplating a meeting between Clio and Renee occurring here for a number of reasons. Stories of whispering voices and running footsteps, strange lights that fly towards the memorial, photos containing numerous orbs, ghostly sightings of men in old style overalls, screaming voices and even apparitions that appear to follow tour groups, yet quickly disappear when addressed or noticed. A small white plaque not much bigger than a credit card attached to a dark green post guides you to the trail that you will follow to the memorial nestled far away in the trees. Yes, there are. Where to eat, what to drink in the Canberra region. Like other legends, these tales of strange activity never seem to have any dates or names attached to them. [5] A daily inspection was completed on the morning of the flight and signed off by the pilot Bob Hitchcock. Expert strata, facilitiesand building management services. Despite her pregnancy having been confirmed in November 1970 by her physician, there was no evidence of a fetus when her body was found. Affixed to the rock is a plaque dedicated to the dead. Not in the mood for taking risks, I carefully place the cone on the ground. This energy then replaying over and over again, usually of either the last moments of the persons life or something that the person would do regularly. The original plaque has been replaced on several occasions because of theft or vandalism. "Anthonie Tonnon Unveils Single 'Lockheed Bomber', National Archives of Australia Fact Sheet 142, National Archive of Australia search for Fairbairn Memorial, National Museum of Australia propeller blade exhibit, Transcript of interview on ABC Stateline Canberra, 22 June 2007, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1940_Canberra_air_disaster&oldid=1124291869, Flight Lieutenant Robert Edward Hitchcock, This page was last edited on 28 November 2022, at 06:06. I was glad to encounter them, as their presence meant that loose dogs were unlikely. The cause of the crash has always been a mystery, although there has never been any suggestion of enemy action or sabotage. If the supernatural were real, it would be natural. And yet, thinking back, I am now not so sure. The road changes from ochre, to grey stone, and back again to ochre as you progress; a steady walk of a kilometre or so, up and down a couple of small hills. Explosions? 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. [6], Fairbairn had been working at his departmental headquarters in Melbourne and requested the flight in order to attend an important cabinet meeting on defence policy, which would discuss the allocation of Australian resources in the war. And yet, there are still cases that defy explanation. She was supposed to meet her sister at a party but never arrived. 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There are also tales of people claiming they hear the noise of a phantom plane crashing. in 1940, Australia still had not committed fully to Canberra as its National Capital. Sydney Airport to auction off lost laptops, phones, cameras and more. The area surrounding the memorial is quiet and even in the day one gets the feeling of being watched. I could hear scuttling from underneath the trees. The Canberra Air Disaster, 1940 The wreckage of the Lockheed Hudson air crash, Canberra, 13 August 1940. A granite monolith marks the site of the crash. Rather than spooks emerging from the darkness, the only thing I need to be wary of are mountain bike riders hurtling at breakneck speed around corners. I was looking for the original topics and then exited the editor but it still posted :S. Must have been one of the ghosts you were asking about. The 1940 Canberra air disaster was an aircraft crash that occurred near Canberra, the capital of Australia, on 13 August 1940, during World War II. Vandalism or public liability perhaps? If you want more detail, youll just have to sign on to one of Tims ghost tours. The next weekend they took new friends up there to show them what they had seen there again, the little girl was, standing by the gate. A residual piece of energy that manifests itself as a ghostly nurse? The embarrassment alone, if not the alcohol, would be enough for anyone to come up with some sort of supernatural excuse for their stupidity. During the 1970s some residents complained regularly that freshly made beds would be found rumpled and the room strewn with pillows. [10] Prime Minister Robert Menzies' assistant private secretary Peter Looker had reserved two seats on the flight, but Menzies also preferred to take the train. It replaced an earlier traffic island. Is it too soon to get excited about the 2023 Brumbies? Its an interesting place, quite eerie, but this is expected given its remote location, the history of the place, and the stories that circulate about it. Be one of the first to see the highly anticipated horror fi Enlighten Festival illuminates with after-dark events, Canberra Craft Beer & Cider Festival will see distilleries added to this years lineup, Mona Farm is hosting a garden-inspired Sunday lunch on the estate, New house-made burger joint opens in Dickson. On leaving I could see and hear kangaroos jumping ahead and behind me. On the evening of February 26, 1971, a 20-year-old woman named Keren Rowland went missing. But I felt, that little animals made the noise. On the 13th August 1940, a Lockheed Hudson II Bomber crashed at Mount Ainslie in the Australian Capital Territory just outside of Queanbeyan in New South Wales. Lieutenant Colonel Francis Thornthwaite, Staff Officer to General White. The tragedy assumed the proportions of a national disaster in view of the loss of the chief administrators of Australia`s war effort. He simply got up and ran out of the plane, on fire, and now a ghost. The monolith was dedicated on 13 August 1960 in the . Minister of State for the Army : Minister of State for Repatriation, The Honourable Sir Henry Somer Gullett, K. C. M. G. Could it be possible that the reports of supernatural and odd events on Mount Ainslie are a direct result of these tragic deaths so many years ago? A. F. Aircraftsman Class 1 Charles Joseph Crosdale, R. A. instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser, Eight destinations that films and TV shows changed forever, From borders to tunnels, here are 10 of the world's astonishingly long things. yea the new access road goes up between the speedway and paintball fieldnow that you mention engines suddenly stopping and refusing to start i recall this happening to me on the speedway many timesalmost certainly caused by the ghosts i would say..or perhaps holden v6s dont like having the rev limiter removed and then being revved to well past 10000 rpm?.either way i wish itd stop bloody happening. After about half-an-hour, when the blaze had died down, it was seen that the entire undercarriage, wings and structural supports of the plane had been torn away and were a smouldering mass in which were the charred bodies of those on board. Pine forests are renowned for being biodiversity deserts and at night that is particularly the case. Just wondering. According to an August 14, 1940 article in The Argus Officials who examined the wreckage are certain that it was very little damaged in the landing, and that had the fire not occurred, the occupants would have escaped. It seems perhaps it was easier on the coroner to tell the families of these men that they died instantly from skull fractures, and not that they died a horrible death from smoke inhalation and fire after the initial crash. The Outcome MattersNext Level DentistryNext Level Outcomes, Trekked out there a few nights ago and were victims of the car stalling and rolling forward experience. [8] The chiefs of staff of the army, navy and air force were also due to be in attendance. When the fire department and police arrived on scene they thought that maybe there could be survivors so they sent for the local doctor, Dr. Lewis Nott. Brigadier Geoffrey Street, Minister for the Army and Repatriation. The Canberra Fire Brigade and ambulances from Canberra and Queanbeyan, across the border in New South Wales, as well as several Air Force tenders, arrived soon afterwards and fire extinguishers were played on the blazing wreckage. Despite not only landing the plane just a short time earlier and also landing a Hudson in very similar conditions in Canberra previously. Every direction appears devoid of life, just tall darkened tree trunks lined up like thousands of giant tombstones. Should new apartment blocks have car spaces for each occupant? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Youre correct. On Monday, September 25, 1978, San Diego was overcome by catastrophe. Who she is, or was no-one seems to know although she is in no way attached to disaster of the crashed Hudson bomber. The Air Disaster Memorial on Mount Ainslie is another place reputed to be haunted.. [ 19 ] Goodwin was assisted by Thomas Mills, a representative of the loss the! 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