dotlit: 'Evening at O'Reilly's' by Rohan Smith At 6 p.m. on 1 March, 1967 Ken Rohan parked his car along the main road near O'Reilly's Guesthouse. His wife Eileen, in the front passenger seat, undid her seat belt, then looked through her handbag and pulled out an invitation. She read it once again, silently; Wednesday 1st March is the 30th Anniversary of the Stinson Rescue. We have great pleasure in inviting you to be present at our commemorative dinner to be held at our Guesthouse at 6 p.m. on the above date. RSVP to O'Reilly's Guesthouse. Ken and Eileen walked up the path. They could hear the sound of voices and laughter competing with the music that drifted from the dining room into the rainforest. Thirty years before the Stinson crash had been a major event. An official search for the plane that had gone down in the dense forest of Lamington plateau, on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney, was conducted around Lismore in northern New South Wales. It was called off after seven days, with airline officials believing that the plane had flown as far as Newcastle and crashed off the coast, or into the gorges around Broken Bay. The missing plane was the focus of interest around Australia, with numerous people comparing it to the Southern Cloud that had disappeared on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne on 22 March 1931. News of the missing Stinson Airliner did not reach O'Reilly's Guesthouse in the Green Mountains for almost a week after it went missing. Bernard O'Reilly, who ran the hotel with his wife, Viola, read about the crash at his brother's house. There, Herb O'Reilly explained to his brother the many theories developing around town regarding the missing plane. Several people in Beaudesert were certain that the Stinson had passed over their Queensland farms and homesteads on the previous Friday, bringing into question any idea of the plane crashing into sea off New South Wales. When Bernard O'Reilly recalled the day in question, he also remembered a plane flying low over his property in the storm. After talking with his brother, Bernard contacted other farmers in the area, convinced that it was the Stinson he had seen. He decided then that he would search the area where the flight path of the Stinson crossed his property into the densely forested Lamington Plateau of the Macpherson Ranges. By the early afternoon of Saturday 27 February, O'Reilly had left the guesthouse on horseback and set out along the Bitgongabel track. After half an hour of traveling along the track, O'Reilly dismounted and sent his horse home. From there he headed west by foot, through the thick terrain of the forest and towards Mount Throakben. As night arrived, and the cool set in, O'Reilly made some tea and ate some bread. He spent the night sleeping with his back against a tree. The next morning Bernard continued hiking towards Mt. Throakben. As he reached a clearing in the mountain he stood to view the sweeping panorama, across the ocean and towards the Northern Rivers District of New South Wales. As he scanned the surrounding ranges, O'Reilly noticed a burnt out tree about five miles in the distance, and immediately set off towards that area. After three hours of hard hiking, O'Reilly was startled to hear a coo-ee. He replied and trekked on, not knowing exactly where he was. Eventually, O'Reilly stumbled across the Stinson crash site. The foul stench was the first thing that struck him, causing him to gag. The burnt remains of the passengers in the wreckage caused the almost incomprehensible smell, but he found two survivors, John Proud and Joe Binstead, alive after ten days. In his book, Over the Hills, which he published in 1963, O'Reilly recalls thinking 'they looked like burnt, dead bodies talking'. In the Kennedy Miller telemovie, Riddle of the Stinson (1988) starring Jack Thompson, the shock O'Reilly experienced when he found the Stinson survivors is seriously underplayed, but in reality he was so stunned that for the first few minutes he did not even offer the men food or drink. Binstead was a particularly shocking sight. His eyes were sunken and the overweight man was almost completely naked. He had used what clothes had not been burnt off in the crash to dress Proud's wounds. Seeing that Proud's leg was covered with a large piece of fuselage from the wreck, O'Reilly lifted it to be greeted with the nauseating smell of Proud's burnt, rotten leg. A sea of maggots squirmed through the burnt flesh, and O'Reilly quickly replaced the makeshift cast. Coming back to his senses, O'Reilly shook hands with the men and went about making a fire and inspecting the crash. 'What's the score?', asked Proud. 'The score? Oh, yes. Bradman, 165 not out', replied O'Reilly. 'So when did Westray reach you?', asked Binstead. 'Westray?', O'Reilly replied. 'The other survivor. When did he reach you?' 'I don't know who you're talking about', replied O'Reilly. 'He went to get help days ago. We thought he might have got help'. 'He never arrived. You mean there is another survivor somewhere out there?' asked O'Reilly. Binstead and Proud's thoughts turned to the fate of their fellow survivor, Jim Westray who had set off eight days prior, trekking along Christmas Creek. O'Reilly explained that no one had thought the plane would be that far north, and that the official search had been called off. Proud and Binstead couldn't believe what they were hearing. Making them as comfortable as he could, O'Reilly left the two men at the wreck and set back down the mountain to organise a rescue party. As he walked beside Christmas Creek, he came across James Westray sitting on a large rock. It is believed that Westray's death occurred from massive internal injuries obtained from a fall over a nearby waterfall. Despite these fatal injuries, Westray had managed to stagger to a boulder on the creek bed and remove his shoes, placing them neatly next to the rock. He then lit a final cigarette before dying with his feet dabbling in the fresh water creek. O'Reilly pushed on, reaching the bottom of the mountain range by night. He headed towards the Hillview district where he knew he would be able to alert the authorities. News quickly filtered through Beaudesert that O'Reilly had found the missing plane and the community was soon galvanised into action. By dawn an advance party, with a doctor, were half-way up the mountain, while axes and brush hooks were flashing as men cut an eight- mile track through the heavy vine and scrub towards the wreck. By early that evening, the track was cleared. Some of the weary men staggered back down the mountain while others spent a miserable night on top, some without food or water. The next dawn saw the start of a long and hazardous journey for the two survivors, but by three in the afternoon they were in the ambulance cars at the foot of the range. This story was told and retold in the dining room of O'Reilly's Guesthouse. As the guests found their place-cards at the tables, Percy Campbell, member of the Beaudesert Historical Society, stood. The tapping of a fork against a champagne flute was enough to settle the crowd and his speech is preserved in the Society's newsletter. Good evening everyone. Tonight we are privileged to gather in this historical room, to once again meet our host, Bernard O'Reilly and our guests of honour, Joe Binstead and John Proud. We also welcome the rescuers as we relive those momentous hours of thirty years ago. The eyes of those at the tables began to drift around the room. Percy continued. Tonight we will talk of the courage of Jim Westray, the young Englishman who despite being burnt and shocked, perished in an unsuccessful attempt to get help. Secondly, we will celebrate the mateship of Joe Binstead, who was prepared to give his life to save his fellow traveller. Thirdly, we will honor John Proud who, despite the appalling condition of his leg, remained calm and rational. We also remember the Divine Hand, which surely guided that intrepid bushman, Bernard O'Reilly, on his mission of mercy. Also to the women folk who did the work at home while their men laboured in feverish haste to rescue the survivors from certain death. Percy looked around the room. His eyes found Binstead and Proud. Tonight we are able to shake hands with Joe Binstead, a sprightly 84, and John Proud, a hearty 60-year-old. Now, let us pause to remember those who died in the plane. There were five seconds of silence before Percy read the names of those who perished. Rex Boyden - 40 years old, pilot. Beverley Shepherd - 25 years old, co-pilot. James Graham - 55 years old, passenger. William Fountain - 41 years old, passenger. And, those rescuers who have passed on in the intervening years. In conclusion, on behalf of the rescuers and all present, our sincere thanks goes to Bernard and his family for making this memorable night possible. Ken Rohan sat listening to Percy speak. As a 24 year old in 1937, he had been eating breakfast with his parents when he noticed several cars and horses making their way along Christmas Creek Road. The traffic was highly unusual and, curious, Ken rode his horse towards the main fence line. He stopped a friend passing by. 'What's going on?' he asked. 'Haven't you heard? Bernard O'Reilly found that lost plane.' No sooner had Ken heard about the discovery than he was on his way to help carry the survivors down the mountain. He found a series of men positioned in groups along the track towards the crash site to create a convoy. Ken was placed three miles up the track. As he waited for the party to reach him, Ken spoke with nurse Rosie O'Reilly, Bernard's sister, but fell silent as the rescue party approached him. They were carrying John Proud first with Joe Binstead close behind. The commemorative evening concluded at 10 o'clock. While many guests spent the night at O'Reilly's, Ken and Eileen made the trip back to their farmhouse at Lamington at the base of the mountain. As Ken drove the narrow and winding track home, Eileen sat in her seat holding the autographed place cards of John Proud, Joe Binstead and Bernard O'Reilly. Ken looked out the car windscreen into the rainforest. He wound up his window to stop the cold air blowing in. He thought about the Stinson wreck, lying somewhere in the darkness of those ranges ahead. He imagined that time and forest vines had overrun and swallowed it. Beneath the moist undergrowth, just near the wreck, lay the common grave of those who perished in the crash, and just a little down the mountain, alongside Christmas Creek, the body of James Westray. He was buried near the rock where he removed his shoes and lit his final cigarette. What crossed Westray's mind on his lonely attempt to reach help is unknown. The souls of Westray and the others who perished in the Stinson crash will, however, always inhabit the mountain where they perished on that lonely afternoon, 19 February 1937. Further Reading McDonald, B. (1988) Once Upon a Mountain: The Story of the Search for the Stinson Airliner, Brisbane: Boolarong Publications. McGhee, C. (1999) 'Local Heroes — Missing Stinson Found', Our Local History. http:// www.schools.ash.org/ben/history.htm. Miller, K. (1988) The Riddle of the Stinson. Kennedy Miller Films. O'Reilly, B. (1963) Over the Hills. Brisbane: Smith and Paterson. O'Reilly, P. (1998) 'The Stinson Rescue', O'Reilly's History: Early Days. http://www.oreillys.com.au/history/early.htm. Tomerup, H (1967) 'The Stinson Reunion Dinner', Beaudesert Historical Association Newsletter, no.54, Beaudesert: B.H.A.