[11], The Ministers and General White, with their staff, were being flown from Melbourne to Canberra for a Cabinet meeting. Resolution of conflict withincommunities, workplace, families. Am I being followed? One of the odd things about this crash was that for a lot of people, the inquiry into the accident left more questions rather than answers. Theres the teenager who left the surrounding forest screaming that she was being followed by an airman on fire and many folk have heard dull explosions and the noise of a crashing plane. It would have been very easy to solve the mystery of whether or not Minister Fairbairn had been flying. 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). While preparing to land from what had been a normal flight, the plane suddenly nosedived into a field just a mile and a half from the Canberra Aerodrome. [Jeff Brownrigg] Air Disaster Memorial Pialligo Avenue Majura ACT 2609 These ten people included three cabinet ministers, Australias top Army general, a lieutenant colonel, a private secretary for the air minister and four R.A.A.F crew members. The memorial commemorates a plane crash that occurred in 1940 and killed 10 people, including 4 senior government figures. The monolith was dedicated on 13 August 1960 in the . Now known as the Canberra Air Disaster, the location of the crash is marked by a memorial. No orbs for me my cameras batteries have inexplicably drained (which apparently is not an uncommon occurrence here). Police believe that Keren was killed elsewhere and then her body was dumped at the memorial site later. For several decades the lonely crash site, now surrounded by pine forest, has been regarded as the most haunted location in Canberra and one which generations of locals have been dared to explore at night alone. By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's, Exhibition Gallery, National Library of Australia (Parkes Place -Canberra ACT 2600), Canberra Theatre Centre, Civic Square, London Circuit, Canberra, National Museum of Australia Lawson Crescent Acton, ACT 2601, Grass fire sparked near Majura Firing Range, Two people killed in highway crash near Gunning, Man accused of breaking the law one hour after receiving bail, Amaroo man refused bail over allegedly collecting 500,000 files of child abuse, All aboard? 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. I regained the car and returned to my home - but the memory of that sinister place lingers with me still.. [7] It had been called partially in response to a telegram from Winston Churchill to Menzies outlining his views on the prospect of war with Japan. Business and technology stories from the Canberra region. The Air Disaster Memorial sits in the Fairbairn pine plantation on the eastern edge of Canberra. Sporting news from the ACT and Capital region. While Fairbairn was himself an accomplished pilot, he had not had any flight training on the Hudson which was known to be difficult to fly and stalled easily. "[13], The plane came down in a paddock on "Dundee", a grazing property of 888 acres (359ha) owned by Duncan Cameron.[14]. Do the spirits of these men haunt the pine forests and lonely dirt roads that lead to the memorial itself? Like most legends, this legend has various versions, but the most common one is: If you stop your car on the cattle guard, a nurse who was on the scene at the time of the crash helping the wounded will run towards your car and try to get in. Horror plane crash that destroyed a government The accident site of the crash. Minister of State for the Army : Minister of State for Repatriation, The Honourable Sir Henry Somer Gullett, K. C. M. G. In many cases, yes. To make matters worse, it suddenly dawns upon me the uncanny resemblance that a pine cone bears to a hand grenade, especially in near darkness. [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. In April 2022 the New Zealand artist Anthonie Tonnon released a single entitled Lockheed Bomber based on the disaster. Air Crash Investigations / MayDay. The Outcome MattersNext Level DentistryNext Level Outcomes. Surrounded by dense stands of pines I start to feel hemmed in, almost claustrophobic. As a general election was already due by the end of the year, it was felt prudent to call it for September, to avoid the necessity of also holding three by-elections for such a short term. Mackellar had attested that it would be "fairly safe to assume that all ten men were killed when the plane hit the ground". I believe that ghosts are usually some type of energy imprint thats left behind. A Narrabundah reader recently attempted his own nocturnal visit, and like me, left more than a little unnerved. The loss of so many men vital to war administration in Australia at the time was a devastating blow. The crash killed ten people, four of whom were senior members of the Australian Government. Mackellar was a general practitioner with limited experience in forensic medicine,[21] and faced difficulties in distinguishing between the victims' bodies which had been burned beyond recognition. As we have seen, many strange stories are attributed to the Memorial and it is almost a right of passage for young men and women to go there at night although these days the road is locked off and access is difficult. 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. Fairbairn's private secretary Dick Elford and White's staff officer Frank Thornthwaite were the two other passengers. Air Disaster Memorial [Ghost Strikes Again] 30 September 2009 | Panhead Join the conversation 16 Trekked out there a few nights ago and were victims of the car stalling and rolling forward experience. It was the first Hudson in the RAAF to be fitted out with passenger seating, to be reserved for transporting "essential maintenance stores and personnel to advanced operational bases", as well as ministerial traffic when required. The cause of the crash has always been a mystery, although there has never been any suggestion of enemy action or sabotage. I stumble on a pine cone. Phew! Subscribe to receive the latest local voices straight to your inbox. Wooldridge discussed the matter with White early in his tenure as a politician, and said that White kept the secret for 50 years, and he did for another 30 years.[33]. The latter I can totally dismiss as an urban legend most probably started by someone who, whilst drunk, forgot to put their car in gear and pull the hand brake on, only to watch it roll away backwards at a later time. The area surrounding the memorial is quiet and even in the day one gets the feeling of being watched. (I recomend playing paintball there, its great). Yep we have spooks from all walks of death, some born from suspicious circumstances, terrible endings and others that have simply refused to move on. Wikipedia entry, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), National Archives of Australia fact sheet 142, ABC News 75th anniversary of the disaster. Another story regarding the Air Disaster Memorial is even less believable in that a young girl was once found dead under a 500 kilogram cattle grid although the ground around the grid had not been disturbed. Is it time Australia looked beyond Defence for disaster response? Extract taken from A Case for Ghosts by JG Montgomery (Ginninderra Press 2012). Tritton had told White that he had been allowed access to the crash site itself, and the body of Fairbairn was still strapped into the pilot's seat. I dont think I've View, Great work, looking forward to seeing the progress. Brigadier Geoffrey Street, Minister for the Army and Repatriation. If the supernatural were real, it would be natural. One week on, how many drivers have Canberra's new mobile phone detection cameras busted? View, Emily Jayne I was about to tag you ! This is from an early draft as I dont have the final. Of course, there is only one way to find out. A residual piece of energy that manifests itself as a ghostly nurse? A poltergeist that regularly wreaks havoc in the War Memorial. One week on, how many drivers have Canberra's new mobile phone detection cameras busted? Just 3.2 kilometres off Pialligo Avenue is the Canberra Air Disaster Memorial, a large granite monolith with a commemorative plaque that marks the location of a plane crash in 1940. Affixed to the rock is a plaque dedicated to the dead. Have they simply misinterpreted what they have experienced? Where to eat, what to drink in the Canberra region. When I used to smoke Drugs, lots of stuff went on at the top of the hill, since going back after 10 years off the drugs, it wasnt that fun Nothing happend! Unlike most other places, this location has more than one legend attached to it. or maybe on some nights it is? Menzies was deeply affected by the crash, both personally and politically. 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. Your help would be greatly appreciated. But why leave her body at a location that people visit? General Sir Cyril White, Chief of the General Staff. He determined that in each case the "immediate cause of death" was a fractured skull. March 01, 2023 | Food & Drink, Entertainment. On Saturday, my family and I took the trek up to the Air Disaster Memorial at the Fairbairn Pine Plantation in Canberra. He was serving as Army Liaison Officer on the General Staff at the time of his death. The Canberra Air Disaster On the morning of August 13, 1940, a Lockheed Hudson, registration number A16-97 was on the way to Canberra from Melbourne. Most likely even before Dr. Nott actually arrived on the scene, the police and fireman realized that a doctor was not going to be necessary. This columns recent expose on the Air Disaster Memorial (ADM) has promoted a large amount of correspondence, particularly regarding on the sites spooky nature. I think the fact that it is locked up now is due to the fact that the ADF firing range is next door. A granite monolith marks the site of the crash. Collaboratively and competitively delivered across the nation. And because the site has this odd feeling one can only speculate that it must be amplified at night, possibly the reason why so many strange stories are told about the place. Of course, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever as no nurse died in the rescue attempt and as far as I can ascertain, no WWII nurse has ever died on Mount Ainslie. I was afraid, even aborting the walk once - butI forced myself to be brave, returnedand persevered. The bodies were removed from the scene and taken directly to the morgue for identification and autopsy. 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. Individually, and as a group, these people are significant figures in . That it is locked up now is due to the dead recomend playing paintball there, its great ) cameras. 1940 and killed 10 people, four of whom were senior members of the crash killed ten people including! 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