John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
Por bastards,I remember reading of this tragedy at the time.
Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre ·
Tragedy of the Birdsville Track
In 1959 after waiting for three years for their application to become Ten Pound Poms, the Page family, left their home in Shadoxhurst, Kent, England and set sail aboard the liner Orion, destined for Australia, and Adelaide to start a new life which the family had dreamed of.
The Page family were Ernie and Emma and their four children Robert, Douglas, Gordon and their only daughter Judy along with Judy’s fiancé John Pilcher . Not long after arriving in Australia Judy and John were married and settled in Adelaide where they raised their children.
Within twelve months of arriving in Australia, Ernie, along with his wife, Robert, Douglas and Gordon shifted to Outback South Australia and settled at Marree with his young family where he worked as a mechanic.
It was well know that Ernie was hot headed and after a run in with his boss, in late December 1963, Ernie and Emma, both 45 along with Douglas aged 12 and Gordon aged 10, set off to start another new life in Birdsville or ever further north in Queensland in their 1957 V8 Ford Customline. car. Along the Birdsville Track near Etadunna Station they caught up with their eldest son Robert, who was heading south to Marree, but was unaware that his family were heading to Queensland. Robert put his swag in the family’s trailer and this was the last time the family were ever seen alive.
Continuing to drive during the night, Ernie unfortunately took a wrong turn on a well used track that was used by the French Mining Survey Company who were working in the area as well as the Bureau of Mineral Resources who were also surveying in the area.
Running out of fuel, Enrie made the fatal mistake of leaving the vehicle and the family set off on foot. What happened in those final fatal days will never be know with the bodies or Ernie and Emma found huddled together as if they were in bed under a tree along with Gordon, while Douglas was found a few feet away out in the open.
Sadly, the body of their eldest son Robert, was not found until the next day as a short distance away to the west on Deadman’s Sandhill where they presume Robert had set off trying to walk to Clifton Hills Station to get help. The Coroner’s report stated that the family would have most likely passed away on Boxing Day 1963 from thirst.
At 4pm on New Year’s Eve 1963 in 50° heat the four bodies were found and the next morning a family grave was being dug, when Aboriginal Trackers notices tracks heading west where they found the body of Robert.
A frontend loader was driven down from Birdsville to excavate a large grave where the family was buried with a Roman Catholic service and the grave was marked by a circle of rocks, and later a simple metal cross. In 2010, The Page’s grandchildren visited the site for the first time and placed a new plaque at the site.
Rest In Peace
Source & Image Acknowledgment: Stephen Langman
Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre ·
Tragedy of the Birdsville Track
In 1959 after waiting for three years for their application to become Ten Pound Poms, the Page family, left their home in Shadoxhurst, Kent, England and set sail aboard the liner Orion, destined for Australia, and Adelaide to start a new life which the family had dreamed of.
The Page family were Ernie and Emma and their four children Robert, Douglas, Gordon and their only daughter Judy along with Judy’s fiancé John Pilcher . Not long after arriving in Australia Judy and John were married and settled in Adelaide where they raised their children.
Within twelve months of arriving in Australia, Ernie, along with his wife, Robert, Douglas and Gordon shifted to Outback South Australia and settled at Marree with his young family where he worked as a mechanic.
It was well know that Ernie was hot headed and after a run in with his boss, in late December 1963, Ernie and Emma, both 45 along with Douglas aged 12 and Gordon aged 10, set off to start another new life in Birdsville or ever further north in Queensland in their 1957 V8 Ford Customline. car. Along the Birdsville Track near Etadunna Station they caught up with their eldest son Robert, who was heading south to Marree, but was unaware that his family were heading to Queensland. Robert put his swag in the family’s trailer and this was the last time the family were ever seen alive.
Continuing to drive during the night, Ernie unfortunately took a wrong turn on a well used track that was used by the French Mining Survey Company who were working in the area as well as the Bureau of Mineral Resources who were also surveying in the area.
Running out of fuel, Enrie made the fatal mistake of leaving the vehicle and the family set off on foot. What happened in those final fatal days will never be know with the bodies or Ernie and Emma found huddled together as if they were in bed under a tree along with Gordon, while Douglas was found a few feet away out in the open.
Sadly, the body of their eldest son Robert, was not found until the next day as a short distance away to the west on Deadman’s Sandhill where they presume Robert had set off trying to walk to Clifton Hills Station to get help. The Coroner’s report stated that the family would have most likely passed away on Boxing Day 1963 from thirst.
At 4pm on New Year’s Eve 1963 in 50° heat the four bodies were found and the next morning a family grave was being dug, when Aboriginal Trackers notices tracks heading west where they found the body of Robert.
A frontend loader was driven down from Birdsville to excavate a large grave where the family was buried with a Roman Catholic service and the grave was marked by a circle of rocks, and later a simple metal cross. In 2010, The Page’s grandchildren visited the site for the first time and placed a new plaque at the site.
Rest In Peace
Source & Image Acknowledgment: Stephen Langman
