[A Forest Tale] Ficus pumila - Jan

[MJL]

Jan and Kirky,
While I am absent from this forum of late - these look great and I will be circling back to review entries shortly. Love your work.


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[Jan]

I know my little forest does not do justice to the forests around O'Reilly's, but I hope it is at least an echo of such places. It has certainly brought back warming memories of people, places and times passed for me. This Forest comes in at just under 5 inches from pot rim to tallest tree.

For those interested in the Stinson Crash you can read about it in "Rescuer's Graphic Story of Finding of Stinson 'Plane". The Barrier Miner. 1 March 1937. (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47933194) and in “Green Mountain”, by Bernard O’Reilly, written in 1940.

And now for the tale....facts, not fiction, and an odd family coincidence.

"This Ficus Pumila forest with stone, while not the species of the MacPherson range, was inspired by a watercolour painting of the forest surrounding O’Reilly’s, (then, “Lamington Guest House” in Queensland National Park), a book, “Green Mountain”, by Bernard O’Reilly, written in 1940 and the walking tracks around the O’Reilly’s that I’ve known in the 1970’s and ‘90’s.

Great grandmother (in law) brought back the watercolour, painted by another guest, from one of her trips to O’Reilly’s, a formidable journey from her Snowy Mountains home in the early 1900’s. The Great Aunt, whose wall it graced, lent me the book which, amongst other stories, introduced me to Bernard O’Reilly’s memories of locating the two survivors of the crashed Airlines of Australia, tri-engine Stinson VH-UHH “Brisbane” on February 28, 1937, in the forested, rocky country of the MacPherson Range, Queensland.

VH-UHH “Brisbane” did not arrive in Sydney from Brisbane on February 19, 1937. Searches had been conducted north of Sydney and Newcastle, following reports, but were abandoned by Tuesday, February 23.

After hearing that Lamington and Hill View residents had heard the mail plane circling, then headed for the range, but with insufficient height to clear it, Bernard O’Reilly couldn’t get it out of his mind that it may have gone no farther than the MacPherson Range so, to “satisfy his curiosity”, he set off on foot to search on Saturday 27. After camping overnight, on the 28th he saw a burned patch on the range and headed towards it. Approaching he heard “coees” and answered, eventually locating the two remaining survivors. They both wanted to shake his hand. The excited silence was broken when one commented that “We will be able to have that drink at “The Australia”, after all”. They asked for the cricket score and seemed cheered by the reply of, “Bradman 165, not out”. O’Reilly left food and water and walked out to Hill View to summon help, also tracking James Westray, a burned third survivor who had gone for help, to his cliff fall, and finding his body by Christmas Creek.

O’Reilly and Dr Lawler returned ahead of the main party to render medical aid until the survivors could be moved.

I’d visited O’Reilly’s, in Lamington National Park, Queensland, in 1975, before seeing either the painting or the book, so the rugged, rocky forest portrayed was familiar to me. I later saw the 1987 TV film, “The Riddle of the Stinson”, and again visited O’Reilly’s in the 1990’s. It’s an odd family coincidence that my husband and I visited O’Reilly’s, and loved it, and so did his Great Grandmother. Kindred spirits.

It is a special place."