THE ONE RESCUER

Here in the McPherson Ranges near the most easterly point of Australia, is the site of one of the most amazing rescues in Australian aviation history.

How is it possible?  So many search planes had already flown thousands of kilometres trying to spot that one crashed aircraft.  So many people searching, so many people investigating.  And everyone finally giving up.  There was no chance!

How could it be that one man, in the dense rainforest, would make a remarkable rescue – completely on his own?  How could one man heading through thick bush, where almost no one ever goes, save lives?

Well, you’re about to find out!

The American-built Stinson plane had flown out of Brisbane, Australia, on the 17th of February, 1937.  It was headed towards Lismore, on its way to Sydney.  A prop-plane with the pilots Captain Rex Boyden and Captain Beverley Shepherd, and with several passengers.

Soon it flew into a storm and couldn’t quite get around it.  It was like a cyclone in the upper air with darkening clouds and winds bursting up to 100 kilometres per hour.

The plane was getting forced down over mountain ranges and thick jungle.  People on the ground could hear the noise of engines up in the storm clouds.  It sounded like that prop plane was getting very low, and that it was in trouble.

And then… it simply disappeared!  People said it was missing over the wild Hawkesbury country near Sydney.  There had been no communication and no sign of the plane at Lismore, its first stop.

Well, in the week that followed, this turned into the most intensive aerial search in Australian history.  Air Force planes flew out, going over that flight path.  And nearly every civil plane on the east coast joined in, combing over that planned course.  Surely they could find some trace of the missing plane?

But no one did.  Not a hint or a trace of a crash anywhere.  Finally, everyone had to give up.

BERNARD O’REILLY

But not long after that, one man, Bernard O’Reilly was actually trekking through a dense forest, climbing up and down mountains, compelled to search and rescue.

Why would anyone do that?  Why would a single individual think he could search for what hundreds of planes and people had proven was impossible to find?

Bernard actually lived in this forest world, on the east coast of Australia.  He and his wife Viola had a home here. They were nature enthusiasts and loved the great outdoors. Bernard enjoyed living amongst the birds and animals in this mountain setting. He spent a lot of time in nature and was regarded locally as a fine bushman.

Planes flew close over their house, twice a day and Bernard saw them as splendid machines, links with civilization.  He would even set his clocks by those timely flights.

From the Australian Broadcasting Commission: After eight days of searching, all hope has been abandoned for the missing Stinson airliner VH UHH…

Bernard heard about this plane crashing, and was curious [about] where it had crashed, and why it hadn’t been found.  

AN INSPIRED IDEA

Somewhere in this man’s head was the idea of divine intervention – a possibility?  To him it seemed that if God wished to intercede and save some men, he would inspire someone to go out and do his will.  And Bernard even began to view his life, out there in the forest, as a good preparation for such a job.

The eighth day after that crash, he was struck by another idea.  

Bernard was talking about that tragedy with his brother, who’d seen the plane fly overhead into the cloudbank, holding its regular course toward Lismore.  Bernard also read newspapers, theorising about the crash.  

Reporters believed the plane had made it within 15 minutes of its final destination in Sydney.  And the air crash investigators believed it had flown out over to sea from Brisbane, to avoid the bad weather over the mountains.

But now Bernard began hearing about people in the district who had seen the plane disappear into the clouds as it approached the mountain ranges on its way to Lismore.

It then, it just struck him: that plane was lying somewhere up in the jungle and gorges of the McPherson mountain range. But still, would anyone go out for such a search?  No, of course not!  

These McPherson Ranges had some 80,000 hectares of unbroken, trackless jungle.  Visibility, on the ground, is limited to ten metres.  One man searching through that vast area?  It would take at least three lifetimes!

But the next morning Bernard managed to get a friend, Bob Stephens, on the phone.  He was one of the last people to see the plane in flight as it was buffeted by the strong winds. 

Bernard checked out an Aerial Survey map.  Now he drew a straight line, from where it was last seen, to its destination, Lismore.  That line went across four high mountain ranges.  Well, he thought, if the plane crashed, it would surely be on one of those northern slopes.

PREPARING TO SEARCH

Now Bernard O’Reilly is preparing for a search, an amazing journey.  He packs potatoes, onions and tea.  He’s ready for whatever lies ahead.

Fortunately there was a riding trail to Mount Bithongabel, and Bernard was able to get the old chestnut mare, appropriately named The Great Unknown, to help him get there.

Arriving at the high mountain ranges, he took the bags off the horse, pointed her back towards the house, and said “Shoo!”

Now he’s walking alone, west toward the first of the four high lateral McPherson spurs.  Yes, hacking his way through trees, over rocks, up and down steep slopes.

Here’s a very interesting way that Bernard kept going in the right direction.  Can you imagine how, in this dense jungle where you can’t see very far?

Well, he would walk up to a tree and check out its trunk.  Walk around, from the smooth side, to the side covered with lichen and moss.  And he knew that the mossy-covered side was the southern side of the tree.  So he could keep aiming in a certain direction.

He could also estimate his altitude.  At a lower level, trees were going to seed; at 700m they were blooming; at 1200m they were in early bud.

And here’s another interesting aspect of this rescuer.  How did he keep going steadily?  How did he not just give up, in this thick forest?  

This misty world is home to some of Australia’s rarest creatures and Bernard saw them as God’s creations. Even though the going was tough, Bernard admired the nature and kept moving forward. 

Now here’s a big question.  Can this lone bushman ever find the crashed plane?  And more importantly even if he did, would there be any survivors?  Was there a point to this search?  It was almost certain that every passenger would have died in that fatal plunge into the mountains.

Well, let me tell you what happened.

THE FATAL CRASH

Forced down by violent winds, Captain Rex Boyden knew his plane was being tossed into a mountain.  The crash inevitable, he banked his way sharply to the left.  That desperate act saved the lives of three men on the left side.

Two big trees were chopped off by the impact.  And then the machine hit squarely on a big tree.  It was a fatal crash!

Two pilots killed, and two passengers on the right side.  But three other men managed to crawl out of that wreck.  

As the plane turned into a furnace, John Proud, a wool broker in Sydney, smashed a window and dropped through to the ground.  Though his leg had a fracture, he desperately assisted another man, Joe Binstead, through a narrow opening.   Then Binstead helped a young Englishman, Jim Westray, out.  His hands were badly burned.

Dragging themselves away, the three saw the wreck burn fiercely for many hours.  They had survived.  But now they wondered, would they perish here, through exposure, starvation and despair?

Soon Binstead saw Proud’s smashed leg.  He helped wipe that blood away.  Then he managed to pull out, from the plane, some broken wing fabric that had survived the fire.  He wrapped it around that broken leg to give it a chance to heal.

And now we come to another rescuer, with an unexpected ending. It was one of the survivors, the Englishman, Jim Westray.  The next morning, he decided to walk out and try to find some help. 

But sadly, while clambering down rocks, beside a waterfall, he would take a fatal fall – and not be able to recover.

Joe Binstead had decided to remain with John Proud who had a broken leg. He would do everything possible to keep him alive.  He soon realised this injured man desperately needed water.  He had to climb down the mountain, some 300 metres, over rocks and twisted vines to a small stream. 

But with great effort, he managed to bring water back.  In the days that followed, Binstead would have to return to the stream, again and again.  Eventually he would actually crawl most of the way, almost completely exhausted.  But he still kept providing water, and even managed to collect a few berries to sustain Proud.

So that’s the answer.  Yes, there were survivors of that plane crash.  There were men desperately waiting and in need of help.  But would Bernard be able to get there in time?

Climbing out of a gorge, he made his way up to Mt. Throakban.  This was the first of the four lateral ranges.  Heavy white clouds enveloped the mountaintop.

Now he could see the three remaining ranges.  But what a vast stretch of forest!  How could anyone find anything out here? It seemed hopeless.

Suddenly, Bernard saw something that caught his attention.  It was about 13 kilometres away, on the third range of Lamington Plateau.  Just where it rose sharply, there was a striking scorched brown treetop against the rich green forest. 

Now Bernard just had to investigate! He couldn’t ignore what he had seen.  He struggled on, further and further, for eight hours toward that burnt tree.

Finally he got to the top of the range, to get a good look across to that burnt area.  But now clouds covered everything and there was no way to see.

So Bernard had to just walk through to the third range of the Lamington Plateau.  He hoped he’d held a straight course.  He hoped he was getting closer to that dead tree.

THE SURVIVORS LOCATED

Now he decided to call out. But first he had to wait until he caught his breath. Then he yelled. His voice seemed to echo sharply across the gorge.  And then, can you believe it, a response? Someone called back!  Yes a real human voice; it seemed clear and close, 200 metres down the slope to the left. He had made contact!

Bernard called back, and then rushed down.  Now a second voice was calling back too.  They guided him towards them through the thickly meshed forest.

He came to a gap in the trees tops.  Yes trees blackened by fire.  And there it was, a place of horror and death. A pile of smashed and charred metal.  Two voices called out to him from below the wreck.

He spotted Proud first, his eyes sunken in, almost like a corpse.  He’d been lying for ten days on wet ground, with a broken leg that was now green, swelling and maggoty.

Then he saw Binstead.  This man tried to shake his hands, even though they were torn and raw from his painful trips to the stream.

Bernard learned about their crash, their struggles, and their survival.  In his mind he was anxious.  Would he be able to save these men?  They were badly injured, weak and failing fast.

Bernard first heated up some tea for them.  Then he gave them his warm clothing and left them his supplies. 

He looked at Proud and realised that he just had to get medical help within 24-hours.  He promised, “I’ll bring back a doctor and a hundred men.”

But what would be the quickest way down the mountain to get help?

RACING FOR HELP

Yes, the gorge below, the south branch of Christmas Creek, and the first clearing, where people should be found, was still 15 kilometres away.

It was down cliffs, over loose rock, through perpendicular slopes of chunky earth.  Then a waterfall blocked progress.  Bernard just had to find a way to get help.

And then he spotted the young Englishman, sitting with his back against a big boulder.  “Hey there!” Bernard shouted.  Westray didn’t answer, or move.  Bernard came up to him, and saw, sadly, [that] he was dead.  

He’d been bathing a smashed ankle in the torrent beside him.  His face was scarred, too.  He had taken a big fall down these cliffs, and just didn’t make it.

Bernard had to keep running, frantically racing to reach help. He splashed over a stream bed, fell against rocks, jarred, but kept telling himself, “Hurry!  Proud is dying.”  And he believed God would give him enough strength to make it.

Finally he stumbled into an open flat.  A timber track.  And he heard the crack of a rifle.

“Hey!” he yelled. A young man yelled back cheerfully.

“I’ve found that missing aeroplane,” he gasped, “and there are two men still alive.”

The two quickly rode down on horses to civilisation, where Bernard could phone for help.  A man named Bob Stephens, helped him make plans – into the middle of the night.  And a woman began phoning for volunteers. 

How were they going to rescue those two men – two broken men – in that inaccessible jungle?  How could they make it happen quickly?

THE RESCUE BEGINS

Here’s another striking aspect of this rescue.  Beginning at dawn, hundreds of volunteers actually cut away branches and undergrowth to make an open track through that thick, mountainous forest.  With urgency they cut a track through the rainforest with brush hooks and axes, working so that people could carry the two survivors back on stretchers, in time.  

Bernard O’Reilly would lead another group directly up the steep slope to the wreck.  A physician, Dr. Lawler, trekked with him, and also some men bringing medical supplies, nourishment and waterproof covering.

Heavy, drenching rain slowed them down. This was to be an arduous journey that took over eight hours.

Now, you’d never guess what Bernard remembered about those two survivors, as he and his party pushed on through obstacles.  He recalled what struck him when he found them, wounded by the crash.  They could still joke!  

Yes, as he helped them, they managed to get a little humour out.  And this is what Bernard would tell himself: “God forgive me if I ever complain again.” The vision of those two suffering men, lying there, was fixed in his mind.

HELP ARRIVES

Bernard and Bob Stephens made it back first.  They quickly started a fire, a fire to cook real food – eggs and milk, whipped up in a pannikin.  

But they could only give Binstead and Proud a tablespoon of food, every ten minutes.  After so many starving days, they couldn’t take a lot in, too soon.

Then Dr. Lawler and the rest arrived.  He would heat up some water and straighten out Proud’s broken leg, 

Yes, Proud’s life and limb will be saved!  Despite the gangrene and the spread of dangerous infection.

Well, the other volunteers accompanying Bernard, swiftly cut a track up the steep slope to the top of the Plateau.  And there the two survivors were placed in a tent-like shelter.  Now they could sleep well, with the aid of medication and sedatives.  

It was a tough night for the volunteers, with pouring rain and no way to keep warm.  No dry clothes.  But they stayed on and formed stretchers, lashing cross pieces with clothesline rope.

And off they went, carried by men on that track cut through the vines and bushes.  It seemed almost like a tunnel now, through the forest. But they could go steadily, quickly, without falls, or interruptions.

Bernard kept a careful watch over the two injured men.  A few others walked ahead, with brush hooks, slashing loose vines and spikes, just in case anything might still trip someone.

Soon, they made it to real transportation.  Eleven hours after that start at dawn, Proud and Binstead were placed in ambulances; the big rescue venture was accomplished.

A REMARKABLE ACCOMPLISHMENT

What a remarkable rescue!  One man, Bernard O’Reilly, trekking out to do what hundreds of professional rescuers, scores of searching planes, had given up on.  Quite memorable!

In fact, 50 years after that event, the relatives of some of those involved would come here again.  They wanted to honour that rescue.  Some dropped a wreath over the crash site. 

And then the rest trekked all the way up here to the plane wreck. And then they began reading,

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. . .”

THE ULTIMATE RESCUE

I’d like to show you something about that Good Shepherd.  Because he’s taken a long walk, too.  He’s made a rescue available for each one of us – no matter how badly we’ve crashed in life.

Jesus was journeying all over Galilee and Judea, talking to the broken, the wounded.  But the religious leaders of the day had objections.  How dare this supposed Rabbi, hang out with so many sinners, instead of them?!

So Jesus laid out this picture about his purpose:  

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4)

What’s more, Jesus said, when a shepherd finds that lost sheep, he celebrates!  He carries it on his shoulders back home; he calls in friends and neighbours and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.”

It’s an interesting picture.  A shepherd trekking on and on, leaving his big flock behind, just to find one lost lamb – somewhere out there.   

Well, let me tell you why Jesus Christ was that, and why Bernard O’Reilly believed that God helped him be a real rescuer.

The New Testament shows us that Jesus Christ was God who became a man.  He came down all the way from heaven to some little manger in Bethlehem.  And then, in his ministry, he trekked around, day after, day, month after month, touching those who felt crushed, broken and destroyed. And each one would feel so healed, so rescued.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, could find the lost sheep because he would take on the mistakes and sins of the world.  He would absorb every single thing that has crushed us, as he hung on the cross.  

Yes, his broken, wounded body would become a means for each one of us to get rescued from our guilt.

That’s why people all over the world have been celebrating this Good Shepherd, as the greatest rescuer.  He did trek through every conceivable obstacle, every human problem, every challenge in order to reach us – to raise up those crushed by sin and guilt.

Rescues are truly inspiring. After that plane crash back in 1927, these mountains on the Australian east coast, indeed became the site of a remarkable rescue.

And there is a hill called Golgotha, where the Good Shepherd laid down his life on a cross, where the rescue of humanity was laid out.

I invite you to respond to that shepherd, who trekked all the way to where you are! Why not decide to do that right now, as we pray?

Dear Father, thank you for Jesus going out to find the one lost lamb.  We praise you for his rescue on the cross.  And we acknowledge our need, our wounds, our brokenness.  We accept his divine forgiveness, in Jesus name.  Amen

The story of the Stinson crash and rescue near O’Reilly’s, has captured the hearts and minds of people all over Australia and the world.  Many brave things happened after the crash. There were many acts of courage and heroism during the search and rescue.

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We would like to share the ultimate rescue story with all our Incredible Journey viewers today. It’s a book called The Greatest Rescue Ever. This book shares how you can establish a close relationship with the one rescuer, Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. 

There are many lessons that can be learned from the greatest rescue in Australian aviation history – lessons that can even make a difference to our lives today.  So don’t miss this opportunity to obtain your free book, The Greatest Rescue Ever. Here’s the information you need:

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If you’ve enjoyed today’s journey to O’Reilly’s and the Lamington National Park, and our reflections on the greatest rescue ever, be sure to join us again next week when we will share another of life’s journeys together, and experience another new and thought-provoking perspective on the peace, insight, understanding and hope that only the Bible can give us.

The Incredible Journey is television that changes lives. Until next week, remember the ultimate destination of life’s journey, 

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth… and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  (Revelation 21: 1, 4)