Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2019

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THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHRISTMAS CREEK BUS ACCIDENT

Board of the Trustees, officially opened the Memorial Outdoor Education Centre. Forty years later, the Centre remains a permanent living memorial to the lives of John and Janelle Stamford, Helen Gahan and Jillian Skaines. Girls Grammar remains committed to honouring the memory of those who died, acknowledging the survivors of that day and recognising the strength and courage that followed. Last month, the School held a service at St John’s Cathedral, the same venue which those involved in this terrible accident attended the day prior. The service contained some familiar elements from the 1979 service. An intimate gathering for those very closely connected to the tragedy was also held at Imbil. The development of the Marrapatta Memorial Outdoor Education Centre in the years following the Christmas Creek bus accident would not have been possible without significant support from the Girls Grammar community. The School acknowledges and thanks the staff of the 1970s who advocated for greater outdoor and experiential learning opportunities for Grammar girls, the School’s visionary Board of Trustees, the Parents and Friends Association, the Fathers Group, Girls Grammar staff and, most importantly, the several thousand Grammar girls who have embraced Marrapatta’s unique and challenging learning environment since 1987. And, in 2019, the 40th anniversary of the Christmas Creek bus accident, the School purchased approximately 46 hectares of additional land at Imbil, signalling a renewed commitment to the importance of Outdoor Education in a Girls Grammar education and the enduring legacy of the Memorial Outdoor Education Centre.

On Friday 20 April 1979, Brisbane Girls Grammar School acknowledged Easter with a service at St John’s Cathedral. At the conclusion of the service, a group of staff and students embarked on an expedition to Christmas Creek, 50 kilometres south of Beaudesert in the foothills of the McPherson Ranges. Led by Outdoor Education Teacher, Mr John Stamford, and his wife Janelle, the group camped for the night and the following morning boarded a bus, driven by John, destined for the entry to a local walking track. Approximately five miles into the journey, the bus negotiated a left-hand curve in the road, proceeding slowly down a slight grade. The bus then moved to the edge of the roadway to avoid a spoon drain when the earth under the passenger rear wheel gave way, causing the bus to roll down a slope several times and eventually come to rest on the banks of Christmas Creek. This terrible accident of 21 April 1979 claimed the lives of Outdoor Education teacher, Mr John Stamford, his wife Mrs Janelle Stamford, and two Year 10 students, Helen Gahan and Jillian Skaines. Many other girls were hurt, some suffering serious injuries. Girls, parents, teachers and the broader community of the School were deeply and profoundly affected by the tragedy. Testament to the strength and character of Brisbane Girls Grammar School, led by Principal, Mrs Judith Hancock, and the Board of Trustees at the time, the School did not retreat from challenge and adventure for girls, but rather embraced it through the establishment of a Memorial Outdoor Education Centre at Imbil. On Sunday 9 August 1987, eight years after the Christmas Creek bus accident, Dr August S Gehrmann, Chair of the

THE SCHOOL RESPECTFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS OCCASION IN THE HISTORY OF BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

GRAMMAR GAZETTE