Objects of Substance- Christmas Creek Memorial Garden

passenger’s side outside the rear wheel gave way causing the bus to leave the roadway, roll over a down hill slope several times and ultimately come to rest on the banks of Christmas Creek approximately 150 feet [approximately 45m] from the roadway. No blame was apportioned, and the accident was ruled as an act of God .”(Unpublished text by Alan Dale p1) Staff member, John Stamford, and his wife, Janelle, and two Year 10 students, Helen Gahan and Jillian Staines, were killed instantly, while dazed and injured girls were scattered down the hillside. The impact this loss of life and injury had on the families of the students and adults involved, the Principal, the School Trustees and staff, and the general School community was dreadful. Individual recovery was prolonged and painful; however, resilience and strength emerged as tangible outcomes. The relatively newly-established Fathers Group, under the leadership of Mr Patrick Hickey, responded immediately with a meeting the following week and submitted a letter to the Trustees with their thoughts about a way forward. Included in this correspondence were suggestions of memorial scholarships or bursaries, memorial prizes, a drinking fountain, the purchase of land for use as a dedicated camp or field station, and a memorial garden – “a dedicated quiet area with shade, garden, and seating.” The Trustees had a range of possibilities to consider in the wake of this tragedy and what the next step should be. Therefore, the Fathers Group decided, as an initial project, to focus on establishing a memorial garden on the Spring Hill campus. The fathers designed and landscaped the area on the terraces near the heart of the School. Sadly, detailed minutes from the Fathers’ Group are rare and so the architect of the area and the source of the stone is not clear. Conflicting views include the stone was sourced from Christmas Creek and the Keperra quarry. However, the important outcome, that of a beautiful stone standing solid and elegantly on the Grammar terrace, resulted under the watchful eye of Fathers’ Group chair, Pat Hickey.

The stone placement on terraces July 1979