between Stanley and Hills End. Their location is not known nor are any details of their condition to hand. Early reports indicated that the rescue party was being hampered by landslides, washaways, flooded streams and fallen timber, and was proceeding on foot at only a few hundred yards an hour.
âA Lincoln bomber of the RAAF surveyed the area this morning and a message received a short time ago stated that no trace of human survival had been seen along the road. Dense timber made detailed observation impossible except in the vicinity of the township of Hills End. Most of the weatherboard dwellings and buildings appeared to be damaged and all were deserted. The only life observed was several roaming dogs and a crazed bull, which took fright at the approach of the aircraft.
âA mystery centres on the mill-hands certain to have been left on duty in the township early yesterday when the rest of the population began the journey to the annual Picnic Race Meeting at Stanleyâcancelled, this year, for the first time on record. Of these men remaining on duty, probably two or three in number, no trace has been found. No signals were observed. No bodies were seen. Gravest fears are held for the safety of all persons concerned. The search is continuing.
âA RAAF spokesman commented that no landing facilities for aircraft are available in or remotely near Hills End and that the landing strip at Stanley is under two feet of water. He added that helicopter operations are at present unlikely, the urgent airlift of the native population of Valdi Island, threatened by volcanic eruption, having drawn all serviceable helicopters to northern New Guinea.
âAn announcement from Canberra, just received, states that the Commonwealth Government has voted £100,000 for immediate relief in the distressed area.â
Â
The children wriggled down the face of the bluff as carefully as they had climbed it those many hours before. It wasnât difficult. They were agile and they were young. What was a test of courage for Miss Godwin was all in the dayâs play for children.
They were frightened, but not of the bluff. Even the torrent foaming across the rock pan had lost its terrors, because their thoughts were reaching out beyond it. It was the unknown that was frightening them now, not the physical dangers before them. A heavy weight seemed to be inside them. They couldnât smile any more or relieve their worries by chattering about other things. Even Harvey couldnât summon his cheeky grin, and little boys like Harvey are not easily squashed. If the aeroplane had not come they might have invented a reason for the things that puzzled them, but not one was too young to understand now. The aeroplane would not have come if everything had been all right.
The fear was, âIf we really and truly are alone, for ever and ever, what shall we do? What will become of us? Where shall we go?â
They crossed the rock pan without harm, sometimes following Adrian, sometimes following Paul, sometimes Frances, or hand in hand through the more perilous and faster-flowing waters. They battled across like little Britons, but they came through safely because the rock pan had ceased to frighten them. They were given the opportunity to learn that fear, not danger, was their greatest enemy. If they had been more awake to the present they might have realized that courage was more than a virtueâthey might have seen that courage was common sense. Perhaps they were too young. Perhaps they were too miserable to learn anything.
They struggled into the forest, not knowing that the crossing of the rock pan was something to be proud of. Their spirits were low. Four and a half miles of steamy, sticky, and tangled forest stretched ahead of them. When they had come the day before they had followed the path that had been tramped by erring children for ten years. This afternoon it was there in part only, in places washed away, in places
âA Lincoln bomber of the RAAF surveyed the area this morning and a message received a short time ago stated that no trace of human survival had been seen along the road. Dense timber made detailed observation impossible except in the vicinity of the township of Hills End. Most of the weatherboard dwellings and buildings appeared to be damaged and all were deserted. The only life observed was several roaming dogs and a crazed bull, which took fright at the approach of the aircraft.
âA mystery centres on the mill-hands certain to have been left on duty in the township early yesterday when the rest of the population began the journey to the annual Picnic Race Meeting at Stanleyâcancelled, this year, for the first time on record. Of these men remaining on duty, probably two or three in number, no trace has been found. No signals were observed. No bodies were seen. Gravest fears are held for the safety of all persons concerned. The search is continuing.
âA RAAF spokesman commented that no landing facilities for aircraft are available in or remotely near Hills End and that the landing strip at Stanley is under two feet of water. He added that helicopter operations are at present unlikely, the urgent airlift of the native population of Valdi Island, threatened by volcanic eruption, having drawn all serviceable helicopters to northern New Guinea.
âAn announcement from Canberra, just received, states that the Commonwealth Government has voted £100,000 for immediate relief in the distressed area.â
Â
The children wriggled down the face of the bluff as carefully as they had climbed it those many hours before. It wasnât difficult. They were agile and they were young. What was a test of courage for Miss Godwin was all in the dayâs play for children.
They were frightened, but not of the bluff. Even the torrent foaming across the rock pan had lost its terrors, because their thoughts were reaching out beyond it. It was the unknown that was frightening them now, not the physical dangers before them. A heavy weight seemed to be inside them. They couldnât smile any more or relieve their worries by chattering about other things. Even Harvey couldnât summon his cheeky grin, and little boys like Harvey are not easily squashed. If the aeroplane had not come they might have invented a reason for the things that puzzled them, but not one was too young to understand now. The aeroplane would not have come if everything had been all right.
The fear was, âIf we really and truly are alone, for ever and ever, what shall we do? What will become of us? Where shall we go?â
They crossed the rock pan without harm, sometimes following Adrian, sometimes following Paul, sometimes Frances, or hand in hand through the more perilous and faster-flowing waters. They battled across like little Britons, but they came through safely because the rock pan had ceased to frighten them. They were given the opportunity to learn that fear, not danger, was their greatest enemy. If they had been more awake to the present they might have realized that courage was more than a virtueâthey might have seen that courage was common sense. Perhaps they were too young. Perhaps they were too miserable to learn anything.
They struggled into the forest, not knowing that the crossing of the rock pan was something to be proud of. Their spirits were low. Four and a half miles of steamy, sticky, and tangled forest stretched ahead of them. When they had come the day before they had followed the path that had been tramped by erring children for ten years. This afternoon it was there in part only, in places washed away, in places
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