Participants:
Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001113A
|
00:01 Here in the McPherson ranges here in the most easterly point
00:04 in Australia 00:05 is the sight of one of the most amazing rescues in Australian 00:09 aviation history. 00:24 Plane soaring erratically and crashing. 00:27 How is it possible so many search planes had already flown 00:31 thousands of kilometers trying to spot that one crashed 00:35 aircraft. So many people searching, so many people 00:40 investigating and everyone finally giving up. There was no 00:47 chance. How could it be that one man in the dense rain forest 00:54 would make a remarkable rescue completely on his own. How could 00:57 one man heading through thick bush where almost no one ever 01:01 goes save lives. Well, you're about to find out. 01:08 ♪ ♪ 01:30 The American built Stinson plane had flown out of Brisbane, 01:37 Australia on the 01:38 17th of February 1937. It was headed towards Lismore on its 01:44 way to Sidney. A prop plane with the pilots Captain Rex Boyden 01:48 and Captain Beverly Shipet and with several passengers. 01:53 Soon it flew 01:56 into a storm and couldn't quite get around it. 02:00 It was like a cyclone in the upper air with darkening 02:04 clouds and winds bursting up to 100 km/hr. The plane was getting 02:10 forced down over the mountain ranges and thick jungle. People 02:14 on the ground could hear the noise of the engines up in the 02:17 storm clouds. It sounded like that prop plane was getting 02:23 very low and that it was in trouble. And then, it simply 02:29 disappeared. People said it was missing over the wild Hawksberry 02:33 country near Sydney. There had been no communication and no 02:38 sign of the plane at Lismore, its first stop. Well in the week 02:42 that followed this turned into the most intensive aerial search 02:47 in Australian history. Air force planes flew out going over that 02:51 flight path and nearly every civil plane on the east coast 02:57 joined in combing over that plane's course. Surely they 03:02 could find some trace of the missing plane. But no one did. 03:07 Not a hint or a trace of a crash anywhere. Finally, everyone had 03:13 to give up. But not long after that one man, Bernard O'Reilly, 03:18 was actually trekking through a dense forest, climbing up and 03:23 down mountains, compelled to search and rescue. Why would 03:29 anyone do that? Why would a single individual think he could 03:33 search for what hundreds of planes and people had proven was 03:39 impossible to find. Bernard actually lived in this forest 03:42 world on the east coast of Australia. He and his wife Viola 03:47 had a home here. They were nature enthusiasts and loved the 03:52 great outdoors. Bernard enjoyed living amongst the birds and 03:56 animals in this mountain setting He spent a lot of time in nature 04:00 and was regarded likely as a fine bushman. Planes flew close 04:08 over their house twice a day and Bernard saw them as splendid 04:13 machines, links with civilization. He would even set 04:16 his clocks by those timely flights. 04:22 (Radio) From the Australian broadcasting commission. After 04:25 eight days of searching all hope has been abandoned for the 04:28 missing Stenson airliner VHUHH. 04:31 Bernard heard about this plane crashing and was curious where 04:36 it had crashed and why it hadn't been found. Somewhere in this 04:41 man's head was the idea of Divine intervention, a 04:46 possibility. To him it seemed that if God wished to intercede 04:50 and save some men he would inspire someone to go out and do 04:55 his will. And Bernard even began to view his life out there in 05:01 the forest as a good preparation for such a job. The eighth day 05:06 after the crash he was struck by another idea. Bernard was 05:11 talking about that tragedy with his brother who'd seen the plane 05:15 fly overhead into the cloud bank holding its regular course 05:19 toward Lismore. Bernard also read newspapers theorizing about 05:24 the crash. Reporters believed the plane had made it within 15 05:29 minutes of its final destination in Sidney and the air crash 05:33 investigators believed it had flown out over to the coast and 05:38 out to sea from Brisbane to avoid the bad weather over the 05:42 mountains. But now Bernard began hearing about people in the 05:47 district who had seen the plane disappear into the clouds as it 05:51 approached the mountain ranges on its way to Lismore and then 05:55 it just struck him. That plane was lying somewhere up in the 06:00 jungle and gorges of the McPherson mountain range. But 06:05 still, would anyone go out for such a search? No, of course not 06:10 These McPherson ranges had some 80 thousands hectares of unbroken 06:16 trackless jungle. Visibility on the ground is limited to 10 06:21 meters. One man searching through that vast area, it could 06:26 take at least three lifetimes. But the next morning Bernard 06:31 managed to get a friend, Bob Stevens on the phone. He was one 06:35 of the last people to see the plane in flight as it was 06:40 buffeted by the strong winds. Bernard checked out an aerial 06:43 survey map. Now he drew a straight line from where it was 06:49 last seen to its destination Lismore. That line went across 06:55 four high mountain ranges. Well he thought if the plane crashed 07:01 it would surely be on one of those northern slopes. Now 07:07 Bernard O'Riley is preparing for a search, an amazing journey. 07:11 He packs potatoes, onions and tea. He's ready for whatever 07:18 lies ahead. Fortunately there was a riding trail to Mount 07:23 Gathongaville and Bernard was able to get the old chestnut 07:28 mare appropriately named The Great Unknown to help him get 07:33 there. Arriving at the high mountain ranges he pointed her 07:39 back toward the house and said Shoo! Now he's walking alone. 07:45 West toward the first of the four high lateral McPherson 07:50 spurs. Yes, battling his way through trees, over rocks, up 07:56 and down steep slopes. Here's the very interesting way Bernard 08:02 kept going in the right direction. Can you imagine how 08:06 in this dense jungle where you can't see very far. Well he 08:10 would walk up to a tree and check out its trunk. 08:14 He'd walk around 08:15 from the smooth side to the side covered with lichen and moss and 08:18 he knew that the mossy side was the southern side of the tree so 08:25 he could keep aiming in a certain direction. He could also 08:29 estimate his altitude. At a lower level trees were going to 08:34 seed, at 700 meters they were blooming, at 1200 meters they 08:39 were in early bud. And here's another interesting aspect of 08:44 this rescuer. How did he keep going steadily? How did he not 08:50 just give up in this thick forest? This misty world is home 08:54 to some of Australia's rarest creatures and Bernard saw them 08:59 as God's creation. Even though the going was tough, Bernard 09:03 admired the nature and kept moving forward. Now here's a big 09:12 question. Can this lone bushman ever find the crashed plane? And 09:14 more importantly even if he did would there be any survivors? 09:17 Was there a point to this search It was almost certain that every 09:25 passenger would have died in that fatal plunge into the 09:30 mountains. Well let me tell you what happened. Forced down by 09:35 winds Captain Rex Boyden knew his plane was being tossed into 09:39 the mountain. The crash inevitable, he banked his way 09:44 sharply to the left. That desperate act saved the lives of 09:49 three men on the left side. Two big trees were chopped off by 09:55 the impact and then the machine hit squarely on a big tree. It 10:00 was a fatal crash. Two pilots killed and two passengers on the 10:06 right side. But three other men managed to crawl out of that 10:11 wreck. As the plane turned into a furnace, John Proud, a wool 10:16 broker in Sydney smashed a window and dropped through to 10:21 the ground. Though his leg had a fracture he desperately assisted 10:26 another man, Joe Binstead, through a narrow opening. Then 10:30 Binstead helped an Englishman Jim Westray out. His hands were 10:35 badly burned. Dragging themselves away the three 10:40 watched the wreck burn fiercely for many hours. They had 10:45 survived, But now, they wondered would they perish here through 10:51 exposure, starvation and despair Soon Binstead saw Proud smashed 10:56 leg. He helped wipe that blood away. Then he managed to 11:00 pull out from the plane some broken wing fabric that had 11:05 survived the fire. He wrapped it around that broken leg to give 11:12 it a chance to heal. And now we come to another rescuer with an 11:17 unexpected ending. It was one of the survivors, the Englishman 11:23 Jim Westray. The next morning he decided to walk out and try to 11:29 find some help. But sadly while clambering down rocks beside a 11:35 waterfall he would take a fatal fall and not be able to recover. 11:40 Binstead had decided to remain with John Proud who had a broken 11:44 leg. He would do everything possible to keep him alive. He 11:51 soon realized this injured man desperately needed water. He had 11:56 to climb down the mountain some 300 meters over rocks and 11:59 twisted vines to a small stream but with great effort he managed 12:05 to bring water back. In the days that followed Binstead would 12:10 have to return to the stream again and again. Eventually he 12:16 would actually crawl most of the way almost completely exhausted. 12:20 But he still kept providing water and even managed to 12:25 collect a few berries to sustain Proud. So that's the answer. Yes 12:34 there were survivors of that plane crash. There were men 12:37 desperately waiting and in need of help. But would Bernard be 12:42 able to get there in time? Climbing out of the gorge he 12:48 made his way up to Mount Trope. This was the first of the four 12:53 lateral ranges. Heavy white clouds enveloped the mountain 12:58 top. Now he could see the three remaining ranges. But what a 13:03 vast stretch of forest. How could anyone find anything out 13:09 here? It seemed hopeless. Suddenly Bernard saw something 13:14 that caught his attention. It was about 13 km away on the 13:20 third range of Lamington Plateau Just where it rose sharply there 13:25 was a striking scorched brown treetop against the rich green 13:31 forest. Now Bernard just had to investigate. He couldn't ignore 13:36 what he had seen. He struggled on, farther and farther, for 13:42 eight hours toward that burnt tree. Finally he got to the top 13:47 of the range to get a good look across to the burnt area. But 13:52 now clouds covered everything and there was no way to see. So 13:56 Bernard had to just walk through to the third range of the 14:00 Lamington Plateau. He hoped he'd held a straight course. He hoped 14:05 he was getting closer to that dead tree. Now he decided to 14:10 call out. But first he had to wait until he caught his breath. 14:15 Then he yelled. His voice echoed sharply across the gorge. 14:21 And then, can you believe it? A response. Someone called back. 14:27 Yes, a real human voice. It seemed clear and close, 200 14:33 hundred meters down the slope to the left. He had made contact 14:39 Bernard called back and then rushed down. Now a second voice 14:44 was calling back too. They guided him toward them through 14:49 the thickly meshed forest. He came to a gap in the treetops. 14:55 Yes, trees blackened by fire and there it was, a place of horror 15:00 and death, a pile of smashed and charred metal. Two voices called 15:07 out to him from below the wreck. He spotted Proud first, his eyes 15:12 sunken in almost like a corpse. He'd been lying for 10 days on 15:18 wet ground with a broken leg that was not green, swelling and 15:23 maggoty. Then he saw Binstead. This man tried to shake his 15:28 hands even though they were torn and raw from his painful trips 15:33 go the stream. Bernard learned about the crash, their struggles 15:39 and their survival. In his mind he was anxious. Would he be able 15:45 to save these men? They were badly injured, weak and failing 15:51 fast. Bernard first heated up some tea for them. Then he gave 15:56 them his warm clothing and left them his supplies. He 16:01 looked at Proud and realized that he just had to get medical 16:05 help within 24 hours. He promised, I'll bring back a 16:11 doctor and a hundred men. But what would be the quickest way 16:16 down the mountain to get help. Yes, the gorge below, the south 16:20 branch of Christmas Creek and the first clearing where people 16:26 should be found was still 15 km away. It was down cliffs, over 16:32 loose rock, through perpendicular slopes of chunky 16:35 earth. Then a waterfall blocked progress. Bernard just had to 16:40 find a way to get help. And then he spotted the young Englishman. 16:45 Sitting with his back against a big boulder. Hey there Bernard 16:51 shouted. Westray didn't answer or move. Bernard came up to him 16:56 and saw sadly he was dead. He'd been bathing his smashed ankle 17:02 in the torrent beside him, his face scarred too. He had taken 17:05 a big fall down these cliffs and just didn't make it. Bernard had 17:15 to keep running frantically racing to reach help. He splashed 17:20 over a streambed, fell against rocks, jarred, but kept telling 17:26 himself hurry, Proud is dying. And he believe God would give 17:32 him enough strength to make it. Finally he stumbled into an open 17:38 flat, a timber track and he heard the crack of a rifle. Hey, 17:44 he yelled. A young man yelled back cheerfully. I found that 17:49 missing plane, he gasped, and there are two men still alive. 17:55 The two men quickly rode down on horses to civilization where 18:00 Bernard could phone for help. A man named Bob Stevens helped 18:04 him make plans into the middle of the night and a woman began 18:09 phoning for volunteers. How were they going to rescue those two 18:13 men, two broken men, in that inaccessible jungle and how 18:18 could they make it happen quickly? Here's another striking 18:22 aspect of this rescue. Beginning at dawn hundreds of volunteers 18:27 actually cut away branches and undergrowth to make an open 18:31 track through that thick mountainous forest. With 18:37 urgency they cut a track through the rain forest with brush hooks 18:41 and axes working so that people could carry the two survivors 18:45 back on stretchers in time. Bernard O'Reilly would lead 18:51 another group directly up the steep slope to the wreck. A 18:56 physician, Dr. Lawler, trekked with him and also some men 19:00 bringing medical supplies, nourishment and waterproof 19:03 covering. Heavy drenching rain slowed them down. This was to be 19:10 an arduous journey that took over eight hours. Now you'd 19:16 never guess what Bernard remembered about those two 19:18 survivors as he and his party pushed on through obstacles. 19:23 He recalled what struck him when he found them wounded by the 19:28 crash. They could still joke, they still had a sense of humor. 19:34 Yes as he helped them they managed to get a little humor 19:39 out and this is what Bernard would tell himself. God forgive 19:44 me if I ever complain again. The vision of those two suffering 19:50 men lying there was fixed in his mind. Then Dr. Lawler and the 19:55 rest arrived. He would heat up some water and straighten out 20:02 Proud's broken leg. Yes, Proud's life and limb will be saved. 20:08 Well the other volunteers accompanying Bernard swiftly 20:12 cut a track up the steep slope on top of the plateau and there 20:16 the two survivors were placed in a tent-like shelter. Now they 20:21 could sleep well with the aid of medication and sedatives. It 20:25 was a tough night for the volunteers with pouring rain and 20:30 no way to keep warm, no dry clothes. But they stayed on and 20:35 formed stretchers lashing cross pieces with clothesline rope. 20:40 And off they went carried by men on that trek cut through the 20:44 vines and bushes. It seemed almost like a tunnel now through 20:49 the forest that they could go steadily, quickly without falls 20:54 or interruptions. Bernard kept a careful watch over the two 20:59 injured men. A few others walked ahead with brush hooks slashing 21:04 loose vines and spikes just in case anything might still trip 21:10 someone. Soon they made it to real transportation. Eleven 21:15 hours after that start at dawn Proud and Binstead were placed 21:21 in ambulances. The big rescue venture was accomplished. What a 21:26 remarkable rescue. One man, Bernard O'Reilly, trekking out to 21:32 do what hundreds of rescuers, scores of searching planes had 21:40 given up on. Quite memorable, quite a fete. In fact 50 years 21:46 after that event the relatives of some of those involved would 21:52 come here again. They wanted to honor that rescue. Some dropped 21:57 a wreath over the crash site. And then the rest trekked all the 22:03 way up here to the plane wreck. And then they began reading: 22:10 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 22:11 I'd like to show you something about that Good Shepherd because 22:16 he's taken a long walk too. He's made a rescue available for each 22:20 one of us no matter how badly we've crashed in life. Jesus was 22:26 journeying all over Galilee and Judea talking to the broken the 22:32 wounded. But the religious leaders of the day had objection 22:36 How dare this supposed rabbi hang out with so many sinners 22:40 instead of them? So Jesus laid out this picture about his 22:45 purpose: 22:57 What's more, Jesus said, when the shepherd finds that lost 23:02 sheep he celebrates. He carries it on his shoulders back home, 23:07 he calls in friends and neighbors and says, rejoice with 23:11 me I have found my lost sheep. It's an interesting picture. A 23:16 shepherd trekking on and on leaving his big flock behind 23:20 just to find one lost lamb somewhere out there. Well let me 23:26 tell you why Jesus Christ was that and why Bernard O'Reilly 23:31 believed that God helped him be a real rescuer. The New 23:35 Testament shows us that Jesus Christ was God who became a man. 23:40 He came down all the way from heaven to some little manger in 23:46 Bethlehem and then in his ministry he trekked around day 23:51 after day, month after month touching those who felt crushed, 23:55 broken and destroyed. And each one would feel so healed, so 24:02 rescued. Jesus the Good Shepherd could find the lost sheep 24:08 because he would take on the mistakes and sins of the world. 24:11 He would absorb every single thing that has crushed us as he 24:15 hung on the cross. Yes his broken, wounded body would 24:21 become a means for each one of us to get rescued from our guilt 24:26 That's why people all over the world have been celebrating this 24:32 good shepherd as the greatest rescuer. He did trek through 24:36 every conceivable obstacle, every human problem, every 24:40 challenge in order to reach us, to raise up those crushed by sin 24:47 and guilt. Rescues are truly inspiring. After that plane 24:53 crash back in 1937 these mountains on the Australian east 24:58 coast indeed became the sight of a remarkable rescue. And there 25:05 was a hill called Golgotha where the good shepherd laid down his 25:10 life on the cross where the rescue of humanity was laid out. 25:14 I invite you to respond to that shepherd who trekked all the way 25:19 to where you are. Why not decide to do that right now as 25:24 we pray. Dear Father, thank you for Jesus 25:30 going out to find one lost lamb. We praise you for his rescue on 25:35 cross and we acknowledge our need our wounds, our brokenness. 25:41 We accept his divine forgiveness In Jesus' name, Amen. 25:49 The story of the Stinson crash and rescue near O'Reillys has 25:56 captured the hearts and minds of people all over Australia and 25:59 the world. Many brave things occurred after the crash. There 26:03 were many acts of courage and heroism during the search and 26:07 rescue. We would like to share the ultimate rescue story with 26:11 all our Incredible Journey viewers today. It's a book 26:14 called The Greatest Rescue Ever. This book shares how you can 26:20 establish a close relationship with the one rescuer, Jesus 26:24 Christ the good shepherd. There are many lessons that can be 26:27 learned from the greatest rescue in Australian aviation 26:31 history. Lessons that can even make a difference to our lives 26:35 today. So don't miss this opportunity to obtain your free 26:39 book The Greatest Rescue Ever. Here's the information you need: 26:45 Phone us now on 0481315101 or text us on 0491222999 or visit 26:58 our website at theincrediblejourney.tv 27:02 to request today's free offer. So don't delay. Contact us right 27:11 now. If you've enjoyed today's journey to O'Reilly's to the 27:14 Lamington National Park and our reflections on the greatest 27:18 rescue ever be sure to join us again next week when we will 27:22 share another of life's journeys together and experience another 27:26 new thought provoking perspective on the peace, 27:29 insight, 27:30 understanding and hope that only the Bible can give us. The 27:35 Incredible Journey truly is television that changes lives. 27:39 Until next week remember the ultimate destination of life's 27:46 journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And God will 27:50 wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more 27:55 death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for 28:00 the former things have passed away. 28:04 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-09-17