Rewan air crash

Last updated

The Rewan air crash occurred on 16 November 1943 when a Dakota C-47 of the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron of the 374th Troop Carrier Group crashed at Rewan, Queensland, south of Rolleston, Queensland, killing all 19 people on board. [1]

Those killed consisted of fourteen military personnel from the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force, and five personnel from the United States Army Air Corps. [1]

The aircraft was en route from Darwin to Brisbane, having already completed scheduled stops in Daly Waters and Cloncurry. [1] [2] [3]

It's believed the aircraft encountered a violent electrical storm south of Rolleston which caused it disintegrate and crash on Rewan Station. [1] The wreckage was discovered on 18 November 1943. [2]

The bodies recovered from the wreckage were initially taken to Springsure before being transported to Rockhampton. [2] The bodies of the Americans were then taken to Ipswich where they were buried, before being returned to the United States. [2] The bodies of the Australians were buried in the Rockhampton War Cemetery at the North Rockhampton Cemetery on 25 November 1943. [2] [4]

A memorial, which consists of the aircraft's engines, wings and undercarriage, was erected near the crash site in 2004. [1] It was dedicated at a special ceremony on 26 April 2004. [1] [5]

Due to wartime censorship, there was no press coverage of the Rewan disaster at the time, which was similar to what occurred following the Canal Creek air crash north of Rockhampton and the Bakers Creek air crash near Mackay. There was only a fleeting mention of both the Rewan and Canal Creek disasters in Rockhampton's local newspaper The Morning Bulletin in September 1945 at the conclusion of World War II, almost two years after the disasters. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolleston, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Rolleston is a rural town and locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Rolleston had a population of 309 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dawson Highway</span>

The Dawson Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia. It runs for 405 kilometres (252 mi) between Gladstone and Springsure where it terminates. From Gladstone to Rolleston it is signed as State Route 60, and then A7 onwards to Springsure. It continues west for another 247 kilometres (153 mi) as Dawson Developmental Road to Tambo on the Landsborough Highway. North of Springsure, A7 becomes the Gregory Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springsure</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Springsure is a town and a locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 66 kilometres (41 mi) south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is the southern terminus of the Gregory Highway and the northern terminus of the Dawson Highway. It is 765 kilometres (475 mi) northwest of Brisbane. At the 2021 census, Springsure had a population of 950 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538</span> 1960 aviation accident

On 10 June 1960, a Fokker Friendship passenger aircraft operated by Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) was on approach at night to land at Mackay, Queensland, Australia when it crashed into the sea. All 29 people on board Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538 were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 38 Squadron RAAF</span> Royal Australian Air Force unit

No. 38 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport and training unit active between 1943 and 2018. It was formed on 15 September 1943 and saw service during World War II transporting supplies and personnel between Australia and the combat zones in New Guinea and Borneo, using Douglas Dakota aircraft. Following the war, the squadron conducted regular courier flights between Australia and Japan in 1947 and 1948. No. 38 Squadron was deployed to Singapore from 1950 to 1952, supplying Commonwealth forces engaged in the Malayan Emergency and undertaking courier flights across Asia. In 1954 it became responsible for training RAAF personnel to operate Dakotas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockhampton Airport</span> Airport

Rockhampton Airport is a major Australian regional airport in West Rockhampton that services the city of Rockhampton, with direct flights to the cities of Brisbane, and Mackay. Flights have previously operated to Sydney and Melbourne but were cancelled due to lack of passenger numbers. The airport runway has the capability to handle aircraft such as the A380, 747, & 777 types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire of Bauhinia</span> Local government area in Queensland, Australia

The Shire of Bauhinia was a local government area in Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia. The Shire, administered from the town of Springsure, covered an area of 23,649.6 square kilometres (9,131.2 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the Shires of Duaringa, Emerald and Peak Downs to form the Central Highlands Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Fulbeck</span> Airport in Lincolnshire, England

Royal Air Force Fulbeck or more simply RAF Fulbeck is a former Royal Air Force station located 6.3 miles (10.1 km) east of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire and 10.9 miles (17.5 km) west of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Spanhoe</span> Former Royal Air Force station in Northamptonshire, England

Royal Air Force Spanhoe or more simply RAF Spanhoe is a former Royal Air Force station near Uppingham in Northamptonshire, England. The airfield is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Uppingham; about 80 miles (130 km) north-northwest of London

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakers Creek air crash</span>

The Bakers Creek air crash was an aviation disaster which occurred on 14 June 1943, when a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft crashed at Bakers Creek, Queensland, Australia. The aircraft took off from Mackay and crashed approximately 8 km south of the airfield. Forty military service personnel on board were killed; one person survived the crash. The crash is Australia's deadliest aviation disaster by death toll and was the deadliest accident involving a transport aircraft in the south-western Pacific during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Mollison</span> Australian rules footballer

Crawford Derek Mollison was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He died while serving in the Second AIF when an aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed at Canal Creek, near Yaamba, Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landing at Nadzab</span> WWII airborne landing of 1943

The Landing at Nadzab was an airborne landing on 5 September 1943 during the New Guinea campaign of World War II in conjunction with the landing at Lae. The Nadzab action began with a parachute drop at Lae Nadzab Airport, combined with an overland force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Wheeler</span>

Annie Margaret Wheeler was an Australian volunteer welfare worker who assisted soldiers from Central Queensland during World War I. She maintained a detailed card index of all soldiers from Central Queensland so that mail and parcels from their families could reach them and she provided practical and financial assistance to soldiers who were wounded, on leave in England or needing assistance with the army's bureaucracy. She was nicknamed "Mother of the Queenslanders" and "Mother of Anzacs".

Canal Creek is a rural locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Canal Creek had a population of 8 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canal Creek air crash</span>

The Canal Creek air crash occurred on 19 December 1943 when a C-47 aircraft of the 22d Troop Carrier Squadron 374th Troop Carrier Group crashed at Canal Creek, Queensland, fifty kilometres north of Rockhampton, killing all 31 people on board.

Rewan is a rural locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Rewan had a population of 22 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 Marlborough helicopter crash</span> Fatal helicopter accident in Australia

On 24 July 2000, a Bell Helicopter Company 206L-3 LongRanger rescue helicopter, owned by Grant Kenny Ocean Helicopters and leased by the Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service, crashed at Marlborough, Queensland, killing all five people on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rewan Police Horse Breeding Station</span> Horse stud farm in Queensland

Rewan Police Horse Breeding Station is a heritage-listed former horse stud farm at Rewan Road, Rewan, Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1911 by Queensland Police Service. It is also known as Rewan Police Horse Stud, Rewan Remount Breeding Station, and Rewan Station. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 May 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Roffey</span> Australian aviator

Frederick Victor Roffey was an Australian aviator, best known for being the first person to fly from New Caledonia to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Rockhampton Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Queensland, Australia

The North Rockhampton Cemetery is a cemetery in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, which was established in 1879.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dakota C-47 Air Crash Memorial, Monuments Australia website. Accessed 28 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Crash of a C-47A Dakota on Rewan Station south of Springsure, Oz at War website. Accessed 28 August 2019.
  3. ↑ Plane, Melanie (7 August 2017) Six deadly military aircraft crashes in Queensland history, The Morning Bulletin . Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  4. ↑ (31 July 2019) North Rockhampton Burial Index (PDF), Rockhampton Regional Council. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  5. ↑ (23 April 2004) Memorial to honour war crash victims, ABC News . Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  6. ↑ (21 September 1945) Recreation and social side of US Army's stay, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 28 August 2019.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.