After discovering the Stinson survivors, Bernard O’Reilly made his way down Christmas Creek, finding J K Westray’s body along the way and finally arriving at John Buchanan’s house to announce his discovery.
A telephone call was made to the authorities then the party line ran hot with discussion from local farmers and residents.
Within five minutes a plan of action had been reached. John Buchanan, a man who had cut his living from the virgin bush and whose knowledge of the Lamington Plateau was surpassed by no other, would lead a party to cut a track to the survivors. The Hillview postmistress, Gracie Silcock, spent the night telephoning everyone in the community and by dawn a party of more than thirty set off up the Neglected Mountain saddle to cut a track up a ridge towards the border and the survivors.
Charles “The Hermit of Lamington” Burgess scouted the trail and John Buchanan’s team worked feverishly cutting and slashing their way through the jungle. Just after dark Sid Smith burst out of the jungle at the camp where Dr Lawler attended the injured Proud and exhausted Binstead. The party including the Gibson brothers spent a cold damp night in torrid conditions with little sleep huddled around a smouldering campfire. Finally dawn arrived and after a refreshing brew of billy tea the men hoisted Proud and Binstead onto stretchers created from sturdy saplings threaded through corn sacks.
Meanwhile an army of men had assembled ready to assist in carrying the survivors out and a canteen had been established at what is now known as Stinson Park with provisions generously supplied by Beaudesert storekeepers. Newspaper reporters and photographers, Movie newsreel men, radio announcers and of course ambulances and authorities had also gathered at Stinson Park and anxiously awaited the arrival of the stretcher bearers.
John Rosser took charge of Proud’s stretcher and barked a vigilance of commands to the bearers to raise and lower to keep the stretcher as level as possible and relieve any pressure on the injured man’s leg. As one man faltered another would quickly rush in to take his place and at one point a stout rope was put around the whole group of bearers and anchored to another group to steady them down some of the steeper sections. Slowly and resolutely the bearers made it down the last long slope and eleven hours after leaving the wreck and less than two days since the men commenced cutting the track, Binstead and Proud were placed in the ambulances and whisked away to recovery.
(Ref: “Green Mountains” by Bernard O’Reilly)
The best way to find the Stretcher Bearer’s cache is to do an overnight hike traversing the Stretcher Track starting from Neglected Mountain and spending the night at either Pt Lookout or Stinson bush camps then descending via the “tourist route” back to Christmas Creek. The waypoints and clues have been set for travel in this direction.
NB: This cache is designed for experienced bushwalkers with good fitness levels and should not be attempted alone. Sufficient water for two days and emergency/survival gear including a PLB must be carried.
To find the final: Take the three decimals of the South co-ords of the waypoints taken at each location and round them to the nearest multiple of 5 (eg .264 would equal 265 or .268 would equal 270). Do the same with the East decimals. Now add the three new South decimals, divide by 2 and subtract 48 (this is abc). Add the three new east co-ords and divide by 2 then subtract 56 (this is def). The cache is at S28 17.abc E153 02.def