O'Reilly is best known for the discovery of the 1937 crash site in Lamington National Park of a Stinson Model A airplane, the VH-UHH Brisbane, and the organization of rescue crews that retrieved two survivors.[3][4] Using his bushcraft and geographical knowledge, as well as inferring from the plane's filed flight plan, O'Reilly found the crash site. On the second day of his search he came upon two survivors and the wreckage of the aircraft in the extremely rugged and mountainous rainforest terrain. He then trekked 26 kilometres (16 mi) through the same difficult terrain to get help and return the next day with rescuers.[1] The rescue operation gained national headlines with reports broadcast live on the radio.[5]
At a ceremony in Sydney, O'Reilly was presented with a plaque and a cheque raised by public subscription. At the ceremony he paid tribute to the two survivors and one of the five victims, Jim Westray, who died from exposure after breaking his ankle and crawling several miles while trying to get help for the others.[6] In years afterward, O'Reilly's nephew, Peter O'Reilly, organized bush tours recreating his uncle's "remarkable feat."[7]
Published worksedit
O'Reilly wrote three books on the theme of Australia's Great Dividing Range, which lies inland from its east coast and is where he lived: Green Mountains (1940, OCLC 29705341), Cullenbenbong (1945, OCLC 12049000), and Over the Hills (1963, OCLC 34825945). The first part of Green Mountains is his own account of finding the aeroplane; the second part describes the O'Reilly family's early years in the Blue Mountains and their move to Lamington. This and Cullenbenong were the inspiration for Charles Chauvel's 1949 film Sons of Matthew.[1] In 1971 he published a collection of poems, Songs from the Hills, OCLC 220025227. The Australian philosopher David Stove has written a short appreciation of O'Reilly's life and books.[8] O'Reilly was played by Jack Thompson in the TV movie The Riddle of the Stinson (1987).
Later lifeedit
Bernard O'Reilly's headstone, St Johns Catholic Church, Kerry
Bernard O'Reilly died on 20 January 1975 at Beaudesert. He is buried at St Johns Catholic Church in Kerry.
^"Index to Stinson Plane Crash Inquest – 19 February 1937 to 22 April 1937 (JUS/N1026)". Queensland State Archives. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
^"Rescuers Racing to Stinson Plane Wreck". The Canberra Times. 2 March 1937. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
^"A Human Chapter". The Canberra Times. 4 March 1937. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
^"Bernard O'Reilly: Presentation at Town Hall". The Canberra Times. 12 March 1937. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
^"A Unique Educational Experience: The Stinson Wreck". The Age. 31 August 1981. Retrieved 8 July 2009.[dead link]
bernard, reilly, writer, alfonso, bernard, reilly, september, 1903, january, 1975, australian, writer, bushman, irish, descent, born, raised, hartley, blue, mountains, about, kilometres, north, west, sydney, later, moved, mcpherson, range, near, beaudesert, so. Alfonso Bernard O Reilly 3 September 1903 20 January 1975 was an Australian writer and bushman of Irish descent He was born and raised in Hartley in the Blue Mountains about 50 kilometres 31 mi north west of Sydney and later moved to the McPherson Range near Beaudesert in South East Queensland Australia He is part of the family that established the O Reilly s Guesthouse in the Lamington Plateau Bernard O ReillyO Reilly in 1937Born 1903 09 03 3 September 1903Hartley New South WalesDied20 January 1975 1975 01 20 aged 71 Beaudesert QueenslandNationalityAustralianOccupation s Bushman authorKnown forDiscovering plane crash siteSpouseViola Gwendoline KingChildrenRhelmaParent s Peter Luke O ReillyJane nee McAviney On 20 August 1931 Bernard O Reilly married Viola Gwendoline King in Brisbane 1 They had a daughter Rhelma 2 Contents 1 Plane crash rescue 2 Published works 3 Later life 4 References 5 External linksPlane crash rescue edit nbsp Bronze statue at O Reilly s Guesthouse depicting the rescue Main article 1937 Airlines of Australia Stinson crash O Reilly is best known for the discovery of the 1937 crash site in Lamington National Park of a Stinson Model A airplane the VH UHH Brisbane and the organization of rescue crews that retrieved two survivors 3 4 Using his bushcraft and geographical knowledge as well as inferring from the plane s filed flight plan O Reilly found the crash site On the second day of his search he came upon two survivors and the wreckage of the aircraft in the extremely rugged and mountainous rainforest terrain He then trekked 26 kilometres 16 mi through the same difficult terrain to get help and return the next day with rescuers 1 The rescue operation gained national headlines with reports broadcast live on the radio 5 At a ceremony in Sydney O Reilly was presented with a plaque and a cheque raised by public subscription At the ceremony he paid tribute to the two survivors and one of the five victims Jim Westray who died from exposure after breaking his ankle and crawling several miles while trying to get help for the others 6 In years afterward O Reilly s nephew Peter O Reilly organized bush tours recreating his uncle s remarkable feat 7 Published works editO Reilly wrote three books on the theme of Australia s Great Dividing Range which lies inland from its east coast and is where he lived Green Mountains 1940 OCLC 29705341 Cullenbenbong 1945 OCLC 12049000 and Over the Hills 1963 OCLC 34825945 The first part of Green Mountains is his own account of finding the aeroplane the second part describes the O Reilly family s early years in the Blue Mountains and their move to Lamington This and Cullenbenong were the inspiration for Charles Chauvel s 1949 film Sons of Matthew 1 In 1971 he published a collection of poems Songs from the Hills OCLC 220025227 The Australian philosopher David Stove has written a short appreciation of O Reilly s life and books 8 O Reilly was played by Jack Thompson in the TV movie The Riddle of the Stinson 1987 Later life edit nbsp Bernard O Reilly s headstone St Johns Catholic Church Kerry Bernard O Reilly died on 20 January 1975 at Beaudesert He is buried at St Johns Catholic Church in Kerry References edit a b c Carter R W 1988 O Reilly Alfonso Bernard 1903 1975 Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 11 National Centre of Biography Australian National University ISSN 1833 7538 Retrieved 1 January 2021 Green Mountains 2016 p 195 Index to Stinson Plane Crash Inquest 19 February 1937 to 22 April 1937 JUS N1026 Queensland State Archives 3 February 2009 Retrieved 8 July 2009 Rescuers Racing to Stinson Plane Wreck The Canberra Times 2 March 1937 Retrieved 8 July 2009 A Human Chapter The Canberra Times 4 March 1937 Retrieved 8 July 2009 Bernard O Reilly Presentation at Town Hall The Canberra Times 12 March 1937 Retrieved 8 July 2009 A Unique Educational Experience The Stinson Wreck The Age 31 August 1981 Retrieved 8 July 2009 dead link Stove David May 1988 A Hero Not of Our Time Quadrant Vol 32 no 5 pp 40 43 via Informit External links edit nbsp Media related to Bernard O Reilly at Wikimedia Commons Bernard O Reilly AustLit Bernard O Reilly Trove nbsp nbsp This article about an Australian writer is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bernard O 27Reilly writer amp oldid 1213663129, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
