At 10am on July 13, 1916, four year old Nicholas Frousheger wandered away from his home about three miles south of Charleville. Nicholas showed most extraordinary stamina for a child of tender years and by July 17 he had walked about 60 miles with police officers, trackers and towns people on his trail. He wandered eastwards through mulga country, over several rabbit proof and railway fences, and also waked through the Authoringa bore drain. It was reported in the media that “the police, and a large party of civilians are trying hard to overtake him, but it is difficult owing to the stony ridges and the light imprint left by the little one. The incident has aroused intense in interest in the district …60 horse men are in pursuit, scouting in all directions. Sub-inspector King is also on the trail”.
Queensland Police Museum Image No PM0624.
Nicolas was found sitting on an ant nest, on Sunday July 17, after 5 days of wandering over nearly 60 miles. He had been without food or water for 120 hours; his legs were swollen and he had been bitten by ants but was otherwise in pretty good condition considering the ordeal. It was reported that “when the searching party secured him, his legs gave way under him and he had to be taken to Alice Downs out-station and put into a tub of warm water to get the clothes off him”.
Nicholas Frousheger spent a week in the Charleville hospital suffering from hunger, dehydration, an upset stomach from eating grass, diarrhoea and ant bites. When he was discharged he was met at the police station by a large crowd of residents. Constables Charles Cott and James Holley, along with the Akers brothers, were commended for their tracking ability in locating the boy.
This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.
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“FROM the VAULT: Lost & Found 1916” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode