Easter 1955 – Air Crash on Mt Superbus – Part 2

Disaster Victim Identification THEN AND NOW

After spending the night on the summit of Mount Superbus in the Main Range National Park new the border of New South Wales, Inspector Currey who ‘steadfastly refused to be relieved of his vigil guarding the deceased,’ (Brisbane Bushwalkers, 1955: Hayes, 1955) would have welcomed the arrival of Squadron Leader Brackenridge, Warrant Officer Stirzker and John Marsh from the Brisbane Bushwalkers Club, at 6.30 am. They were followed shortly by another party of police and RAAF personnel who joined the search for the victims’ remains. By mid-morning they had determined that they’d identified all six… but had they?

No 10 Maritime Squadron’s Senior Medical Officer, Wing Commander John Craig arrived by late morning. After an inspection, he stated that he was not satisfied that all remains had been recovered. He contended that the bodies of Sister Mafalda Gray and baby Huxley were missing.  A further search by Police and RAAF personnel recovered more remains, but the Senior Medical Officer finally concluded that missing body parts may have been incinerated… though Inspector Currey continued ‘lifting and shifting portions of the aircraft in a search for more human remains.’ (Brackenridge, 1955; Craig 1955; Hearnden, 1955, Cheney, 1955, Williamson, 1955, RAAF Message, 1955)

The Inspector’s efforts to locate further remains ended that Easter Sunday afternoon when the search was terminated. The recovered remains were moved from the mountain by 6 Police, 15 RAAF personnel, 13 bushwalkers and 3 locals. They were then transported to Warwick Police Station for medical examination and dentification.

8 days later… a sightseer overturned a metal container at the crash site. After moving a badly charred blue blanket, he was confronted with human remains – tiny rib bones, a portion of stomach and a baby’s napkin. Police at Yan Gan were notified immediately –     the baby had been found. We cannot imagine the distress this caused grieving parents, Cecil and Dorothy Huxley.

When recalled by the Court of Enquiry on 25 April 1955 to give further evidence after the discovery of the baby, Wing Commander Craig was asked if there might be other human remains at the crash site. He stated, ‘it was possible the head and some limbs that were not recovered with four of the bodies may still be amongst the wreckage – if they had not been completely incinerated’. (Craig, 1955)

Disaster Victim Identification THEN

Government Medical Officer, Dr Rowe Clyde Dent, together with the Police and the Coroner, were responsible for identifying the civilians, whilst the RAAF Senior Medical Officer, Wing Commander John Craig, was responsible for identifying the military personnel.

In 1955, victim identification was based on known physical characteristics of the deceased, as well as identifying their property including clothing and jewellery, and other circumstantial evidence. In the case of the crash on Mount Superbus, the location in which the victims’ remains were found was a key to their identification.

Dr Dent examined remains that were recovered from the nose of the plane – where Nursing Sister Mafalda Gray was seated with the baby. They included the left hand and forearm of a woman. One fingernail remained unscorched, painted a highly polished pink. A small portion of clothing was found and an incinerated trunk of female proportion. Dr Dent was satisfied that these were the remains Mafalda Stanis Gray and issued a Post-Mortem Certificate. Positive DNA Identification was not available in 1955.

Disaster Victim Identification NOW                                             

In 1981 Queensland Police Service formed a specialist Disaster Victim Identification Squad (DVIS). The ever-evolving forensic science of DNA profiling is a meticulous process and the most reliable and efficient means to identify bodies or separated body parts.

‘The primary role of the Disaster Victim Identification Squad (DVIS) is to remove and identify the remains of deceased victims of major incidents, accidents, air disasters and natural disasters. There may also be instances where the services of the DVIS may be used to assist investigating police in relation to homicides, suicides, traffic crashes, skeletal recovery and other situations where identification difficulties may arise in relation to one or more deceased victims.’

Bali Bombing 20 years on

It’s 20 years since a team from the Queensland Police Service Disaster Victim Identification Squad attended the aftermath of the Bali bombings. The attack involved the detonation of three bombs – two in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian Island of Bali, and another smaller device outside the US Consulate in Denpasar.

A suicide bomber carried a backpack-mounted device into Paddy’s Pub, Kuta, at 11.05 p.m. on October 12, 2002, then detonated it. Patrons, both injured and uninjured, fled into the streets. Twenty seconds later, a large car bomb was detonated outside the Sari Club opposite – causing a one-metre-deep crater and destroying nearby buildings and shattering windows several blocks away.

The attack killed 202 people – 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons and another 53 people of various nationalities, of whom two were of unknown origin. Another 209 were injured, many of whom sustained life-changing, critical injuries.

Australia deployed an immediate response to Bali led by Senior Sergeant Ken Rach, now retired, a veteran of the Queensland Police Service Disaster Victim Identification Squad since 1981. He was appointed as the fulltime State DVI Coordinator in 2001, the only Police Officer in Australia at the time who had a fulltime role in disaster victim identification.

Senior Sergeant Rach and his team played a major role in the development of the international DVI response. Within hours of their arrival, they coordinated both the post mortem and mortuary phase. He travelled to Bali on four occasions for a total of 58 days deployment. Senior Sergeant Kenneth Reginald Rach was awarded the Order of Australia in 2005 and Australian Police Medal in 2013 for outstanding dedication and commitment to the Queensland Police Service, particularly in the specialist area of Disaster Victim Identification.

It was a learning experience,’ Senior Sergeant Rach said at the time. “Obviously it was very, very sad but it was a good experience to know we could do the work away from the comforts of home and away from the technology we usually have to assist us.

He also stated on behalf of his team… “It showed, as far as DVI is concerned, that compared with the rest of the world we rate very, very highly.”

The coordinated effort of the global DVI community significantly speeds up the recovery and identification of disaster victims – helping families to heal and communities to rebuild.

The Queensland Police Service Disaster Victim Identification squad motto translates to – ‘with dignity and respect’ and their logo is the Phoenix. ‘It symbolises rising from the ashes and re-creation, which is in effect what we do,’ Senior Sergeant Ken Rach said on interview for The Courier Mail in 2011. ‘We find the remains and we give them back.’    

Easter 1955 – Mt Superbus Air Crash – Part 3 What went wrong?

This story was researched and written by Museum Assistant Debra Austin using the resources of the Queensland Police Museum which includes reminiscences of retired police officer Keith Loft in his article ‘Misericordiae Antemortem – The 1955 Mount Superbus Crash (Published in Australian Policing and A Journal of Professional Practices and Research). Keith Loft was a Coronial Support Officer whilst serving part time with the Disaster Victim Identification Squad. He meticulously researched the Mount Superbus Air Crash disaster from a DVI perspective, to explore the methodology used to positively identify the victims in 1955. Research was also gathered from historical Coronial files, Royal Australian Air Force files, Court of Inquiry documents and newspapers accounts archives.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“Easter 1955 – Air Crash on Mt Superbus – Part 2” 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