Culgoa Airways Aeroplane CrashPrint Page

The monument commemorates those who were killed when an Auster aeroplane, owned by Culgoa Airways crashed on Bonathorne Station in April 1958.  All four people on the aeroplane died in the crash.

Note : This monument is on private property, and permission should be obtained from the owners before visiting the site.

Four people died in a plane crash today near Dirranbandi. The plane, a light Auster, owned by Culgoa Airways, crashed and burst into flames on Bonathorne Station, 11 miles from Dirrandbandi. The aircraft was on a joy ride flight. All four occupants were burned beyond recognition.

The dead pilot was Bruce McNaughton, 24, of Balmoral, Brisbane. McNaughton, a Fleet Air Arm pilot, had recently gone to Culgoa Airways as a relief pilot. 

Peter Allen, owner of Bonathorne Station, said tonight he was driving along the Dirranbandi-Mungindi Road when he saw the plane coming towards him at 150 ft.  Allen said that when it passed over him, the motor was functioning perfectly. He stopped his car to work on a fence, when he heard the plane's motor cut out.
The Canberra Times (ACT), 26 April 1958.

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