Allan & Paul RollesPrint Page
The local bushfire brigade erected a cairn of quartz stones to commemorate Allan and Paul Rolles who were killed in the 1987 bushfires.
In 1987, on a hillside west of Cootamundra, a man cutting thistles and burrs struck a stone with a hoe and sparked a catastrophe. Dry and gusty westerly winds pushed flames through paddocks, across roads, beyond frantic firefighters. The inferno pushed east towards Muttama and in one tragic incident, a ball of flame enveloped firefighters Allan and Paul Rolles. Severely burned, the father and son drove back to their farm near Gundagai. Allan asked his wife Patsy to spray them with a garden hose. The men were treated in local hospitals then transferred by air ambulance to Sydney. Both died in the burns unit of Concord Hospital.
Location
Address: | Bridge Street, Muttama, 2722 |
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State: | NSW |
Area: | AUS |
GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.805233 Long: 148.11343 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
Monument Type: | Monument |
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Monument Theme: | Disaster |
Sub-Theme: | Fire |
Approx. Event Start Date: | January-1987 |
Approx. Event End Date: | January-1987 |
Dedication
In memory of Allan & Paul Rolles who died while serving as members of the Muttama Bush Fire Brigade in the Jan. 1987 fire