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Macrossan SmashPrint Page 
The Monument commemorates the victims of the Macrossan bus smash of 1948.
On 16th Sept 1948, an RAAF semi-trailer bus laden with civilian workers from the RAAF base Macrossan ran off the Burdekin traffic bridge, when the front wheel ran up the bridge kerbing. There were no bridge railings, and the bus went over the bridge, and landed upside down on huge rocks in the dry river bed. Thirteen people died as a result of the accident.
The fiftieth anniversary of the accident was commemorated in Charters Towers over the weekend of the 19/20 September 1998.
Location
| Address: | Flinders Highway & School Street, Sellheim Army Camp Memorial, Sellheim, 4816 |
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| State: | QLD |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -20.0075 Long: 146.415 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Land Transport |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | September-1998 |
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MACROSSAN SMASH
On the afternoon of 16 September 1948 an airforce semi-trailer laden with civilian workers from the R.A.A.F Base Macrossan was returning to Charters Towers after a normal days work. While crossing the Burdekin River bridge the vehicle accidently rolled over the chime of the bridge and ended up in the bed of the river. Thirteen persons died as a result of the accident.
This plaque is dedicated to the memory of those who died and those who survived. It also recognises the contributions of all who assisted in the recovery, attended the injured and supported the families.
Those who died in the accident
Patrick James Hansen / Harold Williams/ Edgar John Flewell-Smith / Thomas Henry Simpson / John Herbert Delacour / Mervyn Henry Neumann / Joseph Ricard Simpson / Robert George Tait / Henry James Knudson / Archibald Campbell / Susan Agnes May Turley / Robert Thomas Calder Stewart / Walter George Thomas
The 50th Anniversary of the Macrossan smash was commemorated in Charters Towers over the weekend of the 19/20 September 1998
