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Arthur & Sidney GeevesPrint Page 
04-December-2015
Photographs supplied by Arthur Garland
The plaque commemorates Arthur and Sidney Geeves who died in a snow storm in November 1897.
Among the early settlers in the 1840s were the Geeves family who founded the township of Geeveston. They explored much of the southwest and cut the first track from Geeveston to the Hartz Mountains. As a result of this track, Hartz Mountains became one of Tasmania's earliest popular bushwalking destinations.
On 27 November, 1897 he elderly Osborne Geeves, his three sons, Arthur, Richard and Osborne, and their cousin, Sidney, were overtaken by a blizzard when returning to Hartz hut from a prospecting expedition near Federation Peak.
They struggled on over Hartz Pass to Ladies Tarn, but both Arthur and Sidney were faltering and suffering poor vision, and their loads were taken. Within a few hundred metres of the old Hartz Hut all the party were exhausted and stumbling. Sidney was carried and dragged by Richard to the hut but he died soon afterwards. Arthur was left with his father, and died in his arms with the last words, 'Don't leave me, father'.
Both had died of hypothermia (a lowered body temperature) as a result of prolonged exposure to severe cold.
Location
| Address: | Hartz Peak Track, Hartz Mountains National Park |
|---|---|
| State: | TAS |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -43.219425 Long: 146.773689 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Tragedy |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 27-November-1897 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 27-November-1897 |
Dedication
Front Inscription
ERECTED IN MEMORY OF
ARTHUR AND SYDNEY
GEEVES
WHO RETURNING FROM A
PROSPECTING TOUR PERISHED
NEAR HERE IN A SNOW STORM
NOV 27th 1897
Source: MAERECTED IN MEMORY OF
ARTHUR AND SYDNEY
GEEVES
WHO RETURNING FROM A
PROSPECTING TOUR PERISHED
NEAR HERE IN A SNOW STORM
NOV 27th 1897
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au
