Sister D. B. MillardPrint Page

The monument commemorates Sister Millard who lost her life when part of the cliff face collapsed in 1928.

On 24 June 1928, Sister Millard who had resigned from her position at Murat Bay (Ceduna) hospital the day before, came with friends to Talia for a picnic.  On arrival she walked to the cliff edge to photograph the sea some 30 feet below.  Without warning the cliff beneath her crumbled and she fell into a blow-hole fissure.  Her companions could do nothing but watch her struggle and finally drown.  Her body was never recovered but few things which fall into the narrow chasm escape.  A service was organised by Stan Emery, the police officer who took the report of the accident and who notified Sister Millard's parents in Melbourne. 

The "West Coast Sentinel" publishes a list-of subscriptions totalling £31 2/6 for a memorial to Sister Millard, a former Broken Hill resident, who was drowned in tragic circumstances at Venus Bay recently. The fund has for its purpose the erection of a memorial at the scene of the accident, which will also serve as a warning to people visiting that dangerous part of the coast. In addition to the subscriptions, Mr. W. Poole, of Colton, has promised to erect the monument free of cost with the assistance of local residents.  A burial service will be conducted by the Revs. Lane and Arthur at the scene of the accident tomorrow afternoon.
Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW), 17 July 1928.

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