by Chris Webber | Jul 14, 2025 | Uncategorized
The Blue Mountains Gazette 2/10/1985 says that there was a train smash at 5am on Monday 30/9/1985 on the Lapstone hill that caused five casualties. A passenger train and a goods train, proceeding in opposite directions, collided in darkness between the Knapsack Gully...
by Chris Webber | Jul 3, 2025 | Uncategorized
Sgt Ern Sanderson was a very important man in our local rescue history, being involved in many, many rescues. I just found his life story in the 1985 Blue Mountains Gazette funeral notice. Arthur Ernest Sanderson joined the police force when he was discharged from the...
by Chris Webber | Jun 23, 2025 | Uncategorized
“The latest episode of the Rescued Podcast features Blue Mountains climbing legend, ‘Macca’ with Sgt Dal Atkinson from Blue Mountains Police Rescue sharing their unique perspectives and experiences of the (long) day, 5 years ago, that became one of...
by Chris Webber | Jun 5, 2025 | Uncategorized
BMG 9 May, 1984 has some strange things to say about a trip by Stewart Campbell and three friends on Anzac Day through Rainbow Ravine and Thunder Gorge. According to this article, they were attempting to canoe through the canyon (just getting a canoe into the canyon...
by Chris Webber | May 14, 2025 | Uncategorized
Jim Smith found this story in “A Reason to Live”(2005, Elvis Press, Adelaide) by Janet Crease. In June 1996, a Sydney woman went missing and her car was found at Wentworth Falls Reserve, near the end of Falls Road. Police Rescue, SES, and RFS volunteers...
by Chris Webber | May 9, 2025 | Uncategorized
Steve Ridd, who used to work in corporate IT, has written an extensive blog about the death of corporate IT salesman Gary Tweddle. His conclusion is that the effects of work induced stress, plus alcohol and cocaine caused Gary to think that lights visible in the dark...
by Chris Webber | May 2, 2025 | Uncategorized
This story raises serious questions about mental health or was it just a young bloke who wanted some attention? POLICE CHARGE HIKER WHO WAS NOT LOST BMG 9/4/1975 & 28/5/75. On 16 March 1975, at 8.30pm, 21-year-old James Philip Hodson was reported overdue on a...
by Chris Webber | Apr 23, 2025 | Uncategorized
Isa Shemwell has written to me about the death of a friends’ husband. She says: “Dear Christopher, I was so impressed by your book, Mountains Mishaps, and your wealth of information. I know you couldn’t possibly include every incident in the bush,...
by Chris Webber | Apr 11, 2025 | Uncategorized
Sensation-seeking is a personality trait characterized by a need for varied, novel, complex, and intense sensory experiences, and a willingness to take risks for the sake of such experiences. Studies suggest that higher levels of dopamine and greater dopaminergic...
by Chris Webber | Apr 3, 2025 | Uncategorized
This article from SMH 6 May 1954 has an unusual search method – three pet crows were used. BOY LOST IN MOUNTAINS – 200 Search In Rugged Country More than 200 police and civilians searched last night in rugged bush country around Linden, in the Blue...
