Green Mountains

by Bernard O'Reilly

This book is about O'Reilly's discovery of the 1937 crash site in Lamington National Park of a Stinson Model A airplane, the VH-UHH Brisbane, and the organisation of rescue crews that retrieved the survivors. Using his bushcraft and geographical knowledge, as well as inferring from the plane's filed flight plan, he came upon two survivors and the wreckage of the aircraft in the extremely rugged and mountainous rainforest terrain. He then trekked 26 kilometres through the same difficult terrain to get help and return the next day with rescuers. The rescue operation gained national headlines with reports broadcast live on the radio.

At a ceremony in Sydney, O'Reilly was presented with a plaque and a cheque raised by public subscription. In years afterward, O'Reilly's nephew, Peter O'Reilly, organized bush tours recreating his uncle's "remarkable feat."

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

Reviews

[zed · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we have visitors, one of the tourist attractions I suggest is O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat, Green Mountain, Lamington National Park, Qld.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Rei...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamingt...


We don't need an excuse to visit this beautiful part of the world, so we tend to drive our visitors to Green Mountain.

One of the more well-known events at Green Mountain was the 1937 crash of the Stinson, which was made into a film called The Riddle of the Stinson.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rid...

The first part of this book tells Bernard O'Reilly's search for the crash. I found this well told, with a very humble attitude towards what was a supreme effort to find and assist with the rescue of the survivors.

The second part tells the story of his family, from their roots in the Blue Mountains in NSW to their slow move to Green Mountains in the early part of the last century. For anyone who has visited Green Mountains, Lamington National Park in general, and O'Reilly's, this is a more than pleasant and gentle read. From the tough early living to the realisation that farming itself was not going to maintain their piece of paradise alone, the beginnings of the guesthouse emerged. Bernard's love of the flora and fauna shines through, and his support for the creation of the national park is a credit to him and his family. This book was first published in 1940 and has been in print since then. It has to be a bestseller, as on my visits to the gift shop, visitors always seemed to be grabbing a copy. The gift shop is placed in such a way that one has little choice but to pass through after a cuppa or a feed in the Mountain Café.

Bernard wrote this in the late 1930s, and some of his comments on the flora and fauna are outdated due to later research. Nonetheless, I found his outstanding knowledge and joy in the writing a delight. It had me looking up various species of plant and wildlife to enhance my limited knowledge a bit further. What did get my attention, though, was his use of the word 'jungle'. I know of no Australians, or even New Zealanders, that use the word in any relation to Australia or New Zealand when it comes to the tropical rainforests of Australia or the temperate ones in New Zealand. It is either called a rainforest or the bush. Maybe Bernard was thinking of overseas visitors when he wrote this? If so, very prescient.

The Lamington National Park area in general is an easy, though mountainous, drive and is in easy reach from both Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Instead of visitors burning themselves to a crisp on the beaches of the concrete 'jungle' that is nowadays the coast, they are far better served by visiting unique rainforest with amazing views, waterfalls, flora and fauna. Add a visit to Green Mountain, even a stay for a couple of nights at least, and take this lovely little read along.

Why has this sat in my TBR for too long? A gem of a read.

[Nez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting read. I read as I was interested in the search for the Stinson. Ilove the style of writing and also some history.

My favourite was this unexpected paragraph;

"Later, around dark, many more men came and joined the group about our smoky fires; prominent among these was the bearded, long‑haired figure of Charles Burgess, the Hermit of Lamington, who did splendid scouting work that day for Buchanan’s party. The Hermit dwells in a cave down on Christmas Creek, and lives almost entirely on corn which he grows, grinds into meal with a little hand‑mill and bakes on the coals in unleavened cakes. The one great precept of his simple religion is, “Thou shalt not kill,” and this he carries:out so thoroughly and sincerely that he refuses to wear leather boots, because they involve the killing of animals."

[Caitlyn Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. No words can describe this book

Different than anything I’d read before, Green Mountains captured the author’s experience in rescuing survivors of a plane crash in 1937, and then revisiting his entire life journey.

Growing up in the Blue Mountains in the early 1900’s to pioneering in the Green Mountains (Lamington National Park). His description of the Australian flora and fauna and the hardships and triumphs of his journey are incredible

I genuinely hope to visit Lamington National Park where he created a place for people to visit and embrace its beauty - something that still flourished until this day!

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a little gem. Not only does it give a first hand account of the heroic rescue of the Stinson Airliner crash in 1937 but more interesting it details the pioneering days in the Blue Mountains in NSW and McPherson Ranges in QLD. Talk about tough people. The description of jungle bird life and the clearing of the farms is great.

[Nic T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up on the foothills of the Green Mountains and loved visiting it through the eyes of an admirer living in its wild untameable beauty 100 years ago. As such, this book felt like a story from a grandfather speaking softly with a wealth of knowledge, humbly and without pretense.

I've fallen in love with my little childhood valley and the mountains that hug it all over again.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I read on arriving in Australia. It brings to life the wonderful flora, fauna and landscapes of Southern Queensland and Northern New South Whales. It is written by an unwitting naturalist and conservationist who was born on the small homestead his parents created in the lush forests of NSW. Growing up when everything was done by hand, no electricity, no cars... yet by the time he wrote this, the whole world had become more accessible.
In 1937 a plane is lost, 2 pilots and 5 passengers, crashed en-route, Brisbane to Sydney. The multiple, arduous but failed searches have been abandoned. One man has another theory about where it went down and perseveres...

[Yvette Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I'd cull this without reading it, but decided to read the first page or two to make sure I wasn't making a mistake. When I opened the cover it had my late grandmother's name and contact details inside, so I thought I'd better read it. :D It's Bernard O'Reilly's account of his discovery and the rescue of survivors of a plane crash in south-east Queensland in 1937. What was amazing was that the plane went down in a cyclone, but the location wasn't known, as there were "sightings" from Brisbane to Sydney. Bernard worked out where to search, and found the plane with two survivors over a week after the crash. That's not a long story, and the longer second part of the book is about his childhood in the Blue Mountains, as one of eleven children, who were very poor but didn't know it. He sounds like a lovely man, with a lovely family and it was interesting to read about life in rural Australia in the early 1900s. He had a love of nature, and I found it interesting that he called the rain forest a jungle (every time except for one), and used animal and bird names we don't use these days (like tiger cat for a tiger quoll). He really loved birds. :D

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

An elderly Aunt passed a signed copy of this book onto me. She's since passed.

I recall she told the story of visiting O'Reilly's with a tour group back in 1953. She bought the book and met Bernard. He signed the book for her.

I finished it front to back in no time. Its elegantly written without being too verbose or unnecessarily wordy as some books from that era could be. Just a great read full of adventure, trials and tribulations. Hard to imagine that way of life nowadays. Incredible tenacity.

As for the Stinson story. I've since been to the guest house, seen the memorial and watched the movie several times. Great piece of Australian history. Great book.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pioneer story telling from Bernard about Lamington NP and the early days.
Wonderful quips and lines about birds.

[Jennifer Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can find a copy, this one is well worth the hunt. Two compelling true stories beautifully told.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The Rescue is the fantastic part of the book I give the rescue 4.5 stars, but it tends to drag a bit from there.. Looses some suspense and momentum when the book gets to the "Life in the Kanimbla valley" part.

Here is one of my favourite quotes.

"This being so, why in the name of all that is sane and reasonable should a man go out to search nearly four hundred miles away from where the plane was last seen? That is what has puzzled most of the people whom I have met, and that, too, has given rise to the frequent question, "Was it a hunch or was it reasoning?"
The answer must be, "it was not a hunch, nor do I believe that such a thing as a hunch exists." In ascribing my action to reasoning, I am not ruling out divine intervention.
To me it seems that if God wished to intervene and save two men beyond ordinary aid, He would not neccesarily do so miraculously, nor would He inspire anyone with a blind unreasoning impulse to go and do His will, but it seems quite natural that He would inspire in a man the reasoning and initiative which would send that man out of his own accordl the fact that the man so chosen had spent most of his life in unwittingly fitting himself for just such a job seems to further indicate a clear purpose behind it all - that, of course, is the way it appears to me."

Very well said Mr O'Reily.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding read. Bernard O'Reilly tells it like it was - a humble, modest account of harder times when people had to rely on themselves for solutions. Also includes a first hand account of the Stinson rescue.

[Lisa Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! I am now going to do the Stinson hike!