Calliope River Bridge Construction

Those killed in the crash of the Beautiful Betsy were: USAAF personnel 1st Lieutenant William Emmett McDaniel (pilot), 2nd Lieutenant Eugene A Kilcheski, 2nd Lieutenant Hilary E Routt, Lieutenant Raymond L Owen, Technical Sergeant Raymond L Tucker, Technical Sergeant Harold J Lemons and British Spitfire pilots Flight Lieutenant Thomas John Donald Cook and Flying Officer Roy Albert Arthur Cannon.

The following items were found in the wreckage: Dental prosthesis (bridge), 153 bone fragments, personal effects/material evidence, nine dog tags, two bracelets, 38 coins, four gold rings, one aviator’s ring, flare gun with flare, aviator badge, bomber badge, whistle, two dress uniform belt buckles, nine expended .45 calibre rounds, two British buttons, 12 American buttons, razor, cigarette lighter, three eyeglass frames, pocket watch, 1938 class ring.

Following surveying ‘for a site to be called Gladstone’, the first official map was issued in January, 1854 and shows Calliope River as Lily Creek. It was later named Calliope River by Governor Charles Fitzroy in March, 1854. In that same year geologist Samuel Stutchbury found minute traces of gold in the Calliope River (specks have been found ever since), but more profitable diggings had already been established on the site of the town of Calliope.

Kroombit Tops features 800 metre high sandstone cliffs, waterfalls, woodlands, rainforests, scrublands, sweeping gorges and peaceful creeks and is the only known home of the Kroombit tinker frog, a critically endangered species. Kroombit Tops National Park is a 4WD enthusiast’s dream with a number of routes accessing various features of the hinterland.

The rugged terrain of the Kroombit Plateau is the resting place of Beautiful Betsy, a United States Army Air Forces World War II Consolidated B-24D Liberator bomber which crashed in stormy weather on February 26, 1945 while transporting men and supplies on a regular flight from Fenton Airfield, near Darwin, to Eagle Farm in Brisbane. All on board (six American and two British service personnel) lost their lives in the crash. The plane had suffered combat fatigue and was only being used on short runs after having been retired from combat. Visitors can travel a 4WD scenic loop and then walk 700 metres return to the crash site. The wreckage was discovered on August 2, 1994 when park ranger Mark Roe, inspecting the results of a controlled burn-off, noticed something glinting in the sunlight about 800m north of his location on an unnamed hillside.

• In 2013 a new species of marsupial, the silver-headed antechinus, was described and is found only within the national park boundaries.

• A small population of brumbies roam the park and sometimes have to be mustered in order to reduce their numbers.

• Kroombit Tops National Park is located 78km from this spot.

Kroombit Tops, Calliope River

Calliope River rises in the Calliope Range, flows past the town of Calliope, and empties into the Pacific Ocean just north of Gladstone. The river is a popular fishing location with barramundi, banana prawns, crabs and mangrove jack, bream and Moses perch in plentiful supply, along with salmon at the tributary mouth.

Canoeing and kayaking are also popular pastimes on the Calliope River.

Like most sub-tropical and tropical estuaries, the river may contain box jellyfish for considerable distances upstream and crocodiles have also reportedly been sighted in its waters.

The Calliope River Historical Village, an open air museum and railway display on the Old Bruce Highway which also hosts regular markets, is located next to the Calliope River.

The Calliope River Rest Area campground is popular with visitors to the region, providing free camping for a maximum of 48 hours.

• River length is 98km with a catchment area of 2241m2.

• Oakey, Paddock and Larcom creeks are the main tributaries of the river.

• In 1855, Stutchbury’s assistant, Charles Weldon Birch, discovered an extensive Aboriginal ‘axe factory’, where the flinty slate or Lydian stone had been used to create hatchets known as mogo to the Aboriginals.

• Calliope River is located 14km from this spot.

Water Skiing on the Calliope River

@gladstoneregionalcouncil@gladstoneregion

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Kroombit Tops Calliope River Rio Tinto Yarwun, Alcan Orica Yarwun12 13 14 15

This project is supported by

the Queensland Government through

Arts Queensland.NRG Power Station16