On the 30 July 1997 at 11:40pm a section of the road above Thredbo collapsed, causing the destruction of two buildings and the loss of 18 lives. Most of you will remember those harrowing images of the rescuers searching day and night for survivers....and miraculously pulling out 'Stuart Diver' alive after almost 3 days under the rubble.
Here is the official 'Memorial Walk' Dom took (while Leonie worked) of the whole story.....
The start of the "Memorial Walk'. Starts at the valley terminal, and passes along the Thredbo River to where the bobsledding track is.
Directly opposite a point near the bobsled track shows the landslide site. You can see the exact place where the landslide hit in the two pics below. See there in between the buildings? There is a top level (above the road) and then the lower level (which shows the memorial platform). Here stood Bimbadeen Ski Lodge, above was the Carinya Ski Lodge. Both gone in seconds....you can now see the grassy regeneration in place.
This is the spot from where Dom took the above two photos, and is the exact spot where the media covered the reporting from.
After following the above track down to Friday Drive, Dom followed Bobuck Lane up the hill to the disaster site.
Just passed the disaster site, looking upwards from Bobuck Lane towards the Apline Way (the top road that collapsed that night), you can still see the floor foundation of Carinya Ski Lodge amongst the shrubs.
This pic shows the reinforced retaining wall that was completed on the Apline Way after the landslide.
Upward view showing local shrubs and regeneration that was planted after the landslide...as part of the recovery.
A view from Bobuck Lane looking down to the 'Memorial Site' where Bimbadeen Ski Lodge once stood. The tragedy occurred late at night when most residents where in bed. Over 2000 cubic metres of liquified soil took barely a few seconds to move 250 metres. The Carinya Ski Lodge was pushed downhill with such force that it crossed Bobuck Lane and ploughed into Bimbadeen Ski Lodge, causing the buildings total collapse.
The wall of Bobuck Lane that was remade after the landslide. You can see in the pic where the newer wall starts just near the first post, as opposed to the older grey-er wall towards the right side.
The "Memorial Site' was created with 18 posts...to commemorate the 18 lost lives from the disaster. You can see some of these post below.
Below is the view looking down from the 'Memorial Site' to where the Bimbadeen Ski Lodge ended up. Now it is all overgrown with grass and shrubbery. It's a miracle that none of the below buildings were affected.
View of the landslide looking up towards Bobuck Lane. Dom walked around on the grass there. It still doesn't feel that 100% solid.
Below is an example of the drainage pipes that was put in place down through the Thredbo Village to allow water run off from the mountains. This was one of the main reasons that the landslide occurred. Water run-off helped make the ground unstable and contributed greatly to the damage. This drain runs out onto Bobuck Lane in the exact place where the landslide happened (in between the two ski lodges. Makes you wonder if this can happen again? Even with the pipes now in place, there is still constant water running off??
This the 'Gabion Walls' up on the Alpine Way which was put in place as part of the work to stabilise the area after the disaster. It's interesting how these are created. Each wire basket is linked together and hand filled with rocks until they are full. Apparently this allows water to run-off through the rocks but also, when full, each wire basket securely sits in place. They are all wired to the concrete up on the Alpine Way or to the wall matter behind them.
Remember these were hand filled and go as far as the eye can see below the Alpine Way and also up on the opposite side of the road too.
This is view from the 'Memorial Site' towards to majestic skiing mountains of Thredbo Village, and also Mt Kosciusko. You can see the snow-capped tops after some minus temperatures lately. The 'Memorial Site' is a place for quiet reflection, and although the immediate surroundings remind you of the horror and devastation...the mountain views fill you with hope and a little bit of serenity.
And so we come to the end...hopefully they have learnt from this terrible event, and it shall never happen again here.
No comments:
Post a Comment