THE SADDEST TALE OF ALL -

I have read many sad tales of people who perished in the Australian outback but this particular one, seems to me, to be the saddest of them all.

On Christmas Day 1915 a little old lady (Mrs Margaret Quinn) arrived at the Kalgoorlie train station from Perth. She had just completed the long sea journey from Scotland to Australia as she wanted to see her son for Christmas. He was working 32 kilometres from Kalgoorlie at Bulong as the local school teacher but due to a mix up in communications he was unaware that his mother had arrived and was waiting for him to pick her up just a few kilometres away from where he was having a quiet Christmas drink with some friends.

The old lady waited until around mid-day and finally deciding that her son was not coming she asked directions to Bulong and decided to walk there as she had come all the way over just to spend Christmas Day with him.

She was told how to get to Bulong but was also warned to keep to the track and someone suggested she not attempt to walk there on her own. Hiring a horse and cart to take her was too expensive so she decided to press on and walk.

A day or so later someone mentioned to her son that his mother had been in Coolgardie and left with the intention of reaching Bulong but her son had not seen her. A search was organised but it took several more days to locate her and by that time she had died of thirst. She was found 16 Kilometres from Kalgoorlie and 6 kilometres off the track to Bulong.

It is hard not to imagine the fear and pain she experienced when she realised she was lost in the great Australian outback, all because she had wanted to spend Christmas with her son.

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