Quote:
Originally Posted by tomtom
So.... we can view from there now? 
That's terrible though. Can't help but think some eclipse goers dodged a bullet there though. Literally. :S |
It is a terrible story.
It is also not hard to envisage that some eclipse goers, perhaps coming from the
other side of the world, ignorant of the station's colorful history, might still roll up
there without permission, blissfully unaware of the recent turn of events and
never realize how lucky they might be.
The massive cattle property
had been declared a crime scene back in mid-July.
They had employed an indigenous police tracker, mounted police, quad bikes,
the dog squad, police divers, the Special Emergency Response Team, SES
volunteers and aircraft to search for the body.
The terrain is difficult and rugged.
The inspector in charge had said at the time "please stay away from
Palmerville Station - we still are up there controlling it and conducting searches."
Since they have not found the body, it will undoubtedly still be a crime scene
and police would likely be looking for evidence.
If one had observed from there, ideally it would have been in reasonable proximity of
the house as the center line passes very close to it.
When we first considered going there a couple of years back, before contacting the
owners, we spent several days Googling to find out more about the station.
The more we looked the more we discovered that the property owners were
notorious for deterring fossickers and 4WD tourists. Some reported in online forums
of having been confronted with guns.
Police have appealed to those who may have been intimidated in the past to come
forward.
Between 1873 and 1879, the Palmer River goldfield was the richest alluvial
field ever found on the continent. Even in those days, if one Googles the newspapers
of the time, Palmerville had a bloody history, including multiple murders and lynch-law
hangings. One of the roads that crosses the station is still called Cannibal Creek Road.
How many people have died in the history of the world whilst in the search of gold,
nobody will ever know.
I had recommended a couple of years back that it would be unwise to go there.
For the time being and for the purposes of the eclipse, my advice would still
hold true because of its crime scene status.
As a footnote, here is a very interesting story about Queensland's last police tracker,
Barry Port, now 70, who was brought in to help in the search -
http://www.news.com.au/national/hunt...-1226427461934