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A Lucky Survivor

6/7/2019

8 Comments

 
Picture
In the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania is a green 1974 Holden Monaro HQ GTS in completely original condition. Even though I know nothing about cars, it didn’t take long for me to recognize how special this one is.

To understand why, imagine a foggy night in early January 1975 on the Tasman Bridge in Hobart. In the Derwent River below, a bulk ore carrier, called Lake Illawarra, collided with several pylons of the Tasman Bridge. A large section of the bridge deck collapsed, falling into the river and onto the ship. The ship sank, and seven of its crew died. Four cars failed to stop in time, plunging into the river, killing five occupants.
​
The green Holden Monaro was balancing precariously on what was left of the bridge.
Picture
Photo of the Tasman Bridge, showing the area demolished when the Lake Illawarra collided with the bridge, 5 January 1975, from the National Archives of Australia
Frank Manley was the driver of that new car. His wife Sylvia was with him, along with their daughter and her uncle in the back seat. As Frank later recollected, the lights had gone out on the bridge, so they thought there had been an accident. His wife realized the bridge was gone when the road’s white line disappeared. She yelled for Frank to stop, and he hit the brakes. 

“Next thing,” Frank remembered, “we dropped over, and the wife said, ‘Put her in reverse!’ And I said, ‘Bugger reverse, get out!’” Frank explained later, “The back wheels were off the concrete, off the bridge, and if I had put her in reverse, I think the vibration would have sent us the rest of the way off the bridge.”

Frank and his family escaped the car. Since the bridge collision had happened on a Sunday night, there was very little traffic, with few cars on the bridge. The disaster had cut the main artery to Hobart’s eastern suburbs, causing major disruption.​
Picture
View of the Tasman Bridge from Kalatie Road from Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office Commons
The repairs to the bridge took nearly three years. It reopened in October 1977. Frank Manley continued to drive his Holden Monaro.
​
Every museum is filled with objects that defied the odds, that lasted long enough to make it to a museum. This car, however, feels like a particularly lucky survivor.
8 Comments
Dianed
6/7/2019 04:05:23 pm

Check out: www.corvettemuseum.org. My brother actual toured the Cave-In portion of the museum. The National Corvette Museum made international news headlines on February 12, 2014 when a sinkhole collapsed in the Skydome of the Museum in the wee hours of the morning. Thankfully, no one was in the building when it happened, but security cameras were rolling to catch the incident on camera. Museum visitation skyrocketed that same year as people from around the world were drawn to witness for themselves the destruction Mother Nature had caused. Though the sinkhole has since been filled, the story continues to draw attention.

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Rose
6/7/2019 11:01:45 pm

Thanks, Diane. Looks like a fascinating place! It's amazing that a sinkhole could cause that much damage. Thanks as always for reading and commenting!

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Ed Reniker
6/8/2019 06:21:10 pm

I have been remiss so I am catching up on a couple of your postings. First that story about the bridge is both bizarre and neat! We had a bridge in Minnesota do the same a few years back. Not something you want to consider when crossing a bridge...
Second, I enjoyed the interchange at the Coffee Bar you relayed. I like to tip at my local Starbucks so I would miss the jar. I usually do 'takeaway' myself, but once in a while I know I am going to need to chill and I will most likely want a second cup. I was wondering, how many folks there still smoke? I don't see it in the Aussie films on PBS and don't remember you catching anyone smoking in your photos. It seems to be worse in the US with a lot of Asian men smoking outside the coffee shops. It is one thing I could do without. Just curious. Your Sunday morning should already be started!

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Rose
6/9/2019 07:28:33 pm

Thanks for taking the time to read the last two posts. I haven't noticed smoking being a problem here. All the restaurants and cafes are no-smoking areas, but I don't recall people hanging around outside smoking. I don't know how representative Canberra is of the rest of Australia though or how much smoking goes on outside of night spots or bars.

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Roxanne
6/9/2019 07:50:30 pm

Interesting and amazing story about the car and the near tragedy on the bridge.

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Rose
6/9/2019 08:15:30 pm

Thanks, Roxanne. I really appreciate your taking the time to read and comment!

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Sharon Lea Smith
6/27/2019 02:03:26 am

Hi I was 16 years old was not my husband it was my uncle people should get the facts right before posting

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Rose
6/27/2019 02:36:25 am

My apologies, Sharon. I've corrected it. I had misread an ABC News article as referring to a son-in-law. When I went back to check, I saw it was indeed brother-in-law, which would have been your uncle. Also, just so you know, the write-up with the car at the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania refers to two young children in the back seat. Thanks for letting me know, and again, I apologize for my mistake.

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    Rose Ciccarelli is an American writer and editor living in Canberra, Australia.

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