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MEMORIAL FUND
Monument To Anderson
And Hitchcock
MR. SHANNON'S
GIFT
(TO THE EDITOR)
SIR — I have been profoundly
touched by the tragedy of
Lieut. Anderson and his mechanic,
R. S. Hitchcock, who sacrificed their lives
in an effort to give succour to the crew of
the Southern Cross.
Their deaths, in the utter loneliness of
one of the most inhospitable tracts of
country in the whole of Australia, must
excite universal pity; and, equally, the
nature of their errand, and the splendid
courage with which they embarked upon
it, demand our highest admiration.
REAL HEROES
As has been pointed out, Lieut. Ander-
son, although a former comrade of Squad-
ron-Leader Kingsford Smith, had been es-
tranged from him, in circumstances which
would adversely have influenced any but
a noble nature when the appeal was
made for help in the search for the
Southern Cross. Anderson, magnanimous
as all real heroes are, did not give a
thought to personal feelings. His legal
feud with Kingsford Smith quite forgot-
ten, he flew north without a moment's
avoidable delay.
His high courage, and his concern for
the safety of those with whom he had
himself formerly looked on danger, sus-
tained him in face of difficulties which
would have daunted a smaller man. His
unselfish heroism, shared equally by Hitch-
cock, made it impossible that this relief
flight should be abandoned.
THE DISASTER
Anderson and Hitchcock, therefore,
pressed on, only to met with a disaster
more terrible; almost, than any with
which even the Southern Cross was
threatened. The Kookaburra came down,
disabled, in the middle of a wilderness
which, for its intense solitude and life-
lessness, is beyond the comprehension of
any man who has not travelled in the
"Dead Heart of Australia."
In this fearful waste, without water,
without food, and without that knowledge
of the country, essential to the obtaining
of either, these two magnificent fellows
were in a plight which it is distressing
even to think about. Of the lingering
torture and maddening horror of their
deaths, I hesitate to write at all; nor
would I say anything, now, of the delay
of the efforts which might have saved
two invaluable lives.
Those lives are tragically beyond re-
call; but there is one thing we can yet
do—we can he]p to ensure that they shall
not be forgotten.
OFFER OF £100
I am prepared to give a hundred
pounds (£100) as the nucleus of,
or a contribution towards a fund
to be devoted to the erection
of a monument expressive of Aus-
tralia's gratitude and pride that she has
been able to count among her sons two
such men as Anderson and Hitchcock.
I would suggest the erection of such
a monument on the spot where these
heroes did something more than lay down
their lives for their friends. The soli-
tary grandeur of the place— and it is
grand in spite of its cruelty— seems to me
to offer an eminently suitable setting for
the commemoration of one of the noblest
epics in Australian history.— Yours, ABE
SHANNON, Kingscourt, Eudunda.
$