1945 – Thirteen-year-old Trevor Burt fell from a tree when a branch snapped, plunging him into the creek below and breaking his neck.
Trevor and some other boys were swimming in Narrabri Creek behind the town’s Scout Hall (in the centre of today’s town) about 4pm. He had been swimming and diving off a spring board for about half an hour when he climbed a kooba tree (also known as a native willow) overhanging the bank.
He was about seven-and-a-half metres (25 feet) from the water when the thin limb, no more than four centimetres wide, gave way.
A boy named Bernard Boyle dived in to rescue him, while two others, Peter Sunderland and John Scutt, ran to the police office for help.
Boyle told the inquiry into the death that he didn’t see the fall, but someone had told him immediately that it had been Burt.
“I saw Trevor come up and start to sink again. I thought that he was hurt and immediately dived into rescue him, but was unable to find him.
“I knew that Trevor was a very good swimmer and that he must have been hurt when he sank after coming up. This is what made me dive in to try and get him.”
Two police constables were quickly on the scene and Trevor’s body was found half an hour later by a Constable Scott, after six or seven attempts at diving in 12 feet of water. Grappling irons were also used to search for the body.
Three Honorary Ambulance Officers continued rescuscitation efforts for an hour, administering oxygen, but the local doctor said he thought Trevor’s neck was broken.
It could not be determined if this was from striking something on the way down, or something in the water. His head was covered in mud when he was retrieved.
The stream considered to be in a “ very low and muddy” condition.
The district Coroner returned a verdict of accidental death and Trevor was buried the next day, following a service in the Church of England.
Sources: The North Western Courier, Thursday 11 January 1945, p4
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, Wednesday 10 January 1945, p4
Way to go Australia 