DEATH IN DESERT

Grey River Argus, 5 January 1940, Page 9

DEATH IN DESERT

WANGANUI MAN’S WIFE HUSBAND’S TRAGIC STORY WANGANUI, January 3. The death from heat and thirst of Mrs W. Hammond, wife of Mr Wil-' liam Hammond, formerly of Wanganui, in the Northern Territory, Australia, is graphically described by Mr Hammond in a letter to his parents, Mr and Mrs R. Hammond, of Wanganui. “I had bought a car and intended to go through to the Northern Territory to the goldfields at Tennant’s Creek,” stated Mr Hammond. "We picked up a young man, Mr McHugh at Cunnamulla. Between Cloncurry and Mount Isa we travelled through some very rough stony country and before reaching Camooweal we discovered a hole in our oil sump. “At Camooweal we had'the car repaired and took in 18 gallons of petrol and some food and filled our water bag, intending to make Avon Downs station that night, a distance of 50 miles. Unable to Start Car. “We travelled 27 miles when a tyre punctured, so we decided to camp for the night. We had supper, filled the radiator, and drank nearly all the water, knowing that we had only about 20 miles to travel. When we got up next morning the car would not start. “It was getting very hot and my , wife saw a windmill on the horizon. I said I would go and fill the waterbag and my wife insisted on coming : with me. We left Mr McHugh in ] charge of the car in case a motorist I chanced to come along. It was heavy ■ walking to the mill. We eventually i got there after walking about six miles to discover that the mill was out of order and there was not a drain of- water in the dam. Heat at 130 Degrees “On our way back we got lost on the plain and walked for four hours with the heat at 130 degrees and no water. I sighted the car about two miles away. By this time we were both exhausted. My wife was far gone and she could not even see the car. She imagined she could sec trees and water and started to stagger, so I picked her up and carried her half-way to the car-. “My wife was then unconscious and, I was all in, so I pulled off my shirt and- threw it over her to protect her from the flies and then crawled to the car, thinking that John was still there and fresh and that he would be able to go out and bring her in. ! He had gone out to look for us [ and when he came in he too had be- [ come exhausted. ; “When we came to in the morning I .we were too-weak to walk, so we drained the radiator and drank' some qf the. wafer and tried to start the car again to look’for my wife. John and I were about done in about midday, when a hawker’s van happened along. It gave us water and then went out and found the body of my wife.”