‘Victim’s face has never left my mind’
HOW do you tell the story of a traumatic event? It’s the challenge journalists face every day but particularly during horror accidents such as the Tamborine Mountain crash.
The events of September 25 1990 have never left the journalists and photographers of the Bulletin who witnessed the aftermath of the bus crash.
News of it came across the police scanner just before 3pm. Debra Graham and photographer Paul Trezise immediately made the treacherous drive up Henri Robert Drive to the scene. They were followed by long-serving Bulletin chief photographer Grahame Long.
They arrived at the same time as the ambulances and saw the bus “torn open like a sardine tin”.
Ms Graham, a police reporter, said it was seared into her memory: “There were bodies everywhere. People were either stuck in seats or had passed. The passengers were comforting loved ones. Their faces showed a range of emotions from shock to grief to calm.
“I recall one man who despite his calm, his gentle eyes were seeking comfort. All he wanted was for someone to hold his hand and comfort him. His face has never left me.”
Mr Trezise, who today drives buses in Melbourne, went on to win an award for his photos from the scene and vividly remembers the scene.
“The bus had been opened like a sardine can. The top of the roof had come up and the front was gone like it had been ripped open. It was an eventful day and it was something where you wish you’d never see something like that ever again.
“I’ve never forgotten and as a bus driver now I’d never want to be in a situation like that.”
Mr Long recalls it as the worst incident of his 30-year career: “I remember it vividly, seeing the elderly suffering.
“I remember thinking how lucky the survivors were.”
The coverage was awardwinning but the day cast a long shadow, Ms Graham said.
“You never forget something as traumatic as this. On returning to the office, the newsroom was buzzing – and we were just expected to continue to work a double shift to put the paper to bed with this front page news, she said. “There were no debriefs in those days. Just returning to work the next day.”