Blue Goose Crash Site

Statement of Significance

·         The place has historic values for its association with the World War II and the service men and women which lived and worked in Australia.
·         The place has social value as a reminder of the significant loss of life in the crash and the efforts by those on the ground to save them.

Physical Description

Private garden of mature trees and shrubs with large rocks evident in the garden. No evidence of the crash site is visible from the road.

Integrity/Authenticity

Level of Integrity - None; Level of Authenticity - None

Condition

N/A This site is the location of the crash of a DC3 airplane (RAAF Dunreath). The plane crashed shortly after take-off from the Guildford (now Perth) airport on 19 April 1945. The airplane was built by Douglas Aircraft Corporation and because of its blue colour was affectionately known as 'The Blue Goose'. The aircraft had been made in 1943 and arrived in Australia in 1944 and was classified as a utility training unit and assigned for general duties for the US Navy under control of the Commander Submarine Force (Seventh Fleet). The crew and passengers on the flight numbered 13 people including 3 US Red Cross nurses. The actual cause of the crash has not been conclusively proven but in dense fog the aircraft failed to gain enough height and crashed into the Darling Range at 5.33am not far from the residence at 23 Gooseberry Hill Road. The noise and subsequent fire brought any residents and the volunteer fire brigade to the site to assist but no lives could be saved. The loss of lives made the crash one of the most significant in Western Australian aviation history. The victims were all buried at Karrakatta Cemetery but after the war all were exhumed and relocated to the United States.

Creation Date

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Last Update

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