When I started bushwalking, and visited Splendour Rock in the Wild Dog Mountains, I knew about the chains below the rock that provided a route down to the lower ridge and eventually to Howling Dog Spur. I knew these chains were known as “Thomo’s Chains”, but at the time did not know any more about them.
Bob Thomas on Mansons Chains – Carlons Head
Later, in the mid 1970’s, when I joined the Kameruka Bushwalking Club, I heard a bit more about the story of the chains. They were placed at Splendour Rock in the mid 1950’s by KBC members as a memorial to a former president of the club – Bob Thomas. Bob died tragically young whilst walking in Tasmania in 1955.
Memorial Plaque, Mersey Gorge, Tasmania
Dorothy (Kinny) Bremner, a bushwalking friend of Bob’s at the time, has written –
One day during the Christmas holidays I heard on the radio about Bob, who had gone to the Reserve in Tasmania with some of our friends. He was taking photographs near a waterfall, slipped and hit his head on a rock, fell into a pool and failed to surface. I clearly remembered that area near Du Cane Hut. He was pulled out but could not be revived. There followed a terrible ordeal for those who had to bring his body out on a makeshift stretcher to the nearest civilisation, two days walk away and go through gruelling police questioning. It was a great loss to our club, to each of us personally and especially to the family who had lost their only son and brother.
Dorothy has more photos of Bob and bushwalking of that time here.
More recently, I had been talking with an old bushwalking mate, Doug Wheen, when we got to taking about Bob Thomas, and he happened to mention that Bob was his uncle. Doug had never met him since he had died well before he was born, but he knew some of the family history. Bob was his mother’s brother. Doug also mentioned that he had some of Bob’s old colour slides, including ones from that last Tasmanian walk. I recently borrowed the slides (and some photos) and scanned them.
Here are some photos from a trip to Splendour Rock –
Bob and mates, Splendour Rock
Bob died on 3 January 1955 on a walk of the Overland Track in Tasmania. His party started from the south end and walked north.
Camping, Governtment House Gardens, Hobart
Narcissus Hut, Bruce Cunningham
Bob
Mt Olympus
On top of the Acropolis
Cathedral Falls
Last photo just before death, Mersey Gorge
This last photo shows Boulder Falls on the Mersey River where Bob died. A year later, some of his mates went back and put in a memorial plaque.
In the early 1960’s, the Kameruka Bushwalkers lost another prominent member, Rolf Walker, who died whilst ascending Korowal Butress on Mt Solitary. He was hit in the head by a falling boulder. As a memorial to him, the club published a songbook – “The Walkers Songbook”. Here is an excerpt from one of the songs –
Its goodbye sloths of Sydney Town
Way out south of Dingo
We’re headin’ out to our trampin’ ground
Down the Bitch from Thomo Chain!
The “Bitch” was the bushwalker’s nickname for Howling Dog Ridge.