Emma Pritchard
It was around 5pm on December 11, 1943.
They were more than halfway across the Clarence River, returning to the mainland after attending a picnic on Susan Island, when a storm began to form in the western sky.
The group, encompassing 31 Boy Scouts and Wolf Cubs, were only about 300m from the shoreline, when tragedy occurred.
As gusts of wind blew stronger across the water, several members of the group became frightened and panicked, causing the flat-bottom punt they were travelling in, which could not make headway in the choppy conditions, to capsize, displacing the occupants, and tossing them into the Clarence River.
Only a small number of the boys could swim.
Alerted by their screams, several men who were on the green at a nearby bowling club promptly abandoned their games and rushed to the scene.
Rowing boats and other vessels on the shoreline were frantically launched, but despite the best efforts of the rescuers, 13 boys, most of whom were only 8 years old, could not be saved.
The distressing scene was witnessed from the banks of the Clarence River as grief-stricken parents and family members identified the lifeless bodies of their beloved children as they were brought ashore.
The last body was recovered shortly after 10pm, five hours after the disaster had commenced.
The devastating event happened only two weeks before Christmas and was described in a statement released by the Boy Scouts Association as the worst tragedy in their history to occur in NSW.
Heartfelt condolences and messages of sympathy and support came from across Australia, as the 13 boys were laid to rest in the Grafton and South Grafton cemeteries, less than two days later.
In February 1944, a coronial inquest into the incident returned a finding of accidental drowning.
Following the tragic loss of so many young lives, citizens of Grafton and South Grafton united to raise funds to enable a local pool to be built to provide children with a safe environment to participate in swimming lessons.
More than 10 years after the traumatic event which took place on the Clarence River, the Grafton Olympic Memorial Pool was officially opened.
Fred Schwinghammer, one of the survivors of the disaster, stood as part of the original guard of honour in memory of the 13 boys when the gates were opened to the public for the first time.
And as he glanced at the memorial plaque by the entrance and read the names of those whose lives had been lost, he spoke solemnly.
“I was one of the lucky ones.”
In memory of 13 lives lost too soon
This feature is dedicated to the 13 boys who tragically drowned on December 11, 1943.
A memorial overlooking the Clarence River, bearing their names, was erected in 1993 by the citizens of Grafton to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the devastating incident.
May they rest in peace.
Corbett, Graeme John
Dillon, William Robert
Lambert, Cecil George
Morris, Raymond Arthur
Munns, Brian Leonard
Rennie, Robert Alexander
Rennie, Keith James
Retchford, Edmund James
Spicer, Alvin Adrian Leo
Steinhour, Richard John
Thorsborne, Dale William
Tobin, Allan Crawford
Wilkes, Robert Walter
Anniversary Commemoration 80 years after Clarence Ricer Tragedy
An 80th Anniversary Commemoration of the Grafton Cubs Scouts Disaster will be held this weekend.
On Sunday, December 10, the Grafton District Services Club (GDSC), will host a Commemoration Luncheon at 12pm.
On Monday, December 11, a Dawn Vigil will commence at 5:30am in Memorial Park, Grafton, followed by graveside services at the Grafton Cemetery at 8:30am, and at the South Grafton Cemetery at 9:30am.
A Commemoration Service will be held later in the afternoon from 4:15-5:30pm, back at Memorial Park.
The 80th Anniversary Commemoration will be held in memory of the 13 boys who drowned in the Clarence River on December 11, 1943, when the punt they were travelling in capsized upon its return from Susan Island.
