Over the recent school holidays, the annual Central Australia trip for students took place once again. At MLMC, the Central Australia trip has always been a highlight for many students. Each year there are many eager students wanting to travel through the Northern Territory, as a look through the MLMC archives shows.
The first MLMC Central Australia trip took place in 1968. Sister Eileen Casey was the organiser and later on she wrote: “Little did I realise we were establishing a tradition”. It is a wonderful tradition where we have seen the trip continue each year, except for 2020 and 2021 when interstate travel was not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sister Eileen Casey, along with Sister Gabrielle Jennings, took 48 students and two other teachers. They traveled by bus and camped along the way, except for two nights spent in a motel. And the Sisters wore their traditional habits. As Sister Eileen recalled, “officially we wore the habit, in fact we climbed Ayers Rock in our habit and became a spectacle!”
It was in 1993 that the Central Australia trip changed many lives forever. The annual Year 11 Central Australian bus trip ended in a horrible catastrophe that would sadly have a long-lasting effect on those involved as well as the entire College and the local community. On 18 September 1993, the group of 40 students as well as staff were on their way to Coober Pedy when the coach they were in lost control on a bend and rolled over.
Tragically, the crash killed 16-year-old Elizabeth Calcagno (Class of 1994) and left quite a number of students with severe limb and back injuries. It took several hours before help arrived and for the students to be sent to various hospitals according to their injuries. The remaining staff and students went on to Coober Pedy, where the community did their best to look after them. This year is quite significant, as it is the 30th anniversary of the accident.
Each year, the MLMC tour group stops to hold a ceremony to remember Elizabeth and the staff and students who were involved in the 1993 accident.
As a College, we will be remembering and honouring those students and staff that were on that bus.
The College Archives team is putting together a documentary of the accident, encapsulating the stories of the time to preserve for the College’s history. We will also be commemorating the occasion at our Memorial Mass on Sunday 12 November at the College.
