Memorial for lost chopper pilots
Helicopter pilots killed in accidents while working on Kimberley stations will be honoured with a memorial on the outskirts of Halls Creek.
The project is being spearheaded by Ruby Plains Station manager Mervyn Wortley, who said close to $25,000 had already been raised or sponsored to start construction of the monument.
Mr Wortley said the overall cost of the project would be about $50,000 which he hoped to fundraise from Kimberley stations, helicopter companies and other sources.
The memorial has been in the pipeline for about four years and will be constructed at the entrance to the Halls Creek Rodeo Grounds off Duncan Road.
"I spoke to a few people and thought a lot about it and decided we should try and get something going but it took us a while to work out what we wanted," Mr Wortley said.
"One (death) a couple of years ago was someone I had known for a long time and it hit pretty close to home.
"That pushed me more to want to do it."
The memorial will include a metal sign designed and crafted by Northern Metalwork in Kununurra and will have an image of mustering on a cattle station cut into it.
It will stand 4m long and almost 3m tall. Mr Worley said the memorial would be fenced and include a bench for sitting and reflecting, and there would be room on the sign for plaques with the names of fallen pilots and the date and location of their crash.
"The sign has a couple of helicopters in the air, horses, cattle, hills and trees, and that sort of thing," he said. "We wanted something that would stay there for a long time."
"The plan is to have plaques along the bottom but it's up to the family to decide what they have on there and whether or not they (know) where the helicopter went down and what they were doing."
"It would be great for people to see more than a name but it's up to the families because they might not be comfortable with that."
Mr Worley said work on the metal sign would begin soon and other funding would be sourced in the meantime to finish aspects such as the fencing, groundwork and plaques.
"We've sent out letters asking for donations and we've just got to follow that up now," he said.
Mr Worley said he hoped the project would be completed by the end of year.
Anyone interested in donating can contact Mr Wortley on 9168 8915 or rubyplains@bigpond.com .
