On 4 February 1978, a Cairns State High School bus carrying 43 students home from a school camp went off the cliff edge of the Gillies Highway as a result of faulty brakes. The bus fell 30m, rolling several times, before coming to a rest upside down. The impact killed eight students.
Gordonvale/Cairns Bus Crash
Quick Statistics
8
Fatalities
30
Injured
Information sources
Brookes A 2002,, ‘Outdoor education fatalities in Australia 1960-2002’ , Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, vol. 7, p 24
Sydney Morning Herald, ‘All aboard for disaster’, 7 February 1987, website viewed 5 July 2011
Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety, School transport safety report, p 66, website viewed 5 July 2011