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Frank Manley may not be a household name. In fact, most readers may never have heard of Frank and his faithful HQ GTS Monaro.
But his story is one of the most incredible life-and-death stories you could ever imagine, and it features a classic Aussie muscle car.
On the 5th of January 1975, Frank and his family were enjoying a Sunday drive in suburban Hobart, Tasmania. Cruising along the Derwent River was the cargo ship, Lake Illawarra, about to deliver its load to a local industry.
During this cruise, however, the ship lost control and crashed into the pylons that supported the bridge; destabilising the foundation and resulting in a large segment of the bridge collapsing into the river, taking the ship with it.
Travelling along the bridge at that exact moment was the Manley family, where wife and mum Sylvia noticed the street lights disappear in front of their car. She screamed at Frank to stop, who reacted as quickly as possible. The car slid towards the gap in the bridge, coming to a stop with the front wheels hanging over the edge of the broken structure. Precariously they sat - but for only a moment - before slowly and carefully escaping from the car.
Frank was the last to leave the car, exiting from the driver’s door.
“All I could see was the swirling water below” recalls Frank.
According to Frank, the only thing that stopped the car from tipping over the edge was the casing of the automatic transmission, which grinded and gripped into the surface of the bridge.
“If it was a four-speed [manual], we’d have all died!” he joked.
It was only when they were evacuated from the bridge did Frank found out why it gave way in the first place. “I spoke to the police on scene - they were the ones that told me about the ship,” explained Frank.
Also featuring in the photos is a Holden FB station wagon, which was actually pushed to the edge by another car which hadn’t stopped in time.
“I remember seeing the brake lights of the FB,” which also triggered Frank’s reaction. “Another car ran up the back of it and nearly pushed it over the edge.” The cars stayed balanced on the edge of the bridge until the following Tuesday, with plenty of locals snapping photographs of the unusual scene.
Sadly, 12 people died in the accident, including seven crew members of the cargo ship and five passengers inside cars that fell into the river. Both the cargo ship and vehicles have never been recovered.
After the bridge was repaired and reopened in late 1977, Frank admits he was nervous the first time he drove back over the bridge.
“It was a little nerve-wracking, but after all these years I’ve got no worries at all with it.”
Frank still lives in Hobart with his HQ GTS Monaro, which was bought new when he traded in his HT GTS Monaro (186s / four-speed) to upgrade. He loved the shape and looks of the HT, but got a great deal on his 308cid coupe and couldn’t resist.
The car is an unrestored survivor, travelling only 128,000km since new. It is completely original (aside from the replaced transmission casing), though Frank did admit to replacing the tyres... 38 years ago.
The car now spends most of its time in the shed, though it has been on some long journeys over the years.
“I took the Monaro to the Centenary of Motor Cars celebration in Canberra, ACT, in 1981, and also to Wangaratta for a national car show in the mid-2000s.”
The car featured in newspapers and on TV during the reporting of the accident and is a regular at local car shows in and around Tasmania.
Frank and his family incredibly survived this unthinkable near-death experience, and are extremely lucky to live and tell the tale. The trusty HQ GTS Monaro is part of Australia’s history, the image of the classic car perched on the edge of oblivion is one that impossible to forget.
January 5th 2018 marked the 43rd anniversary of the disaster, so please spare a thought for those families who lost loved ones.
Source: Survivor Car Australia.
What do you think of Frank's HQ Monaro? How many times has your car kept you out of trouble? Tell us what you think in the comments below?
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