Anniversary – Lost children of Daylesford

On this day, 148 years ago three children went missing in Daylesford. I blogged about it previously here.

There is also a walk through the Wombat Forest, starting in Daylesford, which follows the route that the children took. Recently, due to my interest in the story, and my passion for fitness, I did the walk to try to get a feel for what it would have been like for the small children to be lost out there in the Australian bush. It was a fairly nice day other than slight drizzly rain early, but my main thought was what it must have been like for those children, to be lost out there in the Wombat Forest, in June. Winter in this area can be very cold, and often there is snow. The walk was over 20k on a marked track, but 148 years ago those tracks wouldn’t have been there. The children would have been walking cross country through rugged bush. At ages 6,5 and 4, I’m sure they would have been very frightened, and most likely very cold.

If you click on this link to the Department of Sustainability and Industry, you can read an article about the children with a map and information about the walk.

Above is the burial site for the three children in the Daylesford Cemetary

Two years from now will be the 150th anniversary of this sad event. I can’t help thinking how nice it would be if it was marked some way in Daylesford.