Bernard O'Reilly (writer)

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Bernard O'Reilly (writer) was an Australian writer and bushman of Irish descent. Born Alfonso Bernard O’Reilly on 3 September 1903 in Hartley, New South Wales, he grew up in the Blue Mountains and later moved to the Lamington Plateau near Beaudesert in South East Queensland. He was part of the family that ran O'Reilly's Guesthouse in the Lamington area.

Family and early life
- He married Viola Gwendoline King on 20 August 1931 in Brisbane. They had a daughter named Rhelma.
- O'Reilly became known for his deep knowledge of the Australian countryside and his bush skills.

Plane crash rescue
- O'Reilly is best known for finding the site of a 1937 plane crash in Lamington National Park. The Stinson Model A aircraft, VH-UHH Brisbane, had gone down in rugged rainforest terrain.
- Using his bushcraft and map-reading ability, he located the wreck and two survivors on the second day of searching.
- He then trekked about 26 kilometres through difficult terrain to obtain help and returned the next day with rescuers. The operation attracted national attention.
- At a ceremony in Sydney, he received a plaque and a monetary tribute from the public. He paid tribute to the two survivors and to Jim Westray, who died after breaking his ankle while trying to reach help.

Published works
- O'Reilly wrote three books about Australia’s Great Dividing Range: Green Mountains (1940), Cullenbenbong (1945), and Over the Hills (1963).
- The first part of Green Mountains covers his account of finding the aeroplane; the second part describes the O'Reilly family’s early years in the Blue Mountains and their move to Lamington.
- Green Mountains and Cullenbenbong helped inspire the 1949 film Sons of Matthew.
- In 1971 he published Songs from the Hills, a collection of poems. The Australian philosopher David Stove wrote a short appreciation of O'Reilly’s life and works.
- O'Reilly was portrayed by Jack Thompson in the TV movie The Riddle of the Stinson (1987).

Later life and death
- Bernard O'Reilly died on 20 January 1975 in Beaudesert, Queensland. He is buried at St John’s Catholic Church in Kerry, Queensland.

Legacy
- O'Reilly’s discovery and rescue of the Stinson crash survivors left a lasting mark on Australian bush lore, and his writings helped bring the landscapes of the Great Dividing Range to a broader audience.