New sport - climbing the pyramids

Australians in camp at Mena, The Pyramids

On this day 100 years ago, amid rumours of fatalities, Queensland newspapers reported pyramid climbing as a novel new sport.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79078849

On 8 March 1915, The Northern Miner (Charters Towers) revealed that reports of the death of four soldiers from an accident at the pyramids had no reliable foundation. The Assistant Minister for Defence, Mr. Jensen, stated that replies to the Defence Department cable had confirmed the reports as untrue. He added that all casualties were at once reported to the Minister for Defence, and he advised the public not to let unofficial messages cause them any anxiety.

Page 22 of the Queenslander Pictorial supplement to The Queenslander 22 May 1915

Two days later, on the 10 March, the Queensland Times (Ipswich) referred to a letter from a Quartermaster-Sergeant Ferguson, of Wagga Wagga, sent from Egypt. He stated that the record for climbing the first pyramid, 480ft high, was four minutes until recently, when an Indian Gurkha broke it easily, reaching the top in 2 minutes. His climb established the record for all time.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121876482

Robyn Hamilton - QANZAC100 Content Curator, State Library of Queensland