This photo is the earliest image of a mass suicide, taken on October 17th 1924 at Museum Station in Sydney, Australia. It began when some 16 men climbed onto the tracks, while another, (Frank Hardbunt, 24) photographed them before jumping down onto the tracks himself, leaving his camera apparatus on the platform.
As the picture shows, the station was still under contruction at the time, and this was, in fact, merely a test run for the electrical system, leading many to suspect some kind of 'suicide cult', as only 3 of the men, Terry Bosforth, Henry Turner and Samuel Gishop, had any business being at the station on this particular day.
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| This copy of the photograph is actually on display at Museum Station. In 1998, when asked why such a tragic image should be left on display, the station manager, Duncan Hawkins, replied, "Well, we just thought it was better than another advert for toothpaste." |
©2010 James Mathurin
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