Australia is a very large country. There are fast areas of remote land. And in some places the bush is very dense and not easily penetrated. From time-to-time people get lost due to misadventure and those that plan walking in these areas need to take extreme care especially taking plenty of water.

Unfortunately, I have just experienced such a situation firsthand involving the brother of a close friend, Peter Willoughby, who became lost in the HollyBank Forest Reserve in northern Tasmania in early October. After extensive searching he could not be found. I will not go into details of the situation that caused him to become lost. Below is my memorial poem. My prayers are for all those who have to come to terms with such a loss.

 Lost in the Bush
in memory of Peter Willoughby

there are special places time itself forgets,
where no foot treads, where gum and bark in secret reign;
the Bush endures all weather, all regret,
impervious to loss, indifferent to pain

the centuries pass untouched by human hand,
    while inside the Bush’s wanton stare,
                 nature in silence evolves the land
                             never knowing the life that’s there
but sometimes fate, in tragic circumstance,
                draws a man to wander a path unknown;
                           remaining unseen by the searching glance
and the Bush receives a body — quietly, as its own

                        forever held in nature’s keep,
                        where earth and memory together sleep.
         
Richard Scutter 15 October 2025