General News
19 January, 2023
Daryl pushes for promised mine shaft dig funding
The final push to uncover answers in the search for Terry Floyd hangs in the balance, with the brother of the missing boy calling on the Victorian Government to uphold its promise to fund a complete excavation of the Morning Star mineshaft. The...
The final push to uncover answers in the search for Terry Floyd hangs in the balance, with the brother of the missing boy calling on the Victorian Government to uphold its promise to fund a complete excavation of the Morning Star mineshaft.
The younger brother of Terry Floyd, Daryl, is seeking confirmation from Premier Daniel Andrews on whether he will uphold his promise to financially cover the final stage of the search which is looming, with a mining team assembled and waiting on the green light.
Mr Floyd has long believed his brother’s final resting place to be the Morning Star mineshaft at Bung Bong Hill, a location near to where Terry was last seen on the side of the Pyrenees Highway on June 28, 1975.
Around 80 percent of the mine has already been cleared by Mr Floyd and volunteers from across the district, with around $60,000 sought from the government to progress the search however no answer has been given.
Mr Floyd said he’s “spent a lifetime” searching for answers about his brother’s disappearance and to be so close with no action was frustrating.
“Without getting the finalisation I need from the government, I can’t get work happening at the mine site,” he said.
“I don’t know what to do in the meantime, do I start fundraising and begging for people to help again?
“We’ve spent a lifetime not knowing all the answers and we still can’t get this finished.
“It shouldn’t be up to a family member to still be pursuing this, there are government bodies that look after this sort of thing and it isn’t just us, there are people across the country who want answers.”
In 2000, Victoria Police’s Homicide Squad reopened the investigation into the boy’s disappearance and the following year, a coroner determined that Terry had been murdered but no body has ever been found and no one charged.
In a phone call with Premier Andrews in 2017, Mr Floyd was told the government would fund the final part of the search if an expert mining team was established.
If approved, the final leg of the excavation will be led by two mining experts, including Tony Gready, a former supervisor and foreman at mine sites across Australia, including Fosterville in Bendigo.
Mr Floyd said the government’s support could yield answers for the Floyd family in a matter of weeks.
“Because it’s been several years since we were down in the mine it’s unclear how much work needs to be done, but what this mining company have proposed is to go through and re-timber the mine and install a new ladder system,” he said.
“They’ve then allowed two weeks to get into the 60-foot drive and clean out that space with an estimate of around $60,000 to undertake those works with set up costs and insurances.
“If we don’t find anything in the 60-foot drive, we then move to the 100-foot drive and work in that space and if there’s nothing in that, the drive at 180 feet.
“The best part about a mining company doing this is they can just get there and do the work, whereas in the past as volunteers we’d come in for a week and then wouldn’t come back for a few more weeks because of work — it was like we were taking one step forward and two steps back.”
The Victorian Government has already provided $110,000 to the excavation, funding which Mr Floyd said was key in unearthing evidence in the search, such as a necklace and shoe believed to have belonged to Terry.
“It is thanks to the government who came forward initially and made it possible to find items like the shoe and because of their assistance we have had some success and we hope that can continue,” he said.
“I’ve sent away part of the shoe to be carbon dated to see whether it fits the time of Terry’s disappearance as part of a process of elimination.”
According to a Victorian Government spokeswoman, the government supported Mr Floyd’s search efforts, with $25,000 of the initial $110,000 in funding still available.
“We support Mr Floyd’s dedication and tireless efforts to search for his missing brother, as well as those of the many Victorians assisting him,” she said.