LITTLE BOY LOST
| Night quickly closed around him The sounds of animals seemed strange The boy was searching for his father On this lonely mountain range Sometimes moonlight played around him The air was clear and cool But his thoughts were so despairing The bush seemed ominous and cruel At times craggy shrubs and trees Blocked all light from the sky How his father had been lost The young boy failed to reason why Stephen Walls was herding sheep As he'd done many times before Herding sheep for him was great fun The young boy was only four Through a great misunderstanding He feared his dad was lost He was already cut and bleeding But he'd find dad at any cost Stephen thought about the day And it made his small heart sad Some sheep had broken from the herd And that's when he lost his dad As Stephen chased the rebel sheep His father told his little mate To wait down at the fence line On the big log near the gate There were two entries to this paddock With big logs near the gate Stephen waited at the wrong one And that's what sealed his fate His dad realised what happened And as he waited with the herd He called long and loud to Stephen But young Stephen never heard The child sat upon the log Waiting so impatiently To a boy of four, ten minutes Can seem eternity As Stephen scanned the paddocks His hopes were growing dim It was plain his dad was lost So the boy would search for him Stephen's father left the sheep He'd collect them later on He began his search for Stephen But the little boy was gone The wild New England Ranges Are in the state of New South Wales Many people have gone missing There are many morbid tales Many souls have perished And many never found But this little boy determined He would search this rugged ground A young heart frightened but unflinching This courageous little lad Would search this dangerous bushland Until he found his dad When Australians learned the boy was lost It began our largest search Four thousand sought to find him Many prayed for him in church This country is so unforgiving That almost from the start Those on foot were searching At one arm's length apart At least one hundred men on horseback So many miles they crossed But hope was quickly fading For the little boy lost Five light planes joined the search They flew so close to the ground They scanned the mountain range But the boy could not be found Men, women and young children Searched in darkness with a lamp There were sniffer dogs and armoured cars From the local army camp He'd disappeared on Friday morning And now Sunday had arrived Many searchers were convinced The four-year-old had not survived Wearing white shirt, hat and sandals And a little pair of shorts He trudged this mountain country Facing danger of all sorts This little boy of just four years Would be a tragic sight When alone and oh, so frightened He curled up to sleep at night Apart from many poisonous snakes There are swarms of 'Aussie' flies They invade uncovered flesh And crawl around the eyes It was our last month of summer And the scorching summer heat Would burn and dehydrate him It would hasten his defeat And adding to the worry When the sun was so intense Stephen's head was unprotected They'd found his hat snagged on a fence Fear gripped the hearts of searchers When at the close of that third day They could see a flock of birds And the birds were birds of prey The birds were feeding and excited The birds were going wild The searchers feared the birds were feeding On the body of a child Then on the fourth day in the morning Bill Scrivener's heart was filled with joy Resting quietly on a log He had found the little boy Though sunburned, cut and bleeding The boy's spirit had not broke "Where's my daddy, where's my daddy?" Were the first words that he spoke With courageous words so earnest His bravery would astound The young boy meant to keep on searching Until his daddy had been found When told his daddy wasn't lost His next calm words would shock He didn't cry, but calmly said "Look at the burrs stuck in my sock!" He'd had no food for four days But he refused to even cry His mum said berries can be poisonous So he had obediently passed them by He had found small pools of water As he traversed the untamed land His dad had once taught him to drink it By cupping his small hand Except for bruises, cuts and sunburn The little champ was quite okay His strength of purpose and resilience Is still talked about today Fifty years have come and gone But his township still recalls How this boy searched for his father This four-year-old named Stephen Walls. He fought the elements and a mountain These things he rose above As he searched to find his father With a small heart full of love. K.D. Abbott © 2010 
Safe and sound...Stephen's reunion with his parents, Norman and Dorothy Walls. NOTES: Stephen had survived in rugged bushland for a tormenting four days without food, yet his only complaint when he was taken to Guyra hospital was that he was thirsty, hungry, and the darn flies had bothered him. Later, nurses at the hospital gave him an ice-cream when he again confided to them that the flies had really been a problem. Ron Mortimer remembers flying his Auster-Aircraft during the search at thirty miles per hour and about fifty feet above the trees. Authorities were calling it the largest search in Australian history with four thousand men, women and children searching by the second day and the number still growing. The story of the little boy lost inspired a movie and a hit record that topped the charts in Australia in 1960. The song was written and recorded by the Australian recording artist, Johnny Ashcroft Today Steven runs the original family property at Tubbamurra, where he lives with his mother, Dorothy. A film clip from the movie with Johnny Ashcroft's original recording is included below. Despite a scene shown in the film clip, young Stephen did not eat any berries. Stephen was wearing a white shirt, a white hat and socks with his sandals and not the clothes depicted in the film. |
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