The first ascent of The Thumb – Hinchinbrook Island, 1953

In 1953, the University of Queensland Bushwalking Club made the first ascent of The Thumb on Hinchinbrook Island, placing a quartz crystal on the summit. Stolen decades later, the crystal was recovered, cared for by the Townsville Bushwalking Club, and returned to its rightful place in 1978.

Townsville Bushwalking Club

01 Jan 1978 — 4 min read

The Thumb, a granite monolith rising 981 metres on a ridge of the Mount Bowen massif, was one of the last unclimbed summits in Australia in the early 1950s. Visible from the north Queensland mainland, its distinctive silhouette on Hinchinbrook Island beckoned explorers with the challenge of reaching its pinnacle.

Early attempts

In August 1952, renowned mountaineer and writer John Bechervaise led an Australian Geographical Society–sponsored expedition of schoolboys to Hinchinbrook Island. Following the southeast ridge, the team cut a track through dense terrain and managed to reach within 100 metres of the summit before turning back. Their efforts, however, paved the way for the climbers who followed.

The University of Queensland Bushwalking Club ascent

Just a few months later, in January 1953, five members of the newly formed University of Queensland Bushwalking Club (UQBWC) – Jon Stephenson, John Comino, Geoff Broadbent, Dave Stewart, and Ian McLeod – took advantage of Bechervaise’s track. Their approach to The Thumb took three gruelling days in tropical summer heat, carrying heavy, bulky gear of the era.

The final obstacle was the summit cliff. As the group debated options, John Comino initially suggested making a leap across a gap – an idea quickly dismissed as too risky. Instead, he climbed into an open chimney, scrambled onto Jon Stephenson’s shoulders, and scraped away vegetation before pulling himself up. From above, he used a rope to bring the others onto the ledge. Although technically simple, the move required creativity and teamwork—a hallmark of many first ascents of the time.

From there, the team climbed unroped to the top. On the summit, they built a rock cairn and placed inside a tin can register along with an eight-centimetre quartz crystal they had found lower on the ridge.

The climbers had little time to savour their success. From the summit, they watched a tropical thunderstorm approach. Over the next ten days, cyclonic rains pounded Hinchinbrook Island – up to 20 centimetres per day. On the descent, the group waded chest-deep through flooded creeks, narrowly avoiding disaster.

The story of the crystal

That quartz crystal became part of The Thumb’s legend. Placed with ceremony by the first ascensionists, it remained in the cairn until 1975, when it was thoughtlessly removed. For years, it was passed around until John Simmons recovered it.

Recognising its significance, the Townsville Bushwalking Club took custody of the crystal. In July 1978, members of the UQBWC returned it to the summit, restoring the original symbol of that 1953 climb. A humorous but pointed note, now known as the “Curse of The Thumb,” was also left behind:

"May he who remove this rock slip on the granite, fail to find water, get lost in the scunge, carried away by sandflies, and never return."

Since then, the crystal has remained on the summit – a reminder of both the triumph of the first ascent and the responsibility of respecting such places.

Legacy of the climbers

The 1953 ascent of The Thumb cemented the reputation of the UQBWC, a club founded just a few years earlier by Jon Stephenson and John Comino. Both men went on to distinguished careers. Stephenson became the first Australian to reach the South Pole and the first person to traverse Antarctica, while Comino was remembered as a pioneering Queensland climber and bushwalker.

Although the UQBWC disbanded in 1997, its traditions and history continue to live on in the University of Queensland Mountain Club, which honours the spirit of exploration fostered by those early members.

For the Townsville Bushwalking Club, the return of the quartz crystal stands as an enduring connection to that history and to Hinchinbrook’s rugged, untamed landscapes.