Boronia's Second Killer Crossing

 

The Falling Facade.

I’ve been getting some great insights into the Boronia Shopping district lately, thanks largely to Ray Peace’s new book “Boronia & Its Death Trap Crossing”. While it concentrates on the Train crossing, it also spends a great deal exploring the growth of the area immediately around the intersection of Boronia & Dorset Roads. One incident that piqued my interest and made me go look a bit deeper, was the accident that happened on the afternoon of  November 5 1981, and resulted in the deaths of two elderly sisters when pieces of the facade from a construction site fell and crushed them.

 Ilma Rich was killed instantly at the site and her younger sister Grace Witney died later that night at Box Hil Hospital. The building in question was one of the first “high rise” buildings in Boronia at three stories and was to house the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) The building was very near completion and was due to be finished within weeks of the accident happening. There was an inquest that ran for several months and culminated in late 1982 with the end result stating it was not worksite shortcuts or the fault of workmen, but a series of errors in communications in planning and design. In the end, the scapegoat was the Pedestrian Crossing in front of the building. One can only guess the reasoning being that the ladies were waiting to cross because if it wasn’t there under a building site, the tragedy could have been averted. Thus, making it Boronia’s 2nd Killer Crossing. The Lights were moved the ridiculously short distance in front of the arcade to the station, which in turn were moved again a decade or so ago to where they are. The building still is the tallest in the shopping precinct (excluding the Coles carpark) and is situated at 252 Dorset Road.

The Building Today 2026