Huge sinkhole in elderly couple’s backyard led to amazing discovery about their house. This elderly couple from Ipswich, Queensland, became famous for a peculiar reason. They had been living in their house since the 1990s, but now their place was going to deprive them of their sleep.
It all happened when their neighbor told them there was a wide sinkhole filled with water in their backyard. Nevertheless, it wasn’t the most bizarre thing that was about to happen. The incident took place in Queensland, Australia, which instantly became the heart of fear when this oddity rose to the scene.
Rey and Lynette McKay, a retired couple, had to deal with sleepless nights while all their neighbors were crowded in front of their house. They moved there in 1991 to settle down and live the rest of their lives in a beautiful suburb with a peaceful atmosphere. The couple indeed loved nature, and it was the main reason they opted for Ipswich. Little did they know that nature’s not always kind to its lovers.
Ray McKay and Lynn lived alone in their house as their children were out of town. However, they visited them now and then. The couple was amicable and sociable and had good relations with all their neighbors. Lynn loved talking to people and was adored by everyone. However, they would become famous for a completely different reason soon.
Soon, the two would find out the truth about the place they’d been living in for so long. It all happened one fine day when a mysterious giant hole appeared in their backyard. It came out of nowhere just overnight. Amazingly, the McKays got to know about it from their neighbors when they knocked on their door. But why did that happen? How did this hole appear? The elderly couple had never imagined that they would have to experience such an odd thing right in front of their home.
You see, there was an amazing story behind it. Lynn recalls, ‘Nine o’clock, I got a knock on the door, and it’s the chap from next door.’ It was hard for the woman to believe in the nonsense her neighbor was talking about. She immediately called her husband and rushed outside to see it with her own eyes. She further stated, ‘Her neighbor came and knocked on the door about nine o’clock and said, « Oh, look at the hole in the backyard. Oh, it’s got bigger and bigger and bigger. It’s more frightening than anything. »‘ Well, it was just the beginning of the big secret their house was hiding for years.
Ray McKay and Lynn were scared out of their wits and curious at the same time. Their backyard was all plain yesterday, and today there was a giant hole in it. What’s more, it was filled with water. The couple feared their home would also fall into it if not taken care of in time. So they immediately reached out to the authorities.
When the authorities appeared on the scene, they had no answers to what had happened as well. However, they had to lead into action, so the couple was advised to move to a hotel for a while. The authorities had taken charge, but still, no concrete solution seemed to be in sight. The news went viral; everybody in the locality, in the country, knew about the massive hole in the McKay’s backyard. While the only burning question was, how did this hole come about? Well, it looked like a sinkhole. However, the sinkhole itself wasn’t the reason for rumoring. The main question was, what was under it?
The couple’s daughter, Tracy O’Neill, found out about the news from a Facebook post. ‘I called mom after seeing a big hole in their yard, and she said, « Can’t talk, we’re leaving the house, »‘ O’Neil said. Without hesitation, the woman hopped into the car and headed to her parents. ‘We’re all pretty exhausted. We came down at 9 am this morning, haven’t had a chance to sit down and catch up with my parents yet. I just thought, not again. They already lost everything in the floods, and that was nearly the end of mom and dad emotionally and physically. And then I saw this,’ then she added, ‘I think at this stage, we’re just going to be looking at the next step. We’ll have more of an idea tonight and tomorrow.’
When the woman was asked whether her parents would leave the house, she shook her head. ‘You see, that house was the first place her parents bought for their own money. There was no way they were going to leave. That mom and dad are really happy there. It’s the first home they’ve bought; it is the only home they are going to live in. They’ve been through the floods, been through this; not much more that can happen. If they have to move, then there would be another option. But at the moment, I’m not trying to stress my parents out.’
The ground continued to sink, and soon the authorities discovered the cause. Dr. Anthony Linh, Minister for the Mind, stated, ‘We suspect that what’s happened is an artificial cap was put on the hole, and there’s a big body of water that’s been under that hole for quite some time. When the cap sunk, the water came up, and that’s the initial assessment,’ concluded Antony.
The elderly couple had no idea their house was hiding something. When they’d been told there was a coal mining shaft beneath the backyard, the two were sincerely baffled. It seemed like the shaft was built in the early 1900s, and the ground started falling down because of its collapse. At that point, the McKays realized why the streets they were living in were called Cole Road; the lane had many coal shafts out there in the earlier times, and now it looked like one of them happened to be under their house.
The authorities were sure the shaft was beneath the backyard but were still hesitant about whether it was under the house. Thus they didn’t want to take any risks and make hasty decisions. That’s why the couple had to displace themselves to somewhere else for a time. For the McKays, it was a heart-rending decision, as the elderly couple had been staying in the house since 1991 and had grown attached to it. However, they had no other choice.
Meanwhile, the sinkhole was growing larger day by day. In a week, it had gone up to 20 feet wide and 30 feet deep. One of the neighbors, Ken Morton, explained, ‘I think it’s grown another two meters all around since I last saw it yesterday. I don’t believe it’ll grow any bigger than it is now. It has been quite a shocking spectacle so far.’
Lynn was in a cold sweat, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s hard to explain. Yeah, a hole in the backyard, and as we’ve been watching it all morning with our neighbors, it’s got bigger and bigger and bigger. When’s it going to stop? Won’t somebody do something?’
Thankfully, the sinkhole didn’t reach the house. Soon, the miners came to take stock of the situation and even helped the couple to take out the water from the home. ‘The mines people are outside surveying the situation, looking at that, and everyone’s around. I don’t know who’s here and who’s not,’ said Lin, ‘They’re bringing in pumps and things now, so I don’t know what’s going to happen.’
The couple was unaware of what was happening to their house. In a while, the mayor discovered some facts about the shaft. It appeared that one shaft was actually built in the same area but was at least 40 meters away from the sinkhole. However, nobody was sure about the information they had found due to the scarcity of record-keeping in the early 1900s, let alone dug sometime between 1903 and 1920.
Piscisali further described, ‘Where I was concerned about this one was no one had any record of mining here, and I’m thinking, holy smokes, is there a problem here? But it was never a mine; it was just a shaft that they created. One thing about back then was they were really bad at keeping records. What it is is old workings, so mine works. We’ve identified the fact that there’s a shaft put in here many, many years ago, and we’ve been in contact with the mines department. They’re sending a team up here, and they identified the coal was too deep and not worth it,’ he revealed. ‘It’ll get worse for the next couple of hours. It’s an exploratory shaft that goes down about a hundred meters, and there’s no need to panic about a neighborhood falling in. And we will take all the steps to get Lynn and Ray back in their house.’
It was a challenging time for the McKays, but they had the support of all their neighborhood. Paul Bisisoli, Ipswich Mayor, had breakfast with them, ‘I had breakfast with him this morning, and they’re in good spirits, and we just have to make sure the impact of this hole doesn’t impact their mental health,’ the mayor said. Lynn’s biggest asset and worry was the Hill’s closed hoist, and that is going to be protected. ‘The suburb has nothing to worry about. Everything’s safe. The McKays have just drawn a short straw. I’m just pleased it wasn’t under their house.’
What’s more, the mayor paid for the couple’s stay in the hotel. Even though they had house insurance, it was far from enough to cover the whole of it. ‘I’ve made arrangements for Ray and Lynn McKay to be in hotel accommodation overnight to make sure they have some peace of mind,’ said Mayor Pompeo Sali. O’Neil said, ‘Mom’s coping a bit better than dad, and I think he’d rest better sitting in his own chair and watching TV.’
The family was waiting for the investigation results before starting the large-scale investigation. Officers separated the house from the rest by fencing it in from all sides. They had to work really fast as the elderly couple couldn’t move back into their home until their research was completed. Everyone understood it was a profound and rude shock for Ray and Lynn. They were old and needed to live peacefully in their house instead of withstanding all that hustle and bustle.
The team started by pulling the water out of the pool. After that, they had to fill a truck with dirt taken from the hole. While the workers were working at their fastest, the McKays missed their home a lot. ‘I didn’t get any sleep. I was thinking about what was happening at homeland,’ remarked Lynn. ‘They haven’t told us if it’ll get any bigger, just that they want to pump the water out and fill it with gravel. It could be weeks before it’s back to normal. We haven’t really been given a time frame,’ the woman added.
Luckily, in a month, the hole was filled, and the McKays were allowed to move back to their sweet home. The couple was over the moon and soon started redecorating their backyard. They were not alone in their struggles to come over their past; all the citizens were there to support them. You may think it was the happy ending to the challenging story, but you’d be wrong.
Unfortunately, there was far more. The mayor said, ‘We know which suburbs have got mines, and if you look at all our planning maps for people buying residential property, everything’s safe and it’s all recorded now online for everyone to see. And only one percent of Ipswich was ever mined. The mining industry doesn’t even exist now; our highest industry is aerospace and technology, so those days are gone. But history always shows you the past comes back to haunt you occasionally,’ he added.
The funny thing is that the couple found themselves a souvenir of this tragic incident, a piece of wood that was once part of the sinkhole. Ray kept it as a reminder of the bizarre adventure of their lives. Little did they know it wasn’t over.
The McKays had been living peacefully for six months. They gave their garden a beautiful makeover and hoped for the best. However, life prepared them for another challenge, and the ground crumbled again, but this time from the heavy rain. Being more resilient now, the couple still had to suffer a lot of unfortunate events. In 2011, they had to say goodbye to all their belongings due to a flood. You know, seeing all your stuff sweeping away in the water is a devastating experience.
Their story touched the hearts of many people, and one of them was the mayor. The man was deeply moved when he saw all the couple’s sufferings, so he decided to help them somehow and prepared a gift for the upcoming Christmas. Nevertheless, little did they know, a few years after, their backyard was going to vanish.
Well, this story is definitely terrifying. What would you do if you saw a hole in your backyard? We genuinely hope this elderly couple is doing good now despite all the challenges they had to go through.