Come From Away musical in Sydney: The Aussies stranded by 9/11

Australians stranded in the aftermath of 9/11 are still amazed by the actions of those who took them in and in doing so inspired a groundbreaking musical now showing in Sydney.

It can be hard to fathom how a musical theatre production could come to life born from the tragedy of 9/11. But incredibly, Come From Away does just that – and in a show sharing the way the world came together on September 12 that leaves you with a restored faith in humanity, buoyed by the overwhelming good still in the world.

With its official opening on Thursday at the Capitol Theatre, the groundbreaking musical portrays the real-life events that came in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York, which closed US airspace for the first time in history.

It was then that 38 planes carrying almost 7000 people from more than 100 countries were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland – a tiny, remote island off the east coast of Canada few people had heard of before now.

Unable to communicate with their families and not knowing how long they would be stranded, the locals housed them, fed them and cared for the ‘come from aways’, in an unexpected outpouring of generosity and hospitality.

Planes on the runway in the Canadian town of Gander which inspired the musical Come From Away. Picture: Supplied

There were a handful of Australians among the thousands stranded – including Iain and Julia Campbell, from the Central Coast.

The St Hubert’s couple were on United Airlines flight 929 on their way from a scientific conference in Edinburgh to Chicago, where they lived at the time, when the world stopped on September 11.

“It was surreal,” Julia told Saturday Extra.

“Most of us were worried there was something wrong with the aircraft and just prior to landing we were told there had been an incident in the US and we couldn’t land in Chicago, so were going to a place called Gander.

“We were on the aircraft for another 26 hours after landing because there were a lot of people to process and Mike our captain put us through to the BBC radio so we could hear what happened, and listening to it was just spine chilling.

“We had no visuals at that point, but just listening to the screaming through our headphones was just numbing.”

The stranded passengers from around the world slept in a church in Gambo.

Julia Campbell emailing family back home.

Iain Campbell before his departure.

By the time UA929 was processed, Gander was full, so they were taken on yellow school buses to a town called Gambo, about 40 minutes away.

“There we were set up in the church – Iain had a church pew as his bed – we were there for six days in the end.”

As so accurately portrayed in the moving musical, locals brought the ‘come from awayers’ food, clothes, toiletries – even socks and undies. The 2000-strong population of Gambo doubled overnight, and without hesitation, the town rallied to house their visitors.

And amid the tragedy of what had occurred, the Campbells had another problem to work out – their son Hamish, a professional surfer in Indonesia at the time, had an infected foot after scraping it on coral, and amputation was looming.

“The whole town just rallied and took such good care of everyone and we became very good friends and got to know them very well – their language, the culture, the music – and all of that is so incredibly well portrayed in Come From Away, it’s extraordinary,” Iain said.

“But we spent a lot of our time in Gambo making arrangements for our son to get back to Australia so he could get medical attention – he lived in the States with us at that time but we couldn’t get him there because the airways were closed.”

The local women of Gambo who fed stranded passengers including Iain and Julia Campbell in the real life events which inspired hit musical Come From Away.

Hamish was eventually flown to Sydney where his sister Belinda was studying at Sydney University. His foot was saved.

“You didn’t have mobile phones in those days, but we had Iain’s computer so we were one of the few people who could help set up a communications centre in a an office in the church – we had three computers and let everyone sit and have a turn and email and do what they had to do,” Julia said.

“All of these people had lost their lives in New York and of course we were mourning their deaths but we had all of this stuff going on as well – the swirling emotions that were going on – and I think that’s conveyed in Come From Away as well – it just hits every single emotion.

“I think it’s really heartwarming and uplifting – I would defy anyone to not come out of seeing that show feeling uplifted and wowed – it’s just phenomenal.

“The instant the musical started, Iain and I looked at each other and I mouthed ‘that’s exactly what it was like’ – it was so incredibly accurate – it’s exactly as it happened.”

Julia Campbell at Gander Airport and ready to go home after their flight was diverted due to 9/11.

Julia Campbell boarding UA929 in Gander.

Iain and Julia moved back to Australia in 2003 and even 20 years after 9/11, keep in touch with fellow passengers and townsfolk from Gander on social media.

“Julia and I look back on that time personally as being extremely lucky that we found ourselves in this wonderful environment where we were taken care of and treated as though we were family, at an incredibly evil and tumultuous time in history,” Iain said.

Also on UA 929, Perth 73-year-old Bob Smith was stranded in Newfoundland and hosted in Gambo after flying from the UK for his father’s funeral. Ex-air force, Bob noticed the plane was dumping fuel before they made an emergency landing in Newfoundland.

Perth's Bob Smith was stranded in Newfoundland and hosted in Gambo after flying home from his dad's funeral in the UK.

“We were about halfway across ‘The Pond’ and I noticed we were venting fuel and I thought it was a bit strange,” he said.

“Then on the little screen on the chair in front I noticed we were descending – nothing came over for about 10 minutes and then the captain announced we were diverting to Ganda and Newfoundland because the US was closed.

“We were debating what was going to close the US and we came up with two possibilities – an air controller strike, or a nuclear war – so we were looking for flashes outside the window because we weren’t told what had happened until we got on the ground.”

Stuck on the plane for 24 hours, the group started to bond, with music a big part of their story.

“The kids on the flight were amazing – normally I would pay extra to go on a flight without kids – but they were brilliant,” Smith said.

“It was one of the hottest Septembers on record up there and the AC went out on the plane and they ran out of water so we were all sharing what we got – it was a bit unnerving.

“But (UK folk singer) Julian Dawson was on our plane and after we finished the evening meal he would sit there and sing songs for most of the evening until people went to sleep.

“He counted up and he did 101 songs over the four nights, without music or anything.

“The locals joined in, the local kids sung and danced for us, they took us for walks, took us into their houses, they were absolutely amazing people.”

This is where Bob Smith slept during his stay in Gambo.

Gambo locals entertain the crowds during their unexpected stay.

Still in contact with friends in Gamba, Smith took his wife and stepdaughter back for the first anniversary of that fateful day. There were hopes to return for the 20th anniversary later this year, but the pandemic put a stop to that.

“Our flight actually donated enough money that the church bought itself a new piano, keyboard and organ and my wife got to be the first people to play the piano for the first time at a Sunday service while we were,” he said.

“It was quite emotional.”

Come From Away opened on Broadway to wide acclaim in 2017 and continued its international triumph with sold-out, record breaking seasons in Toronto, London and a 60-city North American tour.

When US flight attendant Marian Bradley first heard about the show from her home on the Victorian Mornington Peninsula, she couldn’t believe it.

It was her story too.

“I love the theatre and when I heard it was coming to Melbourne and that it was about Gander, I was like ‘wow’,” she said.

Melbourne's Marian Bradley was a flight attendant during 9/11.

A flight attendant for more than 35 years, Marian was working on a flight from London to Houston on September 11.

“It was a day like any other until you’re flying along and get four bells which alerts us to some sort of emergency,” she said.

“Initially they thought a plane had an accident and hit one of the towers and they found out quite quickly by the second one what was happening.

“We were told that everyone and everything was considered suspect, and who would know if any of our aircraft would be the next one to have someone jump up and cause a threat, so we were on high security alert and very nervous.”

Unable to tell passengers what they knew, Marian remembers feeling that anything could have been a bomb, and anyone could have done something to put them in danger,

“All these things are going through your head as you are in the air at 30,000 feet in the middle of the ocean,” she continued.

“We started circling … and the next step was finding out where we were going to land.”

When they did land, while passengers were taken away in buses, airline crew were housed in accommodation near the airport in Gander in case they had to be called on quickly.

“When I first got off and all of these people were walking around in a mass exodus like deer in headlights – like what’s happened, something’s not right,” she said.

“People looked lost and afraid, but the people of Gander suddenly said ‘we are doing something about this’ and opened their homes.

“I just remember looking out the aircraft doors and seeing all the planes from all over the world lit up and you just think ‘what in the world just happened’.

“You’re staying so strong for your passengers but we had people screaming, on other aircraft fights broke out – we had people that had loved ones in the Towers and in the Pentagon. “Every person had a story – some people were going to funeral or weddings – but the main thing people wanted more than anything else, was to go home.

“The play really does an excellent job of making you feel like you were there – it’s good for the soul.

“You walk away and the world is a better place as a result of it.”

Allison O’Donnell was born in Newfoundland and grew up there before moving to Victoria in 2008 after meeting her Aussie husband. She was 14 and in her first year of high school when the town changed, and remembers bringing people food, clothes, blankets and towels to all the unintentional tourists of Delta 43 taking refuge at her school.

“I happened to go to my friend’s house at lunchtime and we turned the television on randomly, and saw it all unfolding and we were like ‘wow, what is going to happen’,” she told Saturday Extra.

“We went home that afternoon and had no idea that we wouldn’t be going back to school for another 12 days.

“The school then offered us the opportunity to come in and volunteer, so they asked us to bring sleeping bags, play stations, televisions – all the little things knowing we would have people stay at our school, and to help support the people of Delta 43.”

The real life events inspired the musical Come From Away. Picture: Annette Dew

She said they dished out meals in the cafeteria, helped co-ordinate family phone calls and connecting people through emails on computers.

“It’s such a really good feeling to know we were able to help in that way, and now everyone knows how we are, because in Newfoundland, no matter who you are or what you’re doing, anyone will drop anything and everything they’re doing just to help you out,” the aged care worked and mother of one said.

“I’ve not experienced anything quite like it.

“That’s what humans are here for – to help each other.”

O’Donnell said she cried the whole way through Come From Away the first time she saw it.

“I think music really helps tell that story because music is a massive part of Newfoundland – and most people had no idea of what happened at that time, aside from the Twin Towers falling down,” she said.

“It reiterates that the world today is a scary place and it’s hard to keep your faith, but there are good people in it.

“As you can imagine, the pride the Newfoundlanders feel is incredible … we are very patriotic about it. It’s a good feeling.”

Come From Away premieres at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre this week. For more details or tickets, go to comefromaway.com.au