Stuart Diver (born 14 January 1970 in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) is a

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

instructor and was the sole survivor of the 1997 Thredbo landslide.

Thredbo landslide

At 11.35pm, on 30 July 1997, 3,500 tonnes of rock and mud slid down the side of

Thredbo Thredbo is a village and ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, situated in a part of the Snowy Monaro Regional Council, and has been operated by Event Hospitality and Entertainment since 1987. It is approximately s ...

, a ski resort in New South Wales, taking two ski lodges with it. The landslide killed 18 people, one of whom was Diver's first wife, Sally (née Donald). After 65 hours in sub-zero temperatures with only a small blanket and jacket, Diver was finally pulled from the rubble. After the incident, Diver wrote a biography, ''Survival'', with journalist Simon Bouda, detailing his struggles with the experience of the disaster and the aftermath. Diver's experiences were also made into the Australian

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

, '' Heroes' Mountain'', where his character was played by actor

Craig McLachlan Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap ...

Private life

Diver has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree, is a level-three ski instructor and in 2012 he became Operations Manager of the Thredbo Ski Resort. After his wife Sally died in the Thredbo landslide, Stuart remarried. With his wife Rosanna (née Cossettini), Stuart has a daughter, Alessia. Stuart owns a house above the disaster site, where he lived with his wife Rosanna and Alessia. Rosanna died from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

on 21 March 2015. Diver has an active role promoting

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

and is one of the most well-known public faces of the charity. He has a brother Euan, mother Annette and father Steve.

References

External links

"Survival"
Stuart Diver, By Simon Bouda, 2006/03/06
Thredbo survivor Stuart Diver supports Red Shield Appeal
MEDIA RELEASE – NEWS STORY FOR FRIDAY MAY 26TH 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Diver, Stuart 1970 births Living people People from New South Wales Sole survivors Australian male skiers