When a cattle train and a goods train collided in the early hours of a Saturday morning in 1901 near Orroroo, South Australia, the driver of the train responsible blamed dew on the rails. However, the Railway and the Coroner’s reports conflicted on the cause, and there was much debate both publicly and in parliament,Continue reading “Why did trains crash in the night?”
Author Archives: Sharyn Moodie
Tall policeman not strong enough
Coolgardie’s first-class constable William Ackerman Westrop died at midnight of consumption of the throat, a fairly popular way to die in the 1890s. The term usually referred to the wasting that accompanied tuberculosis. His illness was blamed on “turning out at all hours of the night in attending to the prisoners brought in’’ to the lock-up.Continue reading “Tall policeman not strong enough”
Flash flood ended Henry’s gold fever
The words on this headstone in the overgrown abandoned Anglican cemetery at Sofala are almost unreadable, worn by time and overgrown with lichen. The grave’s occupant, Henry Robinson, was lost to the waters of nearby Oaky Creek, just as the stone itself is now being lost to the elements. How long before his story alsoContinue reading “Flash flood ended Henry’s gold fever”
Expert dies of cyanide poisoning
Young Walter Price, 26, accidentally inhaled the fumes of the cyanide plant at Horseshoe Mine at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Death by cyanide wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in the goldfields, less than a decade after the major WA goldrush began, given its essential use to extract gold from rock. What was unfortunate is that Walter’s profession wasContinue reading “Expert dies of cyanide poisoning”
Paddle boat captain suicides after losing wife and son
The dry desolation of the Wilcannia cemetery in outback New South Wales is a sad resting place for two-year-old John Robert Mack. He died on the paddle boat Ethel Jackson as it steamed along the Darling River on June 9, 1878. At the time the boat was the flagship of the McCulloch Company which employedContinue reading “Paddle boat captain suicides after losing wife and son”
Horses hasten men’s end
No-one saw Thomas Hood, driver of the mail coach from Mudgee to Wellington in rural NSW, get kicked in the face by a horse, but the mark of the shoe was plainly visible on his face. Death-by-horse was a reasonable common occurence in early Australia, particular as horses were essential for transport of people andContinue reading “Horses hasten men’s end”
Good deed goes fatally wrong
Young Duncan Denovan, a contractor for Wellington gasworks, was out shooting rabbits near Stuart Town in mid-western New South Wales on a Thursday evening in 1904 when he came across the body of a man floating in the river. He secured the body and borrowed a horse, heading to Stuart Town to inform police. HeContinue reading “Good deed goes fatally wrong”
Jockey predicted his own death
Jockey John J Evans had a premonition that he would not make it through the day of racing at Coolgardie on August 11, 1901. He was right. His mount, Arthur, refused to rise at the first obstacle in the first race of the second day of the sixth Coolgardie Cup, the hurdle. It crashed intoContinue reading “Jockey predicted his own death”
Paddle steamer accidents often fatal
Steam paddle boats accidents were common and often fatal on the rivers of inland NSW, prompting this scathing opinion in the press by an unnamed correspondent. It followed the death of 28-year-old Henry Pitcher on board the steamer Princess Royal on August 15, 1870 – the same year the vessel was launched. “As the Princess Royal arrivedContinue reading “Paddle steamer accidents often fatal”
Little Alice went out to play
A weathered moss-adorned wooden grave marker tilts slightly towards the horizon at the Strahan cemetery, high on a hill overlooking the water. Only a few hundred metres below lies the West Coast Wilderness Railway station at Regatta Point, which takes tourists on fun day trips. And there one finds the Strahan-Zeehan railway turntable, which wasContinue reading “Little Alice went out to play”
Way to go Australia 