Words written in stone may not always last for ever, but they may endure for a long time. The bitter epitaph above left, “one of seven victims of negligence” was etched in 1948, but still sends a clear message from the family of Victoria Herbert, who lost her life as she took the bus toContinue reading “Words written in stone endure”
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Lamp post took out railway worker
1890 – Orange, NSW railway employee Edward Morris stepped off a shunting train into a light post and was thrown back onto the line. Morris had been warned that the post was there. His fellow workers were concerned about the dangerous position of a number of new posts erected that day to provide light forContinue reading “Lamp post took out railway worker”
Fatal boat ride for non-swimmer
“I don’t think anything could sink this boat”. Bothwell, just before the boat sank William Bothwell couldn’t swim. He lived in the driest part of the continent, yet he still managed to drown in a boating accident. It was also the boat’s maiden voyage. It was made of galvanized iron, and was launched on aContinue reading “Fatal boat ride for non-swimmer”
Italian cyclist lauded in outback cemetery
Although Italian cyclist Leo Beretta lived far from home in the dusty mining town of Coolgardie, he was so esteemed among locals that an eight-foot granite memorial was raised in his memory. Beretta died when he was training at the Coolgardie Recreation Reserve.Cycle racing was the world’s most popular and lucrative sport at the turnContinue reading “Italian cyclist lauded in outback cemetery”
Wrong brother named drowned
It is bad enough to lose a child to drowning, without the press reporting the wrong child had died. In 1897, The Gympie Times correctly reported that Robert Oxlade, aged eleven years, son of a respected townsman, whilst fishing in the river (most likely the Macintyre) with two other lads, fell into the water. “The body wasContinue reading “Wrong brother named drowned”
Why did trains crash in the night?
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?”
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”
Way to go Australia 