1889 – Benjamin Ezzy was a porter at the Bathurst Railway Station who made a fatal mistake. The 21-year-old had worked there for four years, having risen from the dirty position of lamp cleaner to porter by 1889. It was 2.30 one October afternoon when the goods train from Wallerawang arrived on the “up line’.Continue reading “Train takes life of exemplary teetotaller porter”
Tag Archives: australian deaths
Flow in river claimed two lives
A recent flow of water had been enticing many swimmers to the Bogan River below Yee War’s garden near Nyngan, New South Wales. But on February 5, 1931, after 5pm, there were only three present. Only one lived to tell the tale. Rosie Pines, 44, a strong swimmer who had herself helped rescue a womanContinue reading “Flow in river claimed two lives”
Swimmer not strong enough
1928 – Leslie Wren Ellis was a waterside worker who perhaps should have stayed waterside. He planned to buy a fishing boat which was moored in water off the town of Thevenard, South Australia. The best way to inspect it was to swim out to it, and although his friends advised him not to doContinue reading “Swimmer not strong enough”
Contrary winds keep Charles from vital medical help
1890 – Charles Frederick Otto Michael had retired as post-master at Gawler, near Adelaide, after a stroke but had “lately been enjoying good health.’’ While visiting his adult son at Fowlers Bay, South Australia, 900km west of his hometown, he broke a leg. As there was no doctor in that out-of-the-way place his son had toContinue reading “Contrary winds keep Charles from vital medical help”
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”
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”
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”
Shortcut ends to gruesome demise
It was 64-year-old Alfred James Hockey’s habit to meet the Forbes mail train by taking a short cut across the tracks at Orange Railway Station. He had “rheumatism’’ and so avoided the longer route via an overhead footbridge, half a mile away. His mangled remains were found near the station by two railway shunters onContinue reading “Shortcut ends to gruesome demise”
Kelly gang admirers on murder spree
It was 1883. The Wilsons lived in a weatherboard shack by the railway line between Epping station and Campbell Town in mid north-eastern Tasmania. WIlson, a line repairer, was in bed with his wife on the night of April 9. He was about to lose his life as a drama said to be inspired byContinue reading “Kelly gang admirers on murder spree”
Boss brained in self-defence
James Brennan was a drover who was killed in outback Queensland via the handy instrument of a shovel. Or to use the eloquency of the Truth newspaper of the time, ” With a Shovel, Batters Out His Boss’s Brains. The wielder of said shovel, William Shehan, also spelt Shean, but also known as Shannon, wasContinue reading “Boss brained in self-defence”
Way to go Australia 