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”
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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”
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”
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”
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 