Biography

A well-known prospector living near Sandstone, Howie committed suicide by blowing his head off with a dynamite cap. When the unfortunate man's body was discovered, it was headless and the opinion is that he put a dynamite cap Into his mouth with a short fuse attached, the result being that the head was entirely blown away, and part of the right hand and arm was also shattered and gone. It was a gruesome sight. It was stated that he had been drinking heavily for a week or more. Howie was well known in the Lawlers district and had been in the Murchison for about 17 or 18 years, during which time he had amassed a large amount of money. The verdict of the coroner's inquiry was that he committed suicide whilst of unsound mine. It was understood that he left two children in the Cue Convent School. He was personally known to many residents of the Sandstone district for the past eight or nine years and his funeral reflected the high esteem in which he was held in the community. The deceased is buried in the non-conformist section of the cemetery, plot number 8.