It was ANZAC Day, 1932. Old Sam and his mate Doyle had found some promising stone in abandoned workings. Sam was anxious not to lose a moment, so he worked on while Doyle climbed above to prepare the evening meal. Having come back to check on Ure once and heard the sound of the pick, Doyle went back to finish preparing the meal. When it was ready, he went to call Ure - but no answer came. He ran to a nearby camp and the digger there waited by the shaft lest Ure came up while Doyle raced into Sandstone and hurried back with Constable Farrier, Jimmy Boase and Norman Beaver. These two were lowered down the shaft. The constable hurried away seeking highly experienced men familiar with dangerous ground. Boase crawled along, following a tortuous winding among the mullock heaps where recent workings showed. At last he reached Ure. Fallen rock and mullock completely barred his way. He held his candle at the boneless wreckage and called. A muffled answer came whispering back, and Boase's heart choked as he realised that old Sam lay under those rocks. In muffled sentences, Ure explained that while working, his pick had struck a Tom (timber support). With its collapse, the hanging wall had come in and pinned him to the footwall. He was not in pain, he explained in lisping whispers; he had no feeling at all from his arms and chest and feet. Boase realised this was a job for the quickest and most highly experienced of men. When he returned to the shaft, Constable Farrier had them already there, Tetlow and Pearce. But the old mine was sinking, inch by inch, sinking with the minutes. The roof was bulging. In places, the ground was actually moving. As they squeezed through a narrow drive, the ground gently closed around Tetlow and he was stuck. Pearce was eventually freed and they crept on closer to Ure They battled on until they were within three feet of Ure. But the roof pressed down above and before them, grinding down the timbers, crushing tighter the fallen rock, filling each hard-won inch of space as surely as they made it. At last, Tetlow forced his arm right in through the debris and, holding a cupped candle in his fist, called to Ure if he could see. Very faintly, Ure replied in a whisper that his head was jammed, and being crushed, and he could not see the light or move at all. In the whispering silence of the stope, Tetlow felt the squeeze of his arm. He dragged it back. Wild-eyed, they snatched their tools and slaved doggedly on. A long, trembling shudder marked a heavy fall of rock further on ahead. Sam Ure never spoke again. After another three quarters of an hour, with no sound from Ure, the men decided to retreat. They finally reached the shaft. As those above helped them up, they heard, up there on the surface, the rumbling crash of rock that sealed forever the tomb of old Sam Ure. Jack Tetlow, Billy Pearse and Jimmy Boase received a Royal Humane Society medal for their act of courage. Early in 1995, part of a human skull, bones and two boot soles were recovered from the area where Ure was lost. Police investigations confirmed the remains were those of the entombed man. The old Oroya Black Range Mine is now an open-cut mine worked by Herald Resources. More than 60 years later, Ure's remains were officially laid to rest in the Sandstone Cemetery. A funeral ceremony was held as part of the 100th Anniversary Celebrations, which included the dedication of the local cemetery. His death was not registered until 2000. The remains of Mr Ure lie in the non-conformist portion of the cemetery.

Alias Rene Nicholls.

The deceased is buried in the Roman Catholic portion of the cemetery, plot number 13.

The deceased lady died intestate, leaving an estate valued at £l.

Employed at the Black Range Mine, Mr Walsh had just the previous month sent his wife and infant child to Victoria for a much-needed change. A few days later, a poisoned hand prevented him from working, and for nearly a month he was under Dr. Keenan's care. Finally improving, he attended a ball and, although he did not dance, caught a chill and the next day needed to be treated for pneumonia. He was admitted to Nurse Cox' Private Hospital, where Dr Keenan and Dr Stead performed an operation but held faint hopes for his recovery and he sank rapidly to his demise. Mr Walsh' funeral was attended by a large number of residents of the district, including members of the Druids' Lodge, of which he was one of the founding members. The deceased is buried in the Roman Catholic portion of the cemetery, plot number 3. Brother P Walsh and Sister thanked Nurse Cox and Mrs Parker and D Keenan for their kindness

The deceased lived in Sandstone with her mother and her brothers, Charles William born 1876 (Birth Reg.No. 26805/1876), Albert Harold born 1888 (Birth Reg.No.14725/1888) and Walter Oscar born 1889 (Birth Reg.No.34275/1889), all born in Queenstown, Victoria. The deceased had been a resident of the district for about 8 years. The lady is buried in plot 32 of the Church of England portion of the cemetery. She left an estate of £67 to her brother, Harold.

The evidence presented to the inquiry into the death of Mr Thomas Hustler Walton is that the deceased, who was engaged as a trucker at the 15th level, got caught by the descending skip and it appeared as if he had endeavoured to enter the skip while it was in motion. When the body was discovered it was jammed under the skip ten feet below the plat where he was working and the injuries which he received must have caused instantaneous death. The verdict of the jury at the inquiry was: "We find that Thomas Hustler Walton was accidentally killed at the No. 15 Ievel of the Black Range mine, Sandstone on the 28th June 1914, no blame being attached to anyone."

At the time of his death, Thomas had a brother who was living in Geraldton.

Mr. Thomas Waters, proprietor of the Criterion Hotel at Norseman, received the sad intelligence of the sudden death of his brother, William, which took place at Sandstone.

The deceased was formerly a resident of Broken Hill and Terowie and was held in the highest esteem. He was a brother of Thomas and Arundel (Arnold) Waters. The three brothers were part of a family of eight: 4 boys and 4 girls born to an English couple who arrived in the South Australian colony in 1852 in the ship Shacnamaxan and married in 1854.

Mr Waters Senior began carting from Bimbowie Station to the Burra, wool carting from the north-east stations being the main work. Later, the two eldest brothers, Arundel and William Henry, began carting machinery and merchandise to The Barrier. Before long, the Waters Brothers went wool carting with horse teams from New South Wales to Broken Hill, from Cobham, Lake and Tabbaburra Stations. The gold boom in Western Australia called the brothers and in 1894 they shipped their horse teams to Geraldton and travelled to Mullewa where they put on their first loads to the Star of the East mine near Cue. The trip there and back took about six weeks. The fine draught horses for which the Waters Brothers were noted quickly attracted attention in WA and they received big offers to sell the teams. They returned to Warrnambool, Victoria, and obtained a shipment for the West where they were in great demand, realizing £70 and £80 per head. Eventually, the dry arid nature of bush tracks and high cost of horse feed caused the brothers to dispose of the horses and purchase donkeys as these hardy animals were able to thrive on their own pickings in the dry regions whilst carting general loads from Mt Magnet to Lawlers and Kathleen Valley and to Lake Darlot. When the railway line from Kalgoorlie reached Leonora, the teams carted out to Mt Sir Samuel. At that time, donkey teams realized £500.

Mr Arundel Waters then entered the hotel business and his younger brother, William Henry, moved to Sandstone to pursue his mining interests. Ironically, this well-known teamster, William Henry, dropped dead, falling off his horse from heart failure, after riding trial gallop on the local racecourse. He had been a resident of the Murchison fields for over 16 years and left a wife and family of five grownup children residing at Terowie, South Australia.

The deceased is buried in the Church of England portion of the cemetery, plot number 13. William Henry’s widow, Frances Harriet, died at Glenelg, South Australia, in 1934 at the age of 70 years.

The child is buried in plot number 28 of the Church of England portion of the cemetery. The child's parents were married in Kalgoorlie in 1902 (Marriage Reg.No.361/1902, Kalgoorlie). His father was an engine driver in Sandstone. He held certificates from 1st Class boilermaker and even the wrench engine that pulled the cage in which the men entered the mine. He also held a certificate for marine engines to drive a ship. At the time of his marriage, he was publican of the Kalgoorlie Hotel. Their other children were: John Robert (1902-1902); Minerva Myrtle Adeline born 24 September 1905 in Kalgoorlie; Ruby Glandore born in Coolgardie, 1909; Caroline Violet Evelyn, born Coolgardie 1911 and Ivy May born 5 March 1913 in District Hospital, Mt Morgan, Western Australia. The child's mother died in 1950, aged 68 years and her husband died in 1954 at the age of 84 years - both in Victoria.

The child is buried in the Roman Catholic portion of the cemetery, plot number 14. His parents were married in Port Augusta, South Australia, 29 May 1892 (Marriage Reg. No. 171/810, Frome) and had six other children. They were: Edward Sidney born 3 February 1893, Port Pirie (Birth Reg. No. 515/64 Port Pirie); Dorothy May 1895 Perth (Birth Reg. No. 873/1895 Perth); Leonard John 1897 Perth (Birth Reg. No. 2951/1897 Perth); Arthur Worland Joseph 1900 Perth (Birth Reg.No.3575/1900 Perth); Walter William 1902 Perth (Birth Reg.No.4540/1902 Perth); and Ralph Vernon 1904 Welshpool (Birth Reg.No.981/1904 Welshpool). Leonard Weeks and his wife and family were living in Sandstone in 1912, where he owned a restaurant. He was born in Peckham, London, in 1869.

Ernest West died before 24 October 1927. On October 22nd, Constable Markey received a report that the man was missing and it was thought he had wandered into the bush. The constable and a black tracker set out immediately and, having picked up the tracks, followed them until darkness came on. The next morning, they followed the tracks still further and found the man, who was very weak, but seemingly quite rational. He was conveyed to Sandstone Hospital in a very emaciated condition, suffering from exposure and exhaustion. The man rallied under treatment until midday on the day he had been admitted, then symptoms of heart failure intervened and he died from cardiac failure due to exhaustion and exposure. At the Coroner's Inquiry held subsequent to his death, a verdict that deceased came to his death through exposure, exhaustion and cardiac failure, brought about through having wandered in the bush, was returned.

The child is buried in plot number 33 of the Church of England portion of the cemetery. Her parents were married in Swan in 1907. They had four children: Twins Myrtle and George William born 1907 at Black Range, and Emily Gertrude born 1908 at Black Range and Jack, possibly born 1910. It appears that the two children, Myrtle and Jack, found some detonators at some old workings in the vicinity of their home and, whilst playing with them, one exploded, inflicting terrible injuries to the little girl's hands and abdomen. The unfortunate child was at once taken to the hospital by Mr and Mrs O'Grady and there she received the unremitting attention of Dr. O'Brien, Matron Spaven and Nurse Latta up to the time of her death. The children's mother died at Cue in 1921 as the result of a Red Back Spider bite on the bottom while at the toilet. She is buried at Day Dawn. Her husband also died at Cue in 1941.

The child is buried in the Roman Catholic portion of the cemetery, plot number 21.

The child's parents were married in Menzies on 29 December 1896 (Marriage Reg.No.191/1896, Menzies). Nine children were born to this couple - 4 girls and 5 boys - of which John was the youngest. His siblings were: Anthony 1897-1897, Anthony Vincent 1898-1934, Bernard Aloysius 1901-1976, Amelia Josephine 19092-1980, Francis Joseph 1904-1965, Gertrude May 1906-1995, Lily 1908-1971, Stella 1910-1993. Anthony Woinar was born on 6 May 1872.

Anthony Anglicised his name from Antoni Wojnorow. He was from Vilna, Poland, which is now Vilnius Lithuania. His wife was from Manchester, England. He was supposed to go to England but changed his fare at the last moment and came to Western Australia instead. The attached photograph is of John and Annie in the boarding house in Reedy. Anthony died on 14 August 1947 at Kalgoorlie. Annie also died at Kalgoorlie some years later, on 21 July 1958.

The deceased's brother, Anthony, is also featured in this website.