Biography

William and his brother, Cornelius, were born in South Australia. Cornelius, the older brother by four years, was born while the family were in Mt Gambier. Sadly, in September 1922, Cornelius was found dead about 10 miles from Yalgoo. The brothers were timbering a well for the McKenna Brothers and William, concerned that Cornelius had been "strange" for the past week, imagining things that could not possibly have happened, had arranged with Mr E. McKenna to have his brother taken to Geraldton for medical treatment as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the next morning, they went to work as usual. Cornelius lowered William down the shaft, lowered timber and hauled dirt until noon, then went to put the billy on. After half an hour, with no sign of Cornelius, William climbed out of the shaft on the windmill pipe. After some time, with no sign of Cornelius, William enlisted the help of two natives from the homestead and eventually the body of Cornelius was found lying about 200 yards beyond the camp with a razor in his right hand and a deep gash on the left side of his throat. A verdict of "death from a wound, in the throat, self-inflicted" was recorded. However, there is no such detailed information as to how young William met his death just two years later, in Sandstone. The deceased is buried in the Roman Catholic portion of the cemetery, plot number 32.