Outback Graves Markers

John THOMAS

Burial Location:Burtville  (details...)
Occupation: Prospector
Place of Death: Near Dog Star Gold Mine Lease
Date of Death: 08 January 1909
Date of Burial:10 January 1909
Age:About 35 years
Cause of Death:Suicide by Dynamite
OGM Ref#: 1383
Headstone:None

Biography

John Thomas committed suicide by blowing his head off with dynamite. The deceased had been in the district for about two and a half years and was working on one of the leases held by C. W. Scott, near the Mikado. An inquest was held on Saturday evening. The enquiry was adjourned for eight days and an order for burial given. The funeral took place on Sunday. Constable O'Loughlin was informed that John Thomas was missing from his camp at the Mikado Gold Mine. He went in search of him and eventually found him lying in a bough shed with his head blown off. The deceased's head was practically severed from his body. Constable O'Loughlin traced the footprints of the deceased to a magazine in an underlay shaft about 6ft deep and back to the bough shed. He made every inquiry and did not find anything suspicious about the deceased's death. During the Christmas holidays, the deceased had been drinking but had been at work for several days after that. After hearing the evidence, the jury brought in a verdict that the deceased, John Thomas, came to his death on the 8th January, 1909, by placing dynamite in his mouth and exploding it while temporarily insane.

Birth Details:Circa 1874
Death Certificate:5/1909, Mt Margaret