Biography

Jerry O'Conlan and Thomas Cantwell died in December 1895 and are buried where they were found in the vicinity of Sunday Soak. - or Higginsville - in the Coolgardie district. The two men struck off to Coolgardie to collect moneys for the sale of one of the new leases. They never reached there, what with the heat, a new water bag and trying a short cut. Cantwell and O'Conlan were reported missing from Dundas. They sold a claim they had started there and headed for Coolgardie intending to go to Sydney, to which city they belonged. When they did not put in an appearance, the Coolgardie police were notified and on 14 December 1895, Police Constable Brown and a black tracker went out to look for them. They found the bodies on 24 December 1895, about 6 miles west of Sunday Soak and about 10 miles from another soak. Their tracks showed they had passed within about 150 yards of water.