Biography

The deceased had suffered from illness of varying kinds for some time and was known to be nursing a "rupture". On his final journey to seek medical attention, he repeatedly asked as to how much further the journey would be. Finally, he was told "about two hours". He then begged the driver to see that he had a Christian burial, turned on his side and passed away without uttering another word. On Monday 26 July, the deceased was very ill and a fellow-prospector decided to take him to Lawlers to see the doctor. He was taken in on Wednesday 28 July but at 5.30pm, collapsed and died. Arthur Albert Crooke, medical practitioner at Lawlers, conducted a post mortem at the Lawlers Hospital morgue and found the cause of death to be shock and exhaustion, arising from strangulated femoral hernia. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical testimony. The deceased is buried in Plot 21, Section A, Roman Catholic section of Lawlers Cemetery.