Over the years, there have been many unusual (some would say bizarre) deaths in Adelaide. This article, describes some of the unusual deaths in Kent Town from more than 100 years ago.
It is fascinating reading for those interested in history, and those who want to know a little more about some most unfortunate events.
Painting by Walter James Shaw – The Floods of 1862 Fatal Accident at Logues’s Brewery, Kent Town: Finding of Waylands’ Body
Monday, 11 August 1862
On 11 August 1862, Logues Brewery, located in King William Street Kent Town, was flooded by water coming down First Creek. The culvert, which was around five-feet wide, had been constructed along the southern side of Logues Brewery and was designed to carry the First Creek stream under the road.
Unfortunately, the culvert was insufficient to carry off the water from the creek. The road was flooded, and the water started running into the cellar of the Brewery, rapidly filling it with water, threatening to destroy the premises.
Mr Logue and some of his men made a bank of earth in front of the cellar windows to prevent the water entering. Just after completing the work, Mr Logue heard a shriek and turned around to see the bricks and the earth at the top of the culvert burst.
Unfortunately, two Brewery workers who were working to protect the building, fell through the opening and were swept into the culvert under King William Street. Assistance was obtained and after a time, one of the men – Richard Escott – was found washed up on the opposite bank around 30 yards from where he fell in, clinging to a fence.
He attributed this to being a good swimmer as he had swum after he cleared the culvert.
Sadly though, the other man, Darby Whelan, could not be located. His body was found at 2.00pm on Tuesday in Bailey’s Garden among the branches of the olive trees. He was survived by a wife and two children.
Bailey’s Garden was situated near the junction of Hackney Road and the road to Magill (currently shown on road maps as North Terrace) at Kent Town. In the early days, Bailey’s Garden was looked upon as one of the beauty spots of the infant settlement.
Tuesday, 24 May 1881
On Tuesday 24 May 1881, Douglas Alston, 37, met his death when he fell down the steps into an open cellar at Mrs R Haldane’s Kent Town boarding house.
A witness, Mrs Jane White, said that Mr Alston was in her shop on the morning of 24 May and was rather affected by liquor. He had indicated that he intended to go to the races.
Mrs Haldane’s cook, Mary O’Leary, said that Mr Alston came to the door of the kitchen at about 6.30pm and inquired if Mr McDonald lived in the house. He was tipsy and had no hat on. Ms O’Leary told Mr Alston that Mr McDonald lived next door.
The post mortem indicated that there was a concussed wound, not very extensive, on the back of the head, a small bruise below the left knee and on his knuckles. No bones were fractured but there was a weakness of the vessels in the deceased’s brain due to the kidney disease from which he suffered.
The coroner said that Mr Alston suffered from an old inflammation of the membranes of the brain and that he might have fallen at any time. Had there been a gate to protect the entrance to Mrs Haldane’s boarding house cellar, it may have prevented the fall.
The jury returned the verdict that Mr Alston’s death was caused by effusion of blood into the brain, accelerated by falling down a cellar on the premises of Mrs Haldane of Kent Town on the night of 24 May. The jury also drew attention to the very insecure state of the cellar.
Wednesday, 5 January 1898
Richard King, 60, earned a living by hawking tonic ale. He was in the act of serving a customer in Kent Town when the customer was suddenly taken ill.
Jonathan White, 27, was found lying prostrate on the footpath near the Kent Town Brewery, and died on being admitted to hospital. The death may have been influenced by the extreme heat in Adelaide. Temperatures recorded by the Adelaide Observatory at the time of death was 106.5F (41.4C).
The deceased was one of eight inmates from the Destitute Asylum who died around this time. The average age of the eight deceased inmates was 75 with the oldest being 96 years old. Seven of the victims were women.
Tuesday, 5 April 1898
On 5 April 1898, while playing in the creek bed near Prince Alfred College, five children were swept away when a 6-foot deep tier of water came down the creek with some force and caught the children unaware.
The water was caused by heavy rains in the Mount Lofty Ranges. It swept them all away. Fortunately, two of the children were saved by onlookers.
The two boys who survived were William Evans, 8 and Kenneth Thompson, 12. Thompson was rescued by a JH Lake who lowered a ladder into the creek. Thompson grabbed the ladder and with some help, managed to draw himself out of danger.
A Mr Allen, who was an elderly gentleman, lunged into the water to rescue Evans.
The other three boys drowned. The bodies of Herbert Millewski, 12, son of J Millewski, photographer of Rundle Street, and Harry Johns, 3, son of Mrs Johns of Young Street Kent Town, were recovered the same day they drowned.
The third boy was not recovered until the following Sunday. Police searched for the body of Francis Henry Chapman, who had drowned. After the waters subsided, there were several deep holes and owing to the accumulation of debris, the search was considered by the police to be quite difficult. The body was eventually found in the River Torrens on Sunday 10 April, about 100 yards from where First Creek enters the river.
Tuesday, 22 August 1905
On 22 August 1905, sharebroker George Stewart Cockburn, 35, was found dead in the kitchen of his residence at Pirie Street, Kent Town.
The circumstances point to death by gas poisoning. He was found in the kitchen with his face near a gas jet and a newspaper tied over his head in the form of an airtight cap.
The jury returned a verdict of suicide by gas poisoning and the deceased being of unsound mind.
Thursday, 23 November 1911
At about 3.00am on 23 November 1911, elderly widow Mrs Margaret Williams went outside of her rented room in a house at 73 King William Street, Kent Town which was occupied by Mr and Mrs Griffin. She was carrying a lighted candle. However, while outside, the flame caught the sleeve of her nightdress and set it alight.
On hearing her screams, Mr Alfred Roland Griffin ran outside and saw Mrs Williams sitting with her dress alight and in flames. He tried to beat them out and then threw a bucket of water over her and put out the fire. He then informed the police.
Mrs Williams was severely burned and was taken to Adelaide Hospital. She arrived at the hospital at 3.30am in a terribly burned condition. Dr Goode attended to her, but her injuries were so serious that she died at 7.30 that morning.
Mrs Margaret Williams was buried on Friday 24 November at the Catholic Cemetery on West Terrace, Adelaide. The undertaker was Geo Bradley & Son.
Saturday, 22 February 1913
The coroner held an inquest into the death of Mrs Maud Augusta Sayer on Saturday 22 February 1913, 29, (whose surname has been given as Cram). She resided in Kent Town and died at the Adelaide Hospital.
Mrs Sayer was attended initially by Dr WT Hayward at home who recommended that she be taken to the hospital. Mrs Sayer was in the bedroom doing her hair when she went to the breakfast room and, in the dark, poured out a dose of influenza medicine (so she thought).
Unfortunately it was a bottle of Lysol, a cleaning and disinfectant product. The bottles were of similar size and shape.
During the inquest, Resident Medical Officer at the Adelaide Hospital, Dr Hilda Florey, stated that Mrs Sayer was admitted to the hospital at 2.45am on Saturday and died an hour later. She had examined the body and found that death was due to poisoning that was accidentally taken.
Tuesday, 2 February 1915
On 2 February 1915, James Lyson’s wife Mary Elizabeth Lyson, 47, was fatally injured at 8.21pm when alighting from the tram on Young Street (now known as The Parade West) just east of Capper Street. The electric tram was on its way to Kensington Gardens. Capper Street was not a stopping place for the tram.
Mrs Lyson left her home in Carrington Street, Adelaide – where she had resided for the last three months – at around 7.50pm and boarded the tram at Adelaide Arcade in Grenfell Street. She intended to visit her sick brother, Mr W Coomer.
The tram was a bogey car with a saloon at one end and smoking compartment at the other. Mrs Lyson had been sitting in the middle seat of the smoking compartment. The fare that she paid was two pence.
When passing Capper Street going along Young Street, the conductor – Daniel Joseph Caslick – heard the emergency signal. A witness had sounded the alarm signal and on hearing this, the motorman in charge of the tram applied the brakes.
When the conductor left the saloon, he met a passenger standing at the gangway who said that someone had fallen off the tram. The conductor went back and found Mrs Lyson lying about a car’s length away from where the tram had stopped.
Dr Brian William Wibberley, resident medical officer at the Adelaide Hospital, said that Mrs Lyson had been admitted to the hospital at about 9.00pm on 2 February. She was unconscious and died soon after being admitted. There was blood in both nostrils but there were no other external signs of violence. He indicated that in his opinion, death was due to fracture of the base of the skull, causing laceration of the brain.
Prior to the accident, witnesses said that the deceased had been in good spirits and no one saw her step off or fall from the tram. Frank Stewart Rich, a porter living at Osmond Terrace Norwood, said that prior to the accident he saw Mrs Lyson laughing with a passenger in the car. He did not see her fall from the car.
The coroner found that the deceased came to her death on 2 February 1915 at Kent Town from fracture of the skull caused by an accidental fall from an electric tramcar in motion.
