Michael Burns and Catherine Clancy
No photos available

Birth: 27 Apr 1861, Near Adelaide, South Australia
Death: 10 Jun 1893, Broken Hill, New South Wales
Burial: 29 Mar 1894
Spouse: Catherine Clancy
Birth: 1863, Adelaide, South Australia
Death: Unknown, assumedly in Broken Hill, New South Wales
Father: Michael Clancy
Mother: Ellen O’Neil
Marriage: 3 Dec 1886, Adelaide, South Australia
Children: Michael E(dmund?) Burns (1888-1890)
Mary Ellen (1889-1890)
Nora Eileen (1890-1965)
Ellen May (1892-1920)
Elizabeth (1893-1894)
Michael Burns was born on April 27, 1861, likely in Hectorville. He was the third child of Mary Callaghan and John Burns, but, because of the early death of his older brother Edmund, Michael grew up as the oldest son. His parents broke with traditional family naming by not naming him John after his maternal grandfatherfather. Michael was baptized at St. Patrick’s Church in Adelaide, the church where his parents had been married. His godfather was his uncle John Callaghan.
During Michael’s youth, Hectorville was a small, struggling hamlet of primarily Irish Catholic immigrant families, mostly farmers and market gardeners like Michael’s father. The village is five miles northeast of Adelaide. There were only 20 families included on the Hectorville rate abatement list in 1857, just before John and Mary Burns married and bought property there. That list was down to seven in 1863, including John Burns and John Callaghan. Michael grew up in a two-room, “rammed earth” house (similar to a California adobe) on Hectorville Road and South Street. Basic amenities would have been limited. There was no electricity, and water would have been sourced from rainwater tanks or hauled to the house in buckets. His grandfather, aunts, and uncles lived less than a block away.
Michael—known as Mick within the family—would have grown up playing in the streets and fields around the town and doing manual labor in this father’s 12 acres of fields. Children and adults alike would have been involved in farm work, with children often helping out with chores from a young age. Beside weeding, watering, and helping to harvest the fields, young Micky would have been responsible for bringing water from the local standpipe across the Glynne Road to the house and/or field. Water was not piped into the town until 1897. The drought that occurred in the mid-1860s would have made the situation particularly difficult.
The rate abatement list bounced back to 31 families in 1873, possibly in part due to the opening of the (Roman Catholic) Church of the Annunciation in 1863, the first Catholic church in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide. The church building was used as a schoolhouse for St Joseph’s School during the week. The school was conducted by “an efficient master” named Miss McMahon until 1870 when she left to teach in Norwood and the Sisters of St Joseph were appointed to teach at this school. Saint Mary McKillop established the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1963 in response to Pope Pius IX’ Syllabus of Errors which “condemned a system of education which did not embrace the Catholic faith.” Saint Mary McKillop is known to have visited the school on a number of occasions. She also designed the curriculum, which included reading, writing, and arithmetic for all, and sewing and darning for girls and bookkeeping for boys. Later classes included Ancient History, Latin, Greek, and Irish history.
Death: 10 Jun 1893, Broken Hill, New South Wales
Burial: 29 Mar 1894
Spouse: Catherine Clancy
Birth: 1863, Adelaide, South Australia
Death: Unknown, assumedly in Broken Hill, New South Wales
Father: Michael Clancy
Mother: Ellen O’Neil
Marriage: 3 Dec 1886, Adelaide, South Australia
Children: Michael E(dmund?) Burns (1888-1890)
Mary Ellen (1889-1890)
Nora Eileen (1890-1965)
Ellen May (1892-1920)
Elizabeth (1893-1894)
Michael Burns was born on April 27, 1861, likely in Hectorville. He was the third child of Mary Callaghan and John Burns, but, because of the early death of his older brother Edmund, Michael grew up as the oldest son. His parents broke with traditional family naming by not naming him John after his maternal grandfatherfather. Michael was baptized at St. Patrick’s Church in Adelaide, the church where his parents had been married. His godfather was his uncle John Callaghan.
During Michael’s youth, Hectorville was a small, struggling hamlet of primarily Irish Catholic immigrant families, mostly farmers and market gardeners like Michael’s father. The village is five miles northeast of Adelaide. There were only 20 families included on the Hectorville rate abatement list in 1857, just before John and Mary Burns married and bought property there. That list was down to seven in 1863, including John Burns and John Callaghan. Michael grew up in a two-room, “rammed earth” house (similar to a California adobe) on Hectorville Road and South Street. Basic amenities would have been limited. There was no electricity, and water would have been sourced from rainwater tanks or hauled to the house in buckets. His grandfather, aunts, and uncles lived less than a block away.
Michael—known as Mick within the family—would have grown up playing in the streets and fields around the town and doing manual labor in this father’s 12 acres of fields. Children and adults alike would have been involved in farm work, with children often helping out with chores from a young age. Beside weeding, watering, and helping to harvest the fields, young Micky would have been responsible for bringing water from the local standpipe across the Glynne Road to the house and/or field. Water was not piped into the town until 1897. The drought that occurred in the mid-1860s would have made the situation particularly difficult.
The rate abatement list bounced back to 31 families in 1873, possibly in part due to the opening of the (Roman Catholic) Church of the Annunciation in 1863, the first Catholic church in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide. The church building was used as a schoolhouse for St Joseph’s School during the week. The school was conducted by “an efficient master” named Miss McMahon until 1870 when she left to teach in Norwood and the Sisters of St Joseph were appointed to teach at this school. Saint Mary McKillop established the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1963 in response to Pope Pius IX’ Syllabus of Errors which “condemned a system of education which did not embrace the Catholic faith.” Saint Mary McKillop is known to have visited the school on a number of occasions. She also designed the curriculum, which included reading, writing, and arithmetic for all, and sewing and darning for girls and bookkeeping for boys. Later classes included Ancient History, Latin, Greek, and Irish history.
Overcrowding and truancy were common, especially during harvest season when boys were kept at home to help at the market garden or farm, and girls were expected to help with making preserves, butter, and cheese, together with raising the younger children. A letter from Sr. Mary Joseph Dwyer to Saint Mary McKillop in 1870 stated:
Miss McMahon has left Hectorville and is teaching in Norwod. We have a large school now. There are seventy children on the roll, but only fifty are in regular attendance.
We are living near the Church in a house with two large rooms. The rent is £3 per week. We get very little for the school as yet—the people about here are so very poor. Fr. Tappeiner is going to get together a School Board in order to collect some money for us.
The Church and School were at the heart of the community, serving as a place of worship and of social interaction. Social life revolved around community gatherings such as church services, local fairs tied to the Church and agricultural calendars, and agricultural shows. Entertainment was largely homegrown, including activities such as storytelling, music, and games.
Somewhere along the way, Mick met Catherine Clancy.
No photo available
Not much is known for certain about Catherine Clancy. According to their marriage certificate, she was born about 1863 in Adelaide, and her father’s name was Michael Clancy. It is possible that her mother was Ellen O’Neil and that she and her plumber husband Michael came from Limerick to Adelaide on October 10, 1855, on the barque Warren Hastings (https://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/warrenhastings1855.shtml). With them were their two children at the time, a one-year-old daughter named Catherine and an infant son named Patrick. The first Catherine died, and the Catherine who married Michael Burns was the sixth of 16 children.
Catherine may have grown up in Rosewater, Port Adelaide. The original subdivision of Rosewater was created in 1855 by Philip Levi, when he subdivided section 1189 of the Hundred of Port Adelaide. The area just south of this, between Grand Junction and Torrens Roads, had been laid out by Osmond Gilles in 1847 and was known as “Yatala.” The area west of Levi's subdivision was farmland owned by William Henry Gray and was called Graytown.
The generally accepted explanation of the name “Rosewater” is attributed to Philip Levi who, it is claimed, said, “The locality was a swamp, and the perfumes arising from the stagnant water were so offensive that I thought the name of Rosewater would, to some extent, act as a corrective.” An alternative etymology came to light in 1945 when a Commissioner of Police report accompanying a parcel of human bone fragments discovered in Rosewater stated the following:
Mrs J. Ward, the owner of the property where the bones were found, states that her father arrived here 100 years ago and took up land and used water from a well on the site in question, for the manufacture of sand bricks. The water in the well was so pure that it was named "rose water" and her father often remarked to her that the district derived its name therefrom.
It is unclear what Catherine’s early life was like or what kind of formal education she had.
Michael and Catherine were married on December 3, 1886, at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Adelaide, by Fr. Patrick T Russell, CC. He was 25, and she was 23 years old. The witnesses were two of Mick’s siblings, William and Nellie (Ellen) Burns. It is unknown where the newlyweds lived and worked initially, but, about 1888, Catherine gave birth to their first two children, a boy they named Michael Edmund and a daughter they names Mary Ellen. By 1890, they had moved to Broken Hill, New South Wales, because of the economic opportunities available in that outback mining town. Broken Hill was about 320 miles northeast of Hectorville.
Mining in Broken Hill had begun as early as the 1870s, but it really took off after Charles Rasp discovered a rich vein of silver, lead, and zinc. (Rasp’s real name was Hieronymous von Pereira, but he changed it when he deserted the French Army. He was living in the outback and working as a station hand at mount Gipps Station.) By 1886, the railway had opened a station at Broken Hill, and, by 1889, the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and its subsidiaries had opened a smelter, a refinery, and several mills. Mick got a job at the British Mining Company, one of those subsidiaries, as an engineer.
Miss McMahon has left Hectorville and is teaching in Norwod. We have a large school now. There are seventy children on the roll, but only fifty are in regular attendance.
We are living near the Church in a house with two large rooms. The rent is £3 per week. We get very little for the school as yet—the people about here are so very poor. Fr. Tappeiner is going to get together a School Board in order to collect some money for us.
The Church and School were at the heart of the community, serving as a place of worship and of social interaction. Social life revolved around community gatherings such as church services, local fairs tied to the Church and agricultural calendars, and agricultural shows. Entertainment was largely homegrown, including activities such as storytelling, music, and games.
Somewhere along the way, Mick met Catherine Clancy.
No photo available
Not much is known for certain about Catherine Clancy. According to their marriage certificate, she was born about 1863 in Adelaide, and her father’s name was Michael Clancy. It is possible that her mother was Ellen O’Neil and that she and her plumber husband Michael came from Limerick to Adelaide on October 10, 1855, on the barque Warren Hastings (https://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/warrenhastings1855.shtml). With them were their two children at the time, a one-year-old daughter named Catherine and an infant son named Patrick. The first Catherine died, and the Catherine who married Michael Burns was the sixth of 16 children.
Catherine may have grown up in Rosewater, Port Adelaide. The original subdivision of Rosewater was created in 1855 by Philip Levi, when he subdivided section 1189 of the Hundred of Port Adelaide. The area just south of this, between Grand Junction and Torrens Roads, had been laid out by Osmond Gilles in 1847 and was known as “Yatala.” The area west of Levi's subdivision was farmland owned by William Henry Gray and was called Graytown.
The generally accepted explanation of the name “Rosewater” is attributed to Philip Levi who, it is claimed, said, “The locality was a swamp, and the perfumes arising from the stagnant water were so offensive that I thought the name of Rosewater would, to some extent, act as a corrective.” An alternative etymology came to light in 1945 when a Commissioner of Police report accompanying a parcel of human bone fragments discovered in Rosewater stated the following:
Mrs J. Ward, the owner of the property where the bones were found, states that her father arrived here 100 years ago and took up land and used water from a well on the site in question, for the manufacture of sand bricks. The water in the well was so pure that it was named "rose water" and her father often remarked to her that the district derived its name therefrom.
It is unclear what Catherine’s early life was like or what kind of formal education she had.
Michael and Catherine were married on December 3, 1886, at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Adelaide, by Fr. Patrick T Russell, CC. He was 25, and she was 23 years old. The witnesses were two of Mick’s siblings, William and Nellie (Ellen) Burns. It is unknown where the newlyweds lived and worked initially, but, about 1888, Catherine gave birth to their first two children, a boy they named Michael Edmund and a daughter they names Mary Ellen. By 1890, they had moved to Broken Hill, New South Wales, because of the economic opportunities available in that outback mining town. Broken Hill was about 320 miles northeast of Hectorville.
Mining in Broken Hill had begun as early as the 1870s, but it really took off after Charles Rasp discovered a rich vein of silver, lead, and zinc. (Rasp’s real name was Hieronymous von Pereira, but he changed it when he deserted the French Army. He was living in the outback and working as a station hand at mount Gipps Station.) By 1886, the railway had opened a station at Broken Hill, and, by 1889, the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and its subsidiaries had opened a smelter, a refinery, and several mills. Mick got a job at the British Mining Company, one of those subsidiaries, as an engineer.
While his job description was usually listed as “engineer” or “engine driver,” it did not mean he drove a train. His job was actually as a “stationary or winding engine driver.” This means that he operated machinery—usually a steam engine—that hoisted up and lowered people or materials along any shaft or incline in a mine. In a sawmill or flour mill, the engine would deliver power to the appropriate other machinery.
In 1890, Mick and Catherine had their second daughter who they named Nora Eileen. The 1891 Australia Census for NSW showed them living in Broken Hill, Burke Ward, Albert’s Goldfield. Only the householder’s name (Michael) was given, but the household had two males and two females. The females would be Catherine and Nora, but whether the other male was a son who died later or a brother is unknown. In 1892, a second daughter whom they named Ellen May joined the family. Mick’s later inquest indicated he owned a small piece of land with a house on it. Living next door in1891 was an Ed. Burns with three females. Whether Ed was Mick's brother Edmund or a cousin is currently unknown.
Not all experiences in their new home were positive. On February 22, 1890, their daughter Mary died. She was just shy of 12 months old. On February 2, 1891, young Michael died. He was probably under three years old. Neither cause of death is known.
Another—though less personal—major event in Michael’s life was the Miners’ Strike of 1892. Broken Hill's first mining strike occurred in 1889—just about the time Michael and Catherine moved there. Broken Hill was a strong union town. The original introduction of unionism in the area was through a meeting at the Adelaide Club Hotel in Silverton on September 20, 1884, with the resolution “
That this meeting deems it advisable to form a Miners' Association, to be called the Barrier Ranges Miners' Association', and with the object to form 'a Friendly Society, to afford succor to members who sustained injury as the result of a mining accident.”
(J. Laurent, 1866)
Following the adoption of Trade Union Acts throughout Australian states in the 1880s, a further meeting was held at Silverton on 12 January 1886 where it was decided to reconstitute the organization as branch of the Amalgamated Miners' Association of Australasia. Later, this branch moved to Broken Hill where the mining population had grown to 3000 and the unionists outnumbered the non-unionists 7 to 1. By the end of 1888, Broken Hill was the third biggest city in NSW, after Sydney and Newcastle.
The Strike of ‘89 was the result of the trade union ultimatum that members not be made to work with non-unionized workers. The strike lasted a week and during this time the Women's Brigade was formed. In the following year, in an attempt to achieve 100% unionism for Australian workers, major strikes of the Maritime unions and Shearing unions erupted. While mining shut down as a result of the wharf closures (which, in turn, prevented supplies from reaching Broken Hill), the maritime dispute ended in defeat and work resumed at Broken Hill within the month.
There were two main causes of the Strike of 1892. First, Australia entered an economic recession in 1892, and the values of silver and lead—the main product of the Broken Hill mines—declined. In an attempt to stabilize profits, the mining companies proposed to use of contract workers—a direct breach of the terms of the 1890 trades agreement.
Second, there was a great deal of fear among the mining families over the working conditions in the mines, especially with concerns over lead poisoning. According to Unbroken Spirit (https://www.womenaustralia.info/exhib/bh/intro.html):
Poor living conditions and negligent managerial policy on the mines at Broken Hill fed into a strong union presence from the very early days. Women and children found life in the mining town harsh, yet fought alongside the miners in favour of the union goals despite the hardship prolonged strikes caused to family welfare.
The unions were formally informed that the 1889 and 1890 agreements would be terminated on July 30, 1892. This led to a union meeting at the Central Reserve on July 3rd at which 6000 attendees called for an immediate strike. In turn, the mining companies proclaimed on August 16th that the mines would be open to non-union labor on August 25th. Fearing an outbreak of violence against the strike-breakers, the mining companies sought and received the support of police in readiness for the opening of the mines.
On 25 August 1892, an estimated 10,000 people arrived to bear witness to the arrival of the strike-breakers. This included the Women's Brigade who were “armed with sticks, broom handles, and axe handles, and who set upon any man who attempted to pass through the union picket lines.” A street march was also held on the afternoon of the 25th led by Richard Sleath 'and a woman' on horseback, accompanied by a brass marching band which led the crowd back through Argent Street to the Central Reserve to receive speeches from several women and union leaders.
According to The Richest Lode: Broken Hill 1883–1988 (Solomon, R J 1988):
The first train load of contract workers arrived on 10 September 1892 and were met with violence and hostility from the local men and women. This conflict continued over the coming days and police resistance also escalated at a meeting of the Labour Defence Committee held at the Theatre Royal Hotel with the attendance of 30 police with fixed bayonets.
Seven strike leaders were arrested for conspiracy and inciting to riot. They were tried at the end of October, and all received sentences—some as much as two years each. The combination of continued influx of contract labor, the incarceration of the its leadership, and continuing hardship for its workers resulted in a breakdown of the resistance. The strike was officially abandoned on November 8, 1892.
In addition to the introduction of contract miners, the defeat of the strike led to a 10 per cent decrease in wages and a restoration of a 48-hour work week. According to Solomon (1988), the defeat of the 1892 Broken Hill miners' strike led to a collapse of credibility in the union movement in Broken Hill. Within two years, union membership had fallen from 6000 to 300 and faith in direct action methods also fell. Mick left the union, too, but not by the expected route.
Early 1893 saw the birth of a third daughter, Elizabeth, but it was not to be a happy year. On Saturday, June 10, 1893, Michael went to work like any other day, not knowing it would be his last. According to an article in the Barrier Miner (12 June 1893):
In 1890, Mick and Catherine had their second daughter who they named Nora Eileen. The 1891 Australia Census for NSW showed them living in Broken Hill, Burke Ward, Albert’s Goldfield. Only the householder’s name (Michael) was given, but the household had two males and two females. The females would be Catherine and Nora, but whether the other male was a son who died later or a brother is unknown. In 1892, a second daughter whom they named Ellen May joined the family. Mick’s later inquest indicated he owned a small piece of land with a house on it. Living next door in1891 was an Ed. Burns with three females. Whether Ed was Mick's brother Edmund or a cousin is currently unknown.
Not all experiences in their new home were positive. On February 22, 1890, their daughter Mary died. She was just shy of 12 months old. On February 2, 1891, young Michael died. He was probably under three years old. Neither cause of death is known.
Another—though less personal—major event in Michael’s life was the Miners’ Strike of 1892. Broken Hill's first mining strike occurred in 1889—just about the time Michael and Catherine moved there. Broken Hill was a strong union town. The original introduction of unionism in the area was through a meeting at the Adelaide Club Hotel in Silverton on September 20, 1884, with the resolution “
That this meeting deems it advisable to form a Miners' Association, to be called the Barrier Ranges Miners' Association', and with the object to form 'a Friendly Society, to afford succor to members who sustained injury as the result of a mining accident.”
(J. Laurent, 1866)
Following the adoption of Trade Union Acts throughout Australian states in the 1880s, a further meeting was held at Silverton on 12 January 1886 where it was decided to reconstitute the organization as branch of the Amalgamated Miners' Association of Australasia. Later, this branch moved to Broken Hill where the mining population had grown to 3000 and the unionists outnumbered the non-unionists 7 to 1. By the end of 1888, Broken Hill was the third biggest city in NSW, after Sydney and Newcastle.
The Strike of ‘89 was the result of the trade union ultimatum that members not be made to work with non-unionized workers. The strike lasted a week and during this time the Women's Brigade was formed. In the following year, in an attempt to achieve 100% unionism for Australian workers, major strikes of the Maritime unions and Shearing unions erupted. While mining shut down as a result of the wharf closures (which, in turn, prevented supplies from reaching Broken Hill), the maritime dispute ended in defeat and work resumed at Broken Hill within the month.
There were two main causes of the Strike of 1892. First, Australia entered an economic recession in 1892, and the values of silver and lead—the main product of the Broken Hill mines—declined. In an attempt to stabilize profits, the mining companies proposed to use of contract workers—a direct breach of the terms of the 1890 trades agreement.
Second, there was a great deal of fear among the mining families over the working conditions in the mines, especially with concerns over lead poisoning. According to Unbroken Spirit (https://www.womenaustralia.info/exhib/bh/intro.html):
Poor living conditions and negligent managerial policy on the mines at Broken Hill fed into a strong union presence from the very early days. Women and children found life in the mining town harsh, yet fought alongside the miners in favour of the union goals despite the hardship prolonged strikes caused to family welfare.
The unions were formally informed that the 1889 and 1890 agreements would be terminated on July 30, 1892. This led to a union meeting at the Central Reserve on July 3rd at which 6000 attendees called for an immediate strike. In turn, the mining companies proclaimed on August 16th that the mines would be open to non-union labor on August 25th. Fearing an outbreak of violence against the strike-breakers, the mining companies sought and received the support of police in readiness for the opening of the mines.
On 25 August 1892, an estimated 10,000 people arrived to bear witness to the arrival of the strike-breakers. This included the Women's Brigade who were “armed with sticks, broom handles, and axe handles, and who set upon any man who attempted to pass through the union picket lines.” A street march was also held on the afternoon of the 25th led by Richard Sleath 'and a woman' on horseback, accompanied by a brass marching band which led the crowd back through Argent Street to the Central Reserve to receive speeches from several women and union leaders.
According to The Richest Lode: Broken Hill 1883–1988 (Solomon, R J 1988):
The first train load of contract workers arrived on 10 September 1892 and were met with violence and hostility from the local men and women. This conflict continued over the coming days and police resistance also escalated at a meeting of the Labour Defence Committee held at the Theatre Royal Hotel with the attendance of 30 police with fixed bayonets.
Seven strike leaders were arrested for conspiracy and inciting to riot. They were tried at the end of October, and all received sentences—some as much as two years each. The combination of continued influx of contract labor, the incarceration of the its leadership, and continuing hardship for its workers resulted in a breakdown of the resistance. The strike was officially abandoned on November 8, 1892.
In addition to the introduction of contract miners, the defeat of the strike led to a 10 per cent decrease in wages and a restoration of a 48-hour work week. According to Solomon (1988), the defeat of the 1892 Broken Hill miners' strike led to a collapse of credibility in the union movement in Broken Hill. Within two years, union membership had fallen from 6000 to 300 and faith in direct action methods also fell. Mick left the union, too, but not by the expected route.
Early 1893 saw the birth of a third daughter, Elizabeth, but it was not to be a happy year. On Saturday, June 10, 1893, Michael went to work like any other day, not knowing it would be his last. According to an article in the Barrier Miner (12 June 1893):

FATAL ACCIDENT AT BROKEN HILL.
A fatal accident occurred at the British Mine on Saturday, when a man named Michael Burns, engineer, who was driving a small engine used at the sawmills, by some means got caught in the shaft coupling, which wound him round and round, tearing his clothes off and breaking his legs, arms, and ribs, and generally mangling the body in a frightful manner, the poor fellow gave only one shriek, which attracted people to the spot, and the engine was stopped as quickly as possible. He was taken to the hospital, but died immediately after admission. Burns, who was a remarkably steady man, leaves a widow and three children.
Even more explicit was the magisterial inquiry article in the Barrier Miner (12 June 1893):
THE BRITISH FATALITY.
Magisterial Inquiry.
MR. A. N. BARNETT, coroner, conducted a magisterial inquiry at the courthouse this afternoon into the circumstances connected with the death, at the British mine on Saturday, of Michael Burns, aged 32. Mr. A. J. Hall appeared for the British mine. Mr. Hebbard, mining inspector, was in attendance, and Sergeant Robinson represented the police.
Thomas James Hoare deposed that he was a sawmill contractor on the British mine, where the deceased was employed as engine driver; about 10.45 a.m. on Saturday, the witness heard an unusual tapping noise in the engine room; he felt sure that something was wrong, and therefore rushed to the valve and cut off steam; he looked through the window, and saw something on the shaft which appeared to be a broken belt; afterwards, however, it transpired that this was portion of Burns' clothing; witness on closer observation saw deceased struggling under the shafting; he rushed round and caught him by the shoulders ; deceased was in a nude condition; with the assistance of another man witness succeeded in extricating Burns, and then placed him on the floor; medical assistance was sent for; Burns was conscious when he was released from the machinery, but he was in a terribly mangled condition; he was remarkably temperate in his habits; witness was of opinion that the deceased had got caught in the couplings and
was whirled round the shaft; the engine was used for driving the sawmill machinery and for supplying power for a lift in connection with the smelters; he heard deceased remark after the accident, "There is no more work for me."
William J. Warren, sawyer, deposed that Burns, on being extricated from the belting, said that the jumper had caught him. Edward Bull, head engineer at the British mine, deposed that all the engine drivers had definite instructions to stop their engines when oiling them. By Mr. Hebbard: The double-nut bolts on the shaft couplings projected several inches; they would be safer if reversed.
Dr. Horne deposed that the deceased was admitted into the hospital at noon on Saturday in a state of collapse; he was suffering from severe injuries to the left side and left leg; the bones of the left leg were broken in many places, as also were at least four ribs on the
left side; there was apparently some internal hemorrhage which increased soon after admission; deceased died shortly after 1 o'clock.
The Coroner found that the deceased died from the effects of injuries accidentally received.
There is no obituary in the newspapers, so it is unknown whether he had a requiem mass at All Saints Church or just a wake at his home. And being mid-winter in Australia, the ground was too frozen for an immediate burial. He was not buried until the following March. Where exactly Michael was buried is also unknown, but he is likely in Broken Hill Cemetery in the Old Catholic Section, row 4 grave 32. Why do we think that? Because seven months later on January 10, 1894, his daughter Elizabeth died (she was less than a year old), and she is buried in row 4 plot 33, next to her brother Michael. There seems to have been a family plot here. Michael's daughter and son-in-law Ellen and Michael Broderick were buried in this grave later, but there is no indication that Michael Burns is there as well.
A fatal accident occurred at the British Mine on Saturday, when a man named Michael Burns, engineer, who was driving a small engine used at the sawmills, by some means got caught in the shaft coupling, which wound him round and round, tearing his clothes off and breaking his legs, arms, and ribs, and generally mangling the body in a frightful manner, the poor fellow gave only one shriek, which attracted people to the spot, and the engine was stopped as quickly as possible. He was taken to the hospital, but died immediately after admission. Burns, who was a remarkably steady man, leaves a widow and three children.
Even more explicit was the magisterial inquiry article in the Barrier Miner (12 June 1893):
THE BRITISH FATALITY.
Magisterial Inquiry.
MR. A. N. BARNETT, coroner, conducted a magisterial inquiry at the courthouse this afternoon into the circumstances connected with the death, at the British mine on Saturday, of Michael Burns, aged 32. Mr. A. J. Hall appeared for the British mine. Mr. Hebbard, mining inspector, was in attendance, and Sergeant Robinson represented the police.
Thomas James Hoare deposed that he was a sawmill contractor on the British mine, where the deceased was employed as engine driver; about 10.45 a.m. on Saturday, the witness heard an unusual tapping noise in the engine room; he felt sure that something was wrong, and therefore rushed to the valve and cut off steam; he looked through the window, and saw something on the shaft which appeared to be a broken belt; afterwards, however, it transpired that this was portion of Burns' clothing; witness on closer observation saw deceased struggling under the shafting; he rushed round and caught him by the shoulders ; deceased was in a nude condition; with the assistance of another man witness succeeded in extricating Burns, and then placed him on the floor; medical assistance was sent for; Burns was conscious when he was released from the machinery, but he was in a terribly mangled condition; he was remarkably temperate in his habits; witness was of opinion that the deceased had got caught in the couplings and
was whirled round the shaft; the engine was used for driving the sawmill machinery and for supplying power for a lift in connection with the smelters; he heard deceased remark after the accident, "There is no more work for me."
William J. Warren, sawyer, deposed that Burns, on being extricated from the belting, said that the jumper had caught him. Edward Bull, head engineer at the British mine, deposed that all the engine drivers had definite instructions to stop their engines when oiling them. By Mr. Hebbard: The double-nut bolts on the shaft couplings projected several inches; they would be safer if reversed.
Dr. Horne deposed that the deceased was admitted into the hospital at noon on Saturday in a state of collapse; he was suffering from severe injuries to the left side and left leg; the bones of the left leg were broken in many places, as also were at least four ribs on the
left side; there was apparently some internal hemorrhage which increased soon after admission; deceased died shortly after 1 o'clock.
The Coroner found that the deceased died from the effects of injuries accidentally received.
There is no obituary in the newspapers, so it is unknown whether he had a requiem mass at All Saints Church or just a wake at his home. And being mid-winter in Australia, the ground was too frozen for an immediate burial. He was not buried until the following March. Where exactly Michael was buried is also unknown, but he is likely in Broken Hill Cemetery in the Old Catholic Section, row 4 grave 32. Why do we think that? Because seven months later on January 10, 1894, his daughter Elizabeth died (she was less than a year old), and she is buried in row 4 plot 33, next to her brother Michael. There seems to have been a family plot here. Michael's daughter and son-in-law Ellen and Michael Broderick were buried in this grave later, but there is no indication that Michael Burns is there as well.
After the double loss of her husband and youngest daughter, Catherine disappears from history again. Whether she lived to see her two surviving daughters married or the birth of her five grandchildren is unknown.
Michael Burns’ life was tragically short. This “remarkably steady” young man was on his way to establishing a good future for his family, just as his parents and grandparents had done before him. He did not live to see his daughters grow up and have children of their own. There was no more work for him.
Michael Burns’ life was tragically short. This “remarkably steady” young man was on his way to establishing a good future for his family, just as his parents and grandparents had done before him. He did not live to see his daughters grow up and have children of their own. There was no more work for him.