Photo of the 1930’s Penrith Coal Loader courtesy of Australian Railway Historical Society

By Lyn Forde – President/Research Officer of St Marys & District Historical Society Inc.

IN the early years of the railway, accidents among their employees were much higher than today. In January 1896 an accident happened to Railway Guard Frederick William Hainsworth. Fred was born in 1849 in Farnley, Yorkshire, England the son of William and Ann Hainsworth (Frankland). At the age of 25 in 1874 Fred was given an appointment for work at Leeds station for the Midland Railway Company.  This Company was one of the largest in Britain in the early 20th century,  He came to Australia as an unassisted immigrant on the ship ‘Elamang’  arriving at Sydney in March 1877 and was employed in the NSW Railway Department as a porter at Bathurst, also that same year he married Annie Devany at Quirindi (Orange) and they moved to Penrith in 1878 where Fred was employed as a guard on the railway here, where he was known as a good worker and was universally respected by both the Department and his fellow employees. Fred’s accident happened at Bathurst. Fred noticing the door of one of the train carriages was still open as the train started leaving the station, he went along the side and closed it but was caught by some of the bridge timber and wrenched off the train dropping onto the open bridge. He was taken to the hospital where his injuries besides a broken leg were numerous and mostly internal. He recovered consciousness before his death with Annie by his side the whole time. Fred was forty-seven years of age. His body was brought back to Penrith by train and he was buried in St Stephen’s Cemetery at Penrith. The funeral procession consisted of members of the Western Pioneer Lodge I.O.O.F., his fellow employees and the principal Officers of the Railway Department as well as several leading citizens, but it was not as large as it would have been due to the notification of his passing not reaching many of Fred’s old friends who did not know he had died until after he was buried. Annie was left with eight children, their ages ranging from about 19 to a baby. Fred’s life was insured for £200 and a comfortable family cottage in Belmore Street in Penrith. Another death of a well-known Emu Plains family man Henry James Cornell was accidentally killed on the railway line at Parramatta in April 1922. Henry was born at Emu Plains in June 1865 to William and Harriett Cornell (Farrant). In September 1896 at the age of 31 Henry married Christina Willis at the Holy Trinity Church Newtown (Erskineville). The family resided in Argyle Street at Parramatta and Henry had been engaged for some time as a ganger. Henry was working in the vicinity of Parramatta station and finishing work as usual at five o’clock, he went to the tool house and locked his tools away. Immediately after he set out along the railway line in the direction of his home and not far from the bridge spanning Church Street he was struck by the train from Richmond that was due at Parramatta about seven minutes past five and was thrown clear of the line. The train was immediately brought to a standstill and showed that Henry’s feet and legs were hanging over the embankment with the rest of his body on the pathway at the side of the line and when he was picked up he was pronounced dead. Although his flesh was not torn he had sustained terrible injuries and Henry’s body was conveyed to Parramatta Morgue. Just prior to the accident, Henry’s son was standing on the corner of Church and Argyle Street and he saw his father leave the western end of the railway bridge on his way home. Almost immediately after he learned that an accident had occurred, he raced to the spot fearing his father might be the victim. His fears, alas, were soon confirmed. Just how Henry happened to be on the line is not quite clear as a western bound train left Parramatta station three minutes past five and  Henry walked up behind it but this train had passed the one from Richmond near the bowling green and as the accident occurred a few yards from the bridge, Henry must have had a clear view of the line. The only solution is that Henry was deep in thought and crossed over or was already walking on the up-line unconscious of the train’s approach. Sometimes Henry would ride home with the assistant ganger on a railway tricycle but on this occasion the assistant ganger got away before the western train. At other times Henry was in the habit of walking along the line as he did on this ill-fated day. Although severely dented, Henry’s watch was still working when taken from his clothing by Constable Vogel. Henry had been in the railway service since he was sixteen years old and had been working around Parramatta for many years. It is stated that just prior to the fatality, Henry was in his usual good health and spirits. He was 56 years of age and was buried at Rookwood Cemetery in the Anglican section. The last  sad accident in November 1924 was that of a young man from St Marys named Hilton Russell Francis who was killed at Penrith railway yard in a railway pit. Hilton was born at St Marys in 1895 to Harry and Alice Frances (Morrison) who were married in 1890 at Ashfield. Hilton was a casual worker assisting to elevate some coal, and for this purpose was standing in the pit with the upper portion of his body out of the pit and leaning across between the front and back wheels of a truck when the truck moved and crushed his arm and body and he died before he reached the hospital. The Coroner’s Report stated that Hilton, 28 years of age had “sustained spinal injuries accidently received through being crushed by a moving truck while working at the Railway Coal elevator at Penrith Railway”. Dr Higgins was in attendance and the Coroner was Mr Judges.  Hilton is buried at St Mary Magdalene Anglican cemetery at St Marys.  At that time, Hilton was the youngest son of his widowed mother Alice. Hilton’s dad Harry was an Alderman on St Marys Municipal Council in 1914 and the stepbrother of Mr R T Ball (Minister for Works).  Harry worked in his younger days for the Bennett Brothers coachbuilding firm in St Mays and afterwards was employed by George T Bennett as a wheelwright where he was working at the time of his death from congestion of the lungs at the age of 48 years and is also buried at St Mary Magdalene cemetery. The family lived in Putland Street at St Marys. Photo of the 1930’s Penrith Coal Loader courtesy of Australian Railway Historical Society.

Sources: Nepean Times, Trove, Ancestry, Find a Grave website, 1961 English Census, BDM Register (NSW),Sydney-Australia Cemetery Headstone Transcriptions (1837-2003),Sydney-Australia Anglican Parish Registers (1814-2011), Australia-Marriage Index (1788-1950),Coroners Index (1821-1937).