A Broken Tale with a Happy End:

Gone but not Forgotten – Annie Bell. An interesting tale about a grave in the Boulder cemetery.
I was contacted last by Peter Huntly, a relative of Annie Bell, who died at the Kalgoorlie Hospital on the 24th Oct 1909, and was subsequently buried in the Boulder Cemetery on the 29th October 1909.
Peter had already seen a photo of the headstone on the ‘Find A Grave’ web site. The photographer was a local volunteer for ‘Find A Grave’ and someone who also helps me a great deal, Danelle Warnock. What she noticed at the time was that half of the headstone was missing, as in the following photograph.
I contacted our local Monumental Mason, Kalgoorlie Monumental Works, to ask if it  may have been removed for some reason as it was not lying on the ground on the grave, which is what usually happens when a headstone breaks, and as you can see the ground on the grave is quite smooth.
Ken Ball, from Kalgoorlie Monumental Works, went out to the Boulder cemetery to investigate and he dug down about a foot and found the remains of the headstone in pieces with just a small part missing. So odd for it to be so completely buried, it must have broken off a long time ago and the sand has blown over it.
This is what he found:


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inscription reads:

Sacred to the Memory
of
Annie
The beloved wife of Thomas Bell
Who died at the Kalgoorlie HOSPITAL
Oct 24TH 1909  Aged 57 years
BLESSED BE ALL
Therefore be ye also ready, for
in such an hour as ye think not the
Son of man cometh.

Peter tells me that Annie, Ann Stewart nee Huntly, was an older sister of his  great grandfather James Huntly (1856 – 1923). She was born in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England in 1850. Her husband ,Thomas Bell (her fourth husband!), also died in the Kalgoorlie hospital on 4th November 1928. He is buried in the Methodist Portion of the Kalgoorlie Cemetery.  Its odd they are not buried together. Each are alone in their individual graves.

Kalgoorlie Miner 25 October 1909, page 4

Kalgoorlie Miner 25 October 1909, page 4

The entries in the Kalgoorlie Regional Hospital admission records show the following:

BELL Annie – Address: Husband, Wycliffe Street, Brownhill – Female age 57yrs – Cause: Gangrene of Ilium (small intestine)  – Admitted 23 Oct 1909 at 12 noon – Died 24 Oct 1909 2:35am – Cause of death: Syncope – Remarks: Greenwood Funeral directors.

BELL Thomas- address, 70 Wilson Street, Kalgoorlie, known as The Remembrance Home – Widower – age 76 – Pensioner – Church of England – Cause, Bronco Pneumonia, Cardiac failure – Admitted 28 Oct 1928 – Died- 2 Nov 1928- under Dr Grey

Her former husbands were Leonard Short MELROSE in Scotland 1868, John Paris STEWART in South Australia in 1880 and Henry Passfield (date and place not known). She married Thomas Bell in Coolgardie in 1897.

John Paris Stewart deserted his Wife Annie and was prosecuted in the Benalla court in June 1885.

John Paris Stewart deserted his Wife Annie and was prosecuted in the Benalla court in June 1885.

Mr Henry Passfield passed away in Burbanks near Coolgardie on 7th April 1897 due to cardiac syncope, accelerated by excessive drinking according to the doctor who attended his death. Mrs Annie Passfield was in Perth at the time due to ill health according to newspaper reports.

The marriage certificate of Annie Passfield and Thomas Bell is as follows:​

On 18th Sept 1897 at Mrs Bennet’s Residence Coolgardie.
Groom: Thomas BELL age 41yrs, Occ: Miner – Widower – Father William BELL (Labourer) – Mother Gladys DAVIS
Bride: Annie PASSFIELD age 41 – Widow – Father: George HUNTLEY (Labourer) – Mother Annie PURVIS
Brides parents resident in Barwick England.  Witnesses: Morgan and Mary WILLIAMS.

The good news is that Peter contacted two of his cousins in Australia who are direct descendants of Annie, and they all clubbed together for the funding to have the grave properly restored. They said:

“I would be delighted for Moya to continue the story of Annie and the marvellous restoration of her grave site” and the other said “I have no objection to the publication of Annie’s gravestone restoration.

The following are the photographs taken recently, what an amazing job.

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My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.

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