Buried Alive? The Mystery of Frederick Smith at Wha Gold Mine.

Murchison Times and Day Dawn Gazette – 28 May 1908, page 2
A telegraph was received at Cue from Burnakurra, stating that a trucker who was employed at the Wha GM at Errolls was killed. It also noted that the body was buried at Errolls and that no inquest was opened. The newspaper three days later reported – “In the circumstances, it will be necessary, so that the jury may view the body, to exhume the remains. The actions of those responsible for the premature burial are wholly inexplicable, since a police officer is stationed at Barrambie, only a few miles distance”.

Norseman Times 29 May 1908, page 2

It appeared the fatality was preceded by a very peculiar combination of circumstances. Smith had a contract for hauling dirt from an open cut, completed the day before his death. He, however, at the request of the management, agreed to work another shift, and should, in the ordinary course, have gone to work at two o’clock, the usual hour, and ceased at 10 p.m. For some reason, however, he was unable to commence until two hours later, when his attention was drawn to the fretting of the ground by some Italians. Smith continued working, and at 11 p.m., about two hundred tons of earth fell away. Smith was buried along with his horse pulling the truck and his dog. Had Smith been able to commence work at the usual time, he would have knocked off at 10 p.m., an hour before the accident. It is thought the fall was due to the recent heavy rains percolating the ground.

Errolls near Sandstone – Grave of Frederick Smith – Photo by Tricia and Ian James 2006 – Flowers by Nature.

Frederick William Smith died 21 May 1908, aged 33 years, at the Wha Gold Mine at Errolls in the Sandstone district. Buried at Errolls by John Pooley. Witnesses present at the burial were Charles H Driver and John Looney. Death certified by Howard Bryden Smith (brother of the deceased) at Barrambie. Smith was a miner who was accidentally killed by a fall of earth at the Wha Goldmine. At the inquest, a verdict of accidental death was returned with no blame attached to any person.

Frederick was born at Fords, South Australia in 1894, son of James Neilson SMITH (Farmer & Justice of the Peace) and Isabella nee GRAHAM. He was one of a large family of seven boys and four girls. On the death of his mother in 1889 his father remarried in 1901 to Annie, nee GREENSHIELDS. He seems to have been the only one in his family to leave South Australia.

Fredericks parents – James Neilson Smith and Isabella nee Garham in South Australia – Photo Ancestry.com.au

NOTE – Steve Rogers, author of ‘No Sign of the Time: A Collection of Stories from the Menzies District’, shared a haunting tale about a discovery made years after a tragic incident at the site of the Wha Mine. Bluey Woinar, who is my husband’s great-uncle, uncovered a revolver buried beneath a pile of quartz. The gun had one shot fired, with five bullets remaining. This finding casts doubt on the fate of Smith, a miner reportedly killed in the same mine. Was he buried under the quartz fall, or did he survive long enough to take his own life with a single shot? Some speculate he may have been trapped alive, choosing a swift end over a slow demise. If his body had been recovered too late, earlier efforts might have saved him. The bullet wound, perhaps mistaken as the cause of death, could explain the rushed burial. The truth remains elusive. In recent years, Steve Rogers restored Smith’s gravesite, repairing the headstone as a tribute to his memory.

NOTE: Errolls is sometimes referred to as Errols. It is along the Meekatharra Sandstone road.

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History

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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