Miners Lung (Silicosis) – The Silent killer

This photograph depicts the Jugoslav International Tug O’War Team in 1926:- 

In 1926, these men were in their prime, strong, fit and apparently healthy, having just been proclaimed as the goldfields champions of the ‘Tug of War’ competition.

Almost all men who worked underground were at risk of damaging their lungs through the inhalation of dust and developing silicosis.  The medical examination of miners, in particular annual X-rays, began in 1925 in Kalgoorlie, and it is instructive when we look at this one small group of men, the victorious 1926 Yugoslav ‘Tug of War Team’, and examine their health outcomes.

Names:- Back Row M Zaratovich, S Zaratovich (Silicosis) J Yurisich (Silicosis) , K Zunela, J Erceg (Silico –tuberculosis, M Erceg (Silico-tubercolosis)  Front Row: J Botica (Silicosis), Y Kulija (Silicosis), S Matkovich (Captain), J Tomich (Silicosis).

Eleven men formed the team, and of those men we are able to find mining records of eight.  Some may have worked on the woodline, and have never had an examination for underground work, or their records are missing.

The average age of the men was 27, the oldest, John Tomich, aged 40.  Tomich had arrived in Western Australia in 1905 after seven years gum digging in New Zealand.   Of the men as a whole, 63%, or 7 of the 11 men would go on to develop silicosis or silico-tuberculosis.  Only one man, S Matkovich showed no disease development, but he appeared to have left the industry in 1925 after only five years working underground.

It is not definitely known if silicosis or tuberculosis was the main cause of death for those men affected, but it is highly likely that the disease contributed significantly to their death.

The following publication is soon to be released, a must read for any historian:-

Turning Men Into Stone, A Social and medical History of Silicosis in Western Australia 1890 to 1970

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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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