r/ThoseWhoLieBeneath

James Glen Crombie was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland and by 1919 his life was closely tied to Mortlake, the industrial riverside Sydney suburb where he made his home and earned his living. The son of David and Margaret Crombie, James lived in Mortlake with his wife and their two children, supporting his young family through his work as a stillman at the Australian Gaslight Company’s vast gasworks on the Parramatta River.

It was demanding industrial work, carried out among the retorts, stills and machinery that helped supply Sydney with gas. One morning, that ordinary working life was shattered.

Boilermaker Michael Carrig had entered a tar still to carry out repairs when he was overcome by poisonous fumes. His fellow boilermaker Robert Allen saw what had happened and immediately went to his assistance, only to be overcome himself.

James was the next man to act. With Carrig and Allen lying helpless inside, James climbed into the still and attempted to bring them out. He too was overcome by the fumes before he could reach safety.

Other workers continued the rescue effort. One man entered with ropes secured around him but had to be pulled out within a minute. Eventually, another worker and the gasworks’ first aid official succeeded in recovering James, Michael and Robert. They had reportedly been inside for around ten minutes, but none could be revived.

An inquest later determined that gas had travelled into the tar still from two connected stills. The Coroner returned verdicts of accidental death and found the Australian Gaslight Company was not to blame, noting that the stills had previously been cleaned in this manner without incident. Afterwards, the company introduced a system of completely disconnecting each still to prevent a similar tragedy.

Coroner Richardson Clark was particularly struck by what had happened after Carrig collapsed. Allen had entered without hesitation to help him, followed by James when he saw both men helpless inside. ‘Those two men were certainly heroes’ the Coroner said.

James was one of three husbands and fathers lost that morning. Between them, James Crombie, Michael Carrig and Robert Allen left three widows and ten children.

Location:
Rookwood General Cemetery, Rookwood, New South Wales, Australia

Find a Grave Link:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/188500787/james-glen-crombie

Sources & Photo Credits:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15849479
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16087009
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45547218
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/171283093
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/188500787/james-glen-crombie#view-photo=269676476
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4597141

On the night of 9^(th) April 1908, 18-year-old domestic servant Anne Selmes was returning home after visiting her sister in Parramatta. She carried needlework in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other, an ordinary detail that would have devastating consequences.

While walking along the footpath, Anne tripped in a hole and fell heavily forward. The scissors she was carrying pierced her chest at the base of her heart. Anne died within an hour.

Location:
Mays Hill Cemetery, Mays Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Find a Grave Link:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82720696/anne-selmes

Sources & Photo Credits:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10656405?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FA%2Ftitle%2F13%2F1908%2F04%2F11%2Fpage%2F351142%2Farticle%2F10656405
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/56458837

Ambrose Patrick Whiting’s life began and ended in Parramatta, but his death came in one of the district’s most shocking transport accidents.

Born in Parramatta on 31^(st) January 1878 to William Whiting and Eliza Groves, Ambrose married Mabel Lydia Moulds in 1898. Together they had six daughters and a son, William. By 1921, Ambrose was living at Northmead and working as a dealer and carter.

On 3^(rd) January 1921, Ambrose and his young son William were near Lennox Bridge when a motor car and steam tram collided in Church Street.

The tram was travelling towards Parramatta Railway Station while the car, driven by Oliver Isidore Hempel, was heading in the opposite direction. The cause of the collision was initially unclear. Contemporary reports described a violent impact in which the car became caught beneath the tram engine.

The coupling between the engine and its carriages broke and the engine left the rails, pushing the badly damaged motor car towards the footpath. The tram carriages also derailed before finally coming to a stop.

Ambrose and William, who were on the roadway when the collision occurred, were caught in the disaster. Both father and son were killed instantly. Another man, Parramatta grocer Charles Gow, was critically injured and died in hospital later that night. Hempel survived with serious injuries.

The tragedy became the subject of a coronial inquiry, with witnesses questioned about the tram’s speed, the slippery road conditions and the movements of the car immediately before impact.

Ambrose was 42 years old. William was only about 12 or 13.

Location:
Mays Hill Cemetery, Mays Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Find a Grave Link:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123474504/ambrose-patrick-whiting
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123474503/ambrose-william_havelock-whiting

Sources:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98929564
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/117297747
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/190898377
https://www.facebook.com/groups/goodoldwoywoy/posts/2091475004469830/?http_ref=eyJ0cyI6MTc5MTE5MDc4NjAwMCwiciI6IiJ9

Born into a printing family in Clerkenwell, London, in 1818, Mason arrived in Sydney in 1840 and spent two years working for the Sydney Herald. He eventually struck out on his own, establishing a printing business in Parramatta and, in 1843, launching the Parramatta Chronicle and Cumberland General Advertiser, the first newspaper published in the town.

That same year, Mason printed The Housewife’s Guide, a cookery book adapted from an earlier British publication. The Parramatta edition was altered for colonial life, replacing some British ingredients with those available locally, including snapper and native currants. Researchers now argue that it was Australia’s first locally produced cookbook, published more than 20 years before the book traditionally credited with that distinction. No known copy has survived.

Mason’s influence increasingly extended into the community around him. He served as an alderman representing Gore Ward during the 1870s and as a justice of the peace. He helped found the Parramatta Benevolent Society, serving on its committee for 45 years and was involved with Parramatta Hospital and the School of Arts. Contemporary accounts remembered that when local appeals for people in distress appeared in the newspaper, Mason’s contribution was often the first received.

Mason was also known for holding unconventional religious beliefs. His obituary described him as ‘thoroughly heterodox’ in theology and as a man proud to associate himself intellectually with reformers who challenged orthodoxy in religion, politics and social philosophy. He placed considerable value on human reason and intelligence and made no apology for views that differed from accepted doctrine. Yet these differences apparently did little to diminish the respect in which he was held. His obituary pointed to his life as evidence that good citizenship, courtesy, philanthropy and charity were not confined to any particular creed.

Later in life, Mason left printing and bookselling to become a fruitgrower at Broadview on Pennant Hills Road before eventually retiring to Parramatta South. He was remembered as independent-minded, shrewd and deeply principled, retaining the respect of people who disagreed with him.

Mason died in 1899, aged 82. His death was peaceful: after tea, he fell asleep, briefly woke at around 10 o’clock and asked for warm water. After drinking it, he quietly died. He left eleven children, having outlived three others.

Location:
Mays Hill Cemetery, Mays Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Find a Grave Link:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123473511/edmund-mason

Sources & Photo Credits:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/14222751
https://www.academia.edu/103593501/EDMUND_MASON_MRS_IRVING_AND_THE_FIRST_AUSTRALIAN_COOKERY_BOOK
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/history-culture/2022/04/is-this-australias-oldest-cookbook/
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/228248971#
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/228248971
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/85776350