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ACCIDENT AT LUNA PARK

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On this day …….. 3rd of January 1952

Government investigations will be made at Luna Park, St Kilda, where more than 40 people were hurled from their seats and two were injured in a Scenic Railway collision on Tuesday night. Mrs. Joyce Johnson (22), of Port Kembla, N.S.W., and Phillip Slavin (44), of Union Street, Surrey Hills (Melbourne) were admitted to Prince Alfred Hospital. They were carried on stretchers along a track high above the ground and then across roofs and through Noah’s Ark. Police were told the front car stopped when a red danger light showed ahead. It was struck by the following car and forced along the tracks.

 

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SENSATIONAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT

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On this day …….. 16th of December 1907

 

A sensational railway accident occurred at Dimboola on this night in 1907, resulting in the death of a valuable circus pony. The animals belonging to Wirth’s circus were being trucked when the points refused to act. This caused one of the truck to be thrown on to its side. The trick pony Fairy was thrown upon the metals, and had her neck broken. The animal was valued at £1,000. The truck was badly damaged. The elephants belonging to the circus lifted the truck back onto the line.

 

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FATAL ACCIDENT AT A CIRCUS PERFORMANCE -1905

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On this day …….. 15th of December 1905

 

During a performance of Wirth’s Circus at Warrnambool, on this day in 1905, a tent-pole fell and struck Doris Dunstan aged 14, the only daughter of Rev. T. D. Dunstan, Anglican clergyman. The girl was pinned to the ground as the big top partially collapsed. The girl died a couple of hours later.

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GIVE WAY TO THE RIGHT

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On this day …….. 12th of December 1935

A uniform Give Way to the Right law had been urged by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria since 1913, but it was legal until this day in 1935. The reason the decision was made to give way to the right was because, in wet weather, the driver of a vehicle had a better chance of seeing approaching traffic though the right side window.

 

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RING MASTER BURNT

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On this day …….. 12th of December 1908

On the evening of the 12th of December 1908, Mr. Phillip Wirths of Wirths’ Circus, met with a painful accident. He was riding his favourite horse Bobs round the ring, and jumping through burning hoops held by the attendants. The rim of which struck him on the forehead, and threw him back on his horse, before he fell to the ground. Mr. Wirths, although severely burned about the face, courageously completed his performance.

 

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SUPPOSED WIFE MURDER.

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On This Day – December 6, 1902

With reference to the arrest of Robert Hawkins for the murder of his wife at Bealiba, near Maryborough, on December 6 (particulars of which were wired on Saturday), the police have also ascertained that the life of Mrs. Hawkins was insured for £500, of which one year’s premium had been paid. The post mortem showed that the theory of the accident was quite inconsistent with the appearance of the body. There was a gunshot wound on the thumb which the police suppose was caused by the deceased putting her hand over her face to shut out the sight of the weapon which was pointing at her. The two wounds were quite distinct, and both barrels must have been discharged separately at close quarters, apparently by someone who was taller than deceased, as both charges had a downward course.

 

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Fourteen people killed in one of Australia’s earliest train accidents

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On this day …….. 31st of October 1894

Opening on 26 September 1855, the New South Wales railway, Australia, was the first government-owned railway in the British Empire. The first line ran the 22km from Sydney to Parramatta. By 1862, the western line had reached Penrith. The railway continued to expand, reaching Albury in 1881, Glen Innes in 1884 and far west New South Wales at Bourke in 1886. On 31 October 1894, a country train bound for Goulburn, New South Wales, was hit at Redfern, Sydney, by a suburban train heading from Strathfield to the city. Two engine crew and twelve passengers from the suburban train were killed, and twenty-seven people were injured. The accident was caused by an incorrectly set signal. Among those killed were Edward Lloyd Jones, Chairman of David Jones & Co and son of the founder of the David Jones department store chain. Also killed was Father Callaghan McCarthy, Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral.

 

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ACCIDENT TO PRIME MINISTER

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On this day …….. 29th September 1920

The 7th Prime Minister of Australia Mr W. M.Hughes met with an accident, fortunately unattended by serious consequences, on this day in 1920. The Prime Minister was riding with a member of his staff in Centennial Park, Sydney. Setting his horse at a gallop, Mr Hughes left his companion behind. A few minutes afterwards he was seen to fall off his horse. It was found that one of the stirrup-irons had carried away. The Prime Minister was rendered unconscious for 3 minutes, but rapidly recovered, and motored back to the city. Where he sequently attended a complimentary luncheon at Paris House, and went through the day’s engagements. Beyond a slight abrasion on the bridge of the nose, Mr Hughes, who returned to Melbourne, showed no signs of his accident. His general demeanour for the rest of the day, however, was evidence of the fact that he had been considerably shaken.

 

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MURDER CHARGE – Result of Motor Fatality

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ON THIS DAY – JULY 7, 1929

Charged with the killing of Mark Devaney, aged 54, George Ernest Davis was arrested today. He will appear at Wodonga Court on October 17.

Mr. Mark Devaney (aged 64 years), of Wodonga Estate, Wodonga, a retired farmer, was found dead on the
Bonegilla-road, about a mile from Wodonga, on Sunday night. He had evidently been hit by a motor car, as
there was a quantity of broken glass near by, and much blood. The glass is thought to have been from the headlight of a car. There is no evidence to show that the driver of the car stopped. No one notified the police of the accident. Devaney leaves a widow and two daughters.
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Remarkable Escape

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On this day …….. 22nd of June 1910

A young boy from Back Creek near Yackandandah, Victoria, had a remarkable escape on this day in 1910. He was walking behind a car, on which his father had a large empty square water tank. When the tank slipped, to the horror of all who was watching, the boy vanished from view. When they rushed to the spot, they found the boy inside the tank. His head and body had passed though the man whole.

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Prime minister in car accident

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On This Day ……. 30th May 1954

Sir Arthur Faddan (13th Prime Minister of Australia) was injured in a car accident at Grantham, about 80 miles from Brisbane on the eve of the Federal election on this day in 1954. He under when a minor operation for the removal of congealed blood. Because of the election on the Saturday after the accident, Prime Minister Menzies had not been able to visit Sir Arthur sooner. The Prime Minister was “deeply shocked” when he first heard of the accident and made arrangements to have half-hour telephone reports on Sir Arthur’s condition.

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Flying Baby

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On this day …….. 23rd May 1930

When part of the seating in Wirth’s Circus collapsed during a performance at West Maitland, New South Wales, on this day in 1930, a woman threw her baby forward over the heads of five rows of people, as she fell. It was caught unharmed by a man in the audience. Some 700 people sank to the ground in a heap when seating collapsed, but there was no panic. Although many suffered from bruising and minor cuts, only one woman needed medical attention.

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