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2012-01-02 22:57:58.0
Death of an Old Colonist. - Mrs. Lou- isa Thomas, relict of the late Alexan- der Thomas, and a very old colonist and resident of the Perth and Gerald- ton districts, died at North Freman- tle on Sunday afternoon, at the ad- vanced age of 72 1/2 years. Deceased was a 'daughter of the late Samuel Caporn, of Fremantle, and grand-
daughter of the late Rev. Joshua Ca- porn, of Tingwick, Bucks, and niece of the late Rev. James Caporn, M.A., of Julety, Essex, and of the late Rev. William Goode, M.A., , of St. Ann's, Blackfriars, London. The deceased lady was born at Oxford-on-Thames, England, on the 19th September, 1837, and arrived in the then colony of West Australia in 1842 with her par- ents in the ship Simon Taylor (Capt. John Brown), by which vessel her subsequent husband, then a youth of 19 years, was also a passenger. The late Mrs. Thomas resided in Gerald- ton intermittently for about 20 years altogether, and left here to live at North Fremantle about six years ago. She leaves three sons, John and James (who reside in the South-West), and William Thomas (Geraldton), and five daughters, Mesdames Polinelli, Cole and Lewis (Fremantle), D. Marsh, sen., and D. McGilvray (Geraldton). The late Alex. Thomas, of Roebourne, was another son. There are also 14 grand-children, and 29 great- and 64 grand children, and 29 great grandchildren. The funeral took place in the Church of England Cemetery,
2012-01-02 23:00:24.0
Alexander Thomas, late of Roebourne, butcher, to Martha Thomas, £1111 10s
2012-01-02 23:00:47.0
OEBOURNE, May 10.
A little boy named Alexander Thomas, aged about five years, son of the manager of the Roebourne Meat Company, died suddenly on Saturday morning. An in- quest was commenced on Saturday and adjourned till yesterday, when the jury
returned a verdict in accordance with the
medical testimony, which showed that deceased had sustained an injury to his
bowels.
2012-01-02 23:01:17.0
Mr. Alexander Thomas, a resident of Roe- bourne, has returned from the scene of the latest alluvial gold find eastward. Ha states that it is situated on the Shaw Falls, twenty six milos from Look's station, and ten miles from Shaw River. The country is of conglomerate formation, the gold being obtained on each side of the high hills from whiob run a ravine on one side, and a gully cn tbe other. Fully twenty-five men are on
2012-01-02 23:02:46.0
Madeline Bose, third daughter of Mr. and Mrs; Albert Smith, ot Bun oury, and Dallas Dowdell, youngest son of Mrs. Boss and the late Alexan- der Thomas, of Roebourne.
2012-01-02 23:05:08.0
OF INTEREST AT THE PRESENT
A DEAD BLACK TAKEN AWAY IN A
BUTCHER'S CART
*******
(From " Northern Public Opinion")
- POLICE COURT
ROEBOURNE, THURSDAY, OC-
TOBER 21, 1897.
(Before Mr. Cowan, G.R.) ASSAULT AND BATTERY.
Alexander Thomas appeared to an- swer to a charge of assaulting and beating Harcourt Whipple Ellis, chem- ist, of Roebourne, in Roe-street on Tuesday last.
Defendant admitted the offence, but pleaded provocation, which was given in a paragraph appearing in the Ger- aldton "Express," and reading thus: -"Roebourne possesses a Government medical officer as well as an inspector of nuisances, and yet this kind of pro- cedure is allowed to go unquestioned. A very old nigger dies at the Govern- ment hospital-of course a pauper- and to give him a decent burial is en- tirely out of the question. Conse- quently he is removed from the hos- pital in daylight, on the bottom of the Roebourne Butchering Co's meat
cart, to the black's camp-there to be mourned over by the tribe and buried according to their rites. The body, which was a trifle high, was not cof- fined, but placed almost nude in the cart which conveys the carcases from the slaughter-yard, and the joints round the town to the populace for consumption. Even the blacks could discern the inadvisability of eating meat conveyed by the said cart after this event, and one distinctly declined, saying-'That feller cart carry dead blackfeller ; me no eat um meat.' The cart is not over clean at the best of times. If it ever had a coat of paint or a good wash it must have entirely forgotten the event. And yet we are supposed to be civilized!. Defendant explained that he conveyed a native (who had just died) from the hospital
to the black's camp in the meat cart. The body was carefully and securely sewn up in blankets, and bags were placed in the bottom of the cart, so that there was no possibility of the
body affecting it. As soon as the I corpse was left at the blacks camp to
be buried, the cart was thoroughly cleansed, and had been washed regu- larly four or five times a week.
Complainant, sworn, said between one and two o'clock on Tuesday last he was passing the Union Bank. Met
defendant and his assistant. Defend- ant exclaimed rather angrily "'I'm go- ing to see the letter you wrote about
me." About 40 minutes later he was returning from his shop to the tram shed and when opposite the Chinese tailor's defendant approached him from Mr.Stanbridge's. Met him on the turntable of the tramway line, and he exclaimed, "I've read that ----- letter, and then struck him a round armer blow with his right fist on the
temple. Somewhat stunned he found
himself on the ground being beaten about the head, and kicked in the ribs. At this stage George Blurton appear- ed. Defendant then struck Blurton. Complainant recovered his position from the ground and sought medical aid. The article did not refer to de- fendant ; it referred to the Roe- bourne Butchering Co's meat cart. Defendant is in the company's em- ploy.
To the bench: It is perfectly true that a dead native was conveyed from the hospital in the meat cart.
Dr. Hicks stated that complainant came to him between 2 and 3 p.m. on Tuesday last. Examined his head and saw three "slight bruises or elevations, one over the left temple and two on the forehead, which complainant said he received in falling down after being struck. There was a little gravel rash on the knee and on one of the fingers of the left hand.
To the bench: A native in the em-
ploy of the Roebourne Meat Co. died in the Roebourne Hospital about 2 or 3 one morning, and after being sewn up in three blankets was removed in the Roebourne Meat Co's cart by Thomas. The native was not a pau-
per. The paragraph in the Geraldton Express" was a gross exaggeration
of the facts. There was a substratum of truth in it, and that was all.
To complainant: Natives are vol- untary agents, and this native was assigned to Mr. Burges, for whom he worked, and who paid for his mainte- nance in the hospital.
Mr. Cowan, in delivering his decis- ion, said in his opinion, and he was sure it would be shared by the rest of the people, it was a very wrong thing indeed to have conveyed the body of a deceased native (even if he had only just died) in the cart used in deliver- ing joints of meat to the consumers. The complainant had a right to make fair comment on the fact, but it had been clearly proved that the para- graph referred to was a gross exag-
eration of the affair, though this did not justify the defendant in commit-
ting such an aggravated assault on complainant. If he had thought him- self aggrieved, defendant had his rem- edy through the process of the law. For a common assault the Act pro- vided for a fine up to £5 or impris- onment. He would not however, un- der the circumstances, inflict a sen- tence of imprisonment, but fined Thomas £2 10s. with costs for as- saulting Ellis.