These names along with a further, to date, 320 names, are included in my Residents of NSW Index series. See Residents of NSW Vol. 3.
Sudden and Accidental Deaths, 1869–1870
The 1870 Return of Sudden Deaths, or Deaths by Accident or Violence on which Coroner’s Inquests or Magisterial Inquires have been held preserves a series of sobering reports from across New South Wales, each written in the terse, official style of the period.
At Warialda, Joseph Murray was “Found dead; cause – supposed heart attack; Coroner or Magistrate was R. H. Fitzsimmons.” Although no exact date was provided, the death was believed to have taken place around February 1870.
From Bathurst came the entry for Thomas Eglington, who “Died from disease of the heart; Name of Coroner or Magistrate: George Bushby.” No precise date was recorded.
At Limestone Creek, the return notes John Coolan “(Chinaman) Death caused by a blow to the head – how administered not known; Coroner or Magistrate was J. W. Bunn.”
In Bukkulla, William F. Sinclair suffered “Concussion of the brain, fall from a horse; Coroner or Magistrate was C. a. Fraser J. P.” His death was dated 28 December 1869.
A domestic tragedy was recorded at Newcastle, where the return lists only: “no name Female infant; accidentally suffocated in bed with its parents; Coroner or Magistrate was H. Scott P.M.” The date of death was 27 November 1869.
The case of George Cook at Inverell carries a sharper tone: “Cupable neglect of John Hawkey and Hugh McDonald riding through Inverell town. Both commited for trial chaged manslaughter. Coroner or Magistrate was C. Ross J. P.” His death was dated 2 March 1870.
At Guntawang, Thomas Knott was “Accidentally crushed to death against a tree by a dray; Coroner or Magistrate was W. King.” The record gives the date as 19 November 1869.
From Bathurst again, the return notes the case of Henry Budge, who met an “accidental death caused by explosion of a gun; Coroner or Magistrate was J. m. Marsh P.M.” His death was dated 18 February 1870.
Finally, at Armidale, the record states that John Morris was “killed by John Dunkley; Dunkley committed for manuslaughter; Coroner or Magistrate was Lewis Markham.” The date given was 16 December 1869.
These brief but vivid entries, kept exactly as they were recorded in the official returns, remind us of the fragile nature of life in nineteenth-century New South Wales, where sudden death by illness, accident, or violence was a daily reality.