The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists 176 World War One servicemen and women as being buried in Coburg General Cemetery in Bell Street (or now the Coburg Pine Ridge Cemetery to use the official Commission designation).
The Cemetery appears to have been the preferred place of burial for many of those that died while in training at the Broadmeadows and Seymour camps, along with those from more remote areas that passed away after returning from overseas.
Sadly, many of these men were not included on the Australian War Memorial, and even if they were, the vast majority of entries do not show the cause or location of the death, nor the town or district the man was most associated with.
We could probably have extracted a myriad of statistics on the causes and location of deaths; suffice to say that the two major causes were the meningitis epidemic of (mostly) the winter months of 1915, and respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia. Rather surprisingly, there were few deaths from the influenza epidemic of late 1918 and 1919, perhaps because many of the serviceman who contracted the disease in Europe had died prior to returning to Australia.
The full list is far too big for a Wiki entry, but can be downloaded from the link below.
We have, however, included some of the more unusual deaths and backgrounds that bobbed up during the research.
ABRAHAM, Edwin (aka Puri Tea Aperahama) Hawkesbury, NSW A Maori said to be of high birth in New Zealand, he enlisted at the Liverpool Camp in Sydney while studying at Hawkesbury Agricultural College. After serving at Gallipoli and in France, he returned on 19 December, 1917 suffering from tuberculosis and dementia. He was scheduled for discharge in N.S.W, but his condition had worsened on the voyage aboard HMATS Beltana to the extent that he was taken from the ship when it landed in Melbourne and transferred to the Royal Park Mental Hospital. He was later moved to 5 AGH where he died on 18 January, 1918. Compounding the tragedy and perhaps explaining his mental condition was the fact that both his mother and the sister named as next of kin had also died of tuberculosis while he was overseas.
Read the full story on Cheryl Griffin’s Fighting The Kaiser blogspot which has several excellent articles relating the Coburg Cemetery and especially its role during World War One.
CASON, William Geelong Returned from Egypt with bronchitis, March 1916 and died in 5 AGH as a result of an accident at Flinders Street Railway Station which caused both legs to be amputated. Died 1/04/1916, of heart failure during operation.
DICKSON, May Sydney Nurse May Dickson was one of the 130 Australian nurses that volunteered to serve with the British Army, in her case with Queen Alexandria’s Nursing Service. She served in England until illness forced her return in the hope of a warmer climate. Nurse Dickson was bound for Sydney, but her condition worsened to the point that she was taken off the ship in Melbourne where she died some weeks later of a heart condition on 4 October, 1917 in 5 AGH and at 37 years of age. She was buried with full military honours in Coburg Cemetery and was the first Australian woman accorded the honour.
EMBELTON, Norman John Northcote A Pay Clerk with the Navy at HMAS Cerberus, he resigned to join the A.I.F. but died of head injuries in Melbourne General Hospital as a result of from a fall from a horse in Preston, 31/03/1915
GALVIN, Thomas Patrick Glenelg, South Australia, enlisted Coburg Returned July 1916 with a pre-existing back problem, died 18 October, 1920, cause and location not shown in A.I.F. records. Family notices show him working at Myer’s, and dying suddenly in St Vincent’s Hospital “after a short illness”.
HUGHES, Edward Patrick From Perth, with brother in East Brunswick Reported to A.I.F. by police as suicide. Newspapers reported him being found at the Federal Coffee Palace in Melbourne in a state of collapse and he died soon after admission to Melbourne General Hospital. Poisoning was attributed as the cause of death, but a fully-loaded revolver was found in his room, 14/06/1915
LANGDON, John William Maryborough. Langdon was found unconscious in Gordon House in Melbourne by civilian police while he was on Leave. He died in Melbourne Hospital without regaining consciousness, cause of death given as acute meningitis, 23/05/1915
LONERGAN, Daniel Ballarat, born and next of kin in England. Lonergan was found dead on the railway line at Broadmeadows camp on New Year’s Day, 1914 . The Coroner’s report concluded he had been struck by a train and found the death to be due to misadventure.
MOORE, Robert Returned August 1917 with a leg amputated, He was fitted with artificial leg and said to be progressing well, but died, whereabouts and cause not shown in A.I.F. records. Family notices reveal he died at home in South Melbourne, 25/04/1919, almost certainly as a result of his wounds.
O’ROIE, Clarence Michael Born Ireland, residing Northcote. He was a Permanent Guard at the Domain Camp and was found unconscious at 10 p.m. near Government House. He died the same night in 5 AGH as a result of being hit by an unknown car is St. Kilda Road. Died 2/11/1915.
PERRY, James Laurence Adelaide, born England, returned May, 16 with syphilis. Possibly one of the few deaths attributable to what were now call sexually-transmitted diseases. Died 9/06/1917, 5 Australian General Hospital, Septicaemia caused by venereal disease.
RAUERT, Sydney Charles Kiala East via Shepparton. He died of measles and pneumonia, Broadmeadows Camp, in camp six weeks on 15 May 1915. Rauert was an especially tragic case : he was admitted to Melbourne General Hospital on 7 May, but released and returned to Broadmeadows. He was due to embark on 9 May and his parents made the trip from Kiala East thinking to wave goodbye to their son, only to find him in a critical condition and in Quarantine.
Read the full story on Cheryl Griffin’s Fighting The Kaiser blogspot which has several excellent articles relating the Coburg Cemetery and especially its role during World War One.
RIORDAN, Edward (on grave), Leonard (in A.I.F. records) Born and next of kin, Ireland. He was found unconscious alongside a road near Broadmeadows Camp and died in the Camp Hospital. Coroner ruled he had been by an unknown motor vehicle, but had been drinking and the AIF were absolved of any blame. Died 17/02/1915
SANDY, John Joseph Northcote, he suffered spinal injuries in France in October, 1817 and returned to Australia paralysed. He was admitted to 11 AGH on arrival, and although there are no specific records, it appears he never left the hospital before his demise. Died 21/05/1919, 11 Australian General Hospital, Caulfield of paraplegia.
SCOVELL, Walter Henry, Ballina, N.S.W., brother in Brighton. Noted he was accepted after 14 attempts due to a double hernia and accepted only to serve as a cook, his civilian occupation. Returned with angina, March, 1918, cause of death assumed, died 28/02/1921, Heidelberg
SMITH, James Charles An odd case – he was originally untraceable. No record of a Depot fatality in National Archives. AWM Honour Roll has no deaths recorded as at this date. No Smith recorded as dying January, 1915, no record in Victorian deaths. But a check around the date of his death unveils a report in The Age which reveals Smith drowned in a creek at Campbellfield. After a group of soldiers finished exercising horses in the creek, they decided on a swim. Smith disappeared under water seconds after entering the water and despite efforts of the rest of the party, he could not be located. The body was found downstream an hour later. The Age noted a brother as next of kin in Moorabbin, no other details are known., 29/01/1915, Campbellfield
SPARROW, Archibald Born and next of kin in New Zealand. Something of a mystery – he enlisted at Rosehill in N.S.W. and in shown as dying in the Alfred Hospital as the result of an accident, but with no details shown. Newspaper reports originally suggested he was Albert Sparrow and his death occurred when he fell between a train and the platform at Brighton Station. Died 22/12/1914, Alfred Hospital
TAYLOR, John Francis Glanville Alphington Returned to Australia in July, 1916 after a series of disciplinary problems, file marked “no longer required”. Accidentally drowned, Yarra River on a fishing excursion, died 26/01/1918.
WOOD, Robert East Brunswick, born England, wife as next of kin in England. Died of fractured skull received in a motor car accident, details not recorded, 15/10/1916, Melbourne General Hospital
