A Legend Cut Down –

Tragedy at ORA BANDA

Ora Banda has once more been the stage for a sad and dreadful fatality. Mr. Charles Emery, who left the Ora Banda hotel with his cart and horse about 9 p.m. on Sunday the 11th March was discovered on the following Monday morning, at about 8am, lying in the bottom of the Gimlet South open cut, which is 120 ft. deep. The horse was dead, the cart smashed to matchwood, but Emery was still alive.

Joe Saniwells, who made the discovery, with the help of Messrs. W. Wilson and Strempel, who are both first-aid men, rescued the victim, attended to his injuries, and conveyed him to the Kalgoorlie Government Hospital. The injuries were two broken arms, a broken leg, bad head bruises, and severe internal injuries. On the way to the hospital, Emery sang ‘Life’s Too Short to Worry’ It is difficult to imagine the suffering experienced during those 12 hours at the bottom of the open cut or the fortitude of the man who went through it all without collapsing.

On the 13th inst, he died, and the funeral took place on the 14th. Many friends followed the funeral cortege to the grave in the Church of England section of the Kalgoorlie Cemetery. The burial was truly ceremonial befitting the passing of a pioneer, and six pioneers carried him to his grave.

He was one of the Legion that never was listed,
that follows no colours nor crest.
It is broke in a thousand detachments,
and is cleaving the road for the rest.

The late Mr. Emery was 65 years of age at the time of his death, and a native of Bristol, England, and was 21 years of age when he landed in Queensland. He was a first-class mason and bricklayer and worked at his trade for some time until the gold discoveries in New South Wales lured him to that colony where he was fairly successful and saved some money. However, then the Golden West was calling and, in 1893, he bought pack horses in Coolgardie and toured the whole of the backcountry with varied success.

He followed rush after rush from the Adeline to Kanowna, where he saw 27oz. of gold washed for one dish, and then to Bulong, where 9 oz. to the dish were got. At the Q.E.D. lead he had no luck, so he left ‘per boot’ and walking day and night, arrived at Broad Arrow. He pegged a claim on the Paddington Lead and later the Norseman Lead, where, fortune was kind. Gravitating to Siberia, he had the Noah’s Ark claim, which produced many hundreds of ounces of gold. Some 30 odd years ago he worked the Bullion Vaults lease, Whiteheads, and the old Sultan mine, which was sold for  £12,000. Mr. Emery was good-natured and had a genial disposition. He was a free spender, and when that way disposed, the whole world was his friend. Consequently, he came to dryblowing at the Christmas Patch. Then Mr. Jim Argus got him work on the Orinda Mine and eventually took him in as a partner since whence the mine has been floated and the deceased in due course was due to receive a sum on which he might have retired from hard work forever.

But the perversity of fate has overtaken him and the inexorable old man with the scythe has cut short his career. The late Mr. Charles Emery, before his death, presented Mr. J. Argus with a bag. This bag carried the first gold from Coolgardie to Southern Cross. It originally belonged to Arthur Bayley and George Bayley (Arthur’s brother) who gave it to Emery.Researched by – Eric Chamberlain