Christmas Tragedy at Day Dawn –

Day Dawn Burning Fatality
Inquest on the Victims.

The inquest on the bodies of five children, burned to death at Day Dawn on Christmas Eve, and also as to the cause of the fire, was held at the Day Dawn Court House before Mr. H. S. Ainsworth, acting coroner, and a jury comprising Messrs Timson, Clemenson, and Beveridge. Sub-Inspector Orme conducted the inquiry.

Margaret Leithhead, sworn in: Is the mother of the children burnt, their names and ages are Jessie, aged eleven; Charles, aged nine; Josephine, aged seven; Maggie, aged six; Lillian, aged two. I remember the evening of 21st December when I woke up suddenly. My husband pushed me out of the room, and would not let me come back in. I was sleeping in the front room and the children were sleeping on the floor. We were not settled at the house and had only been there about a week. My husband went back to save the children and came out all on fire. He was a few minutes inside but brought no children out. The boy got out through the window. My husband’s shirt was ablaze, he had only a shirt on. My eldest son and some other man pulled the clothes off him.

We had a good fire in the stove, roasting a kid. When my husband pushed me out of the bed, the fire was burning in the front room and through the passage. The front rooms were divided by hessian. I cannot give the slightest idea as to how the fire started. I was washing late in the yard and waited till my husband came home. The fire was in the open about 20 yards from the house, I lit it at six o’clock. I had a fire in the kitchen stove until about nine o’clock to cook our Christmas dinner. I let the fire outside die out, and thought it was all out at 9 p.m. It was between 7:30 and 8 p.m. before I finished washing. The passage was at the back part of the house. The wind was blowing in the passage all day. I closed the door of the stove when I had finished cooking. The floors were of pine wood to the foot of the stove. No lights were burning when we went to bed. No one got up after we went to bed. We intended to get up at 4 a.m. to straighten things up. There were no legs to the stove. The kitchen was not lined. The two front rooms were lined with hessian and paper, one having a dado of iron. The fire was coming through the corner room which was not occupied, There were some shavings under the house. A spark from outside may have caused the fire.

Alexander Leithhead was sworn in: I remember the 25th inst at 1 a.m. I went to bed before mother and father, they were outside when I went to bed. A noise of cracking of timber woke me up. I was sitting in the bedroom after I woke. I tried to get my brother and sisters out. I heard mother screaming, and tried to save Charley. I could not hold him, then I rushed to the window, and broke it, and got out. My father was standing there, all at once, he disappeared. He went into the fire, and I saw him come out. His shirt was on fire. Neither of my brothers and sisters came out. A gentleman helped me pull my fathers’ shirt off.
Before went to bed I helped my father to kill a kid. The fire in the yard was nearly out before I went to bed. I saw fire there in the morning after the fire That fire was about 10 yards away from the house. Some men were holding mother. They dragged me over to her. She wanted to go into the fire. I was taken to Mrs. Matthews.

It was hot and windy when I went to the hospital later that morning, 7:45 a.m., and saw father. He said, “we will go away from West Australia as soon as I get out of this”. The doctor never came till 10 o’clock that morning, that was the first time he saw my father. The doctor had not been at the hospital when we were there, I think he was sent for. I had four sisters and one brother. I saw them dead after the fire. My father was lying in the passage when I went to bed. I do not know whether he was smoking.
Charles Rigby, sworn: I am an engine driver at the Emperor mine, I remember the morning of the 25th, I left work at 12 o’clock, and on returning home I saw a fire and ran to it. The passage at the back of the house was ablaze. Saw a woman and a boy outside rushing around looking for any possible chance of entrance. The father rushed out covered in flames. I caught him and pulled his shirt off, only a part of it was left, the rest being burnt. The boy helped to pull it off, the mother cried out

“Oh, Aleck, and my poor children.”

That was the first I knew of anyone being in the house. Leithhead tried to break away to again get into the house. I told him it was only madness, and to think of the living, as the others would be gone. I saw the father was taken to the hospital, about 1.30 a.m. The mother and son were taken to the house opposite. She was in a very hysterical state. I was too late on the scene to be able to express any idea of where the fire started. I saw none of the children who were burnt.

Michael Camm, sworn: I am foreman mason at the Great Fingall Mine. About 1:30 a.m. on the 25th, I saw a building burning and a crowd holding a woman. One of my men said “Go and see to Aleck,” meaning Leithead. He was pointed out to me, he was sitting down with a blanket around him. He said “For God’s sake, get me to the hospital. I have had five little ones burned to death.” I got the mine horse and trap and the coachman got Leithhead into it, and drove him to the hospital. Reached there about 1.40 a.m. Leithhead told me he had no idea how the fire occurred, and to drive as fast as we could. On arrival, we explained the case, and the matron was awakened. We asked her to telephone the doctor to come down.

The nurse and matron showed me where to put Leithhead, he was standing all this while on the veranda without any support. He asked for a chair. He was then removed to the ward. The matron instructed us what to do, while she went to the telephone. She was away some time, and came back saying “I cannot ring the doctor up, will you go up for him?” I went, and on arrival at his house, the coachman got out and banged on several doors. He got no reply and said nobody was there. I then noticed someone on a stretcher in the yard, and Dr. Blanchard said “What is the matter?” I told him there was a man severely burned at the Hospital, and the matron sent me for him. I asked him to come at once as there were children burned. He said that there was no occasion for him to go down and that he would forward instructions by telephone. We offered to wait till a reply came, but thought it better for him to go, and offered to drive him to the hospital and back again. He said there was no need for him to go as had forwarded all instructions and that he would see him in the morning. On driving away be sung out to us to report this to the police.

The sergeant was out, but his wife said she would tell him, and that we had better report to a policeman on duty. We saw none, but Constable Pitman, who saw Leithhead, whose last message was to see that his wife was all right. The matron told me to ask Mrs. Leithhead to come to the hospital in the morning, as her husband would probably be unwell in the afternoon, I then thought the case was serious, because of the matron asking for Mrs. Leithhead. I do not know what time the Dr arrived at the hospital, helped to strip Leithhead, and saw he was badly burned, especially on his back.
George Stockdale gave evidence as to seeing a fire in the yard near the house about 11.15 p.m. on the night of the fire. Constable Pitman gave evidence similar to that of Michael Camm, and stated that as soon as the flames began to subside, he had the end of the room pulled out, and with a rod recovered the remains of the children, which were within a few feet of each other. Had them covered over with some sheets of iron and placed a man in charge of them.

The jury brought in the following verdict: “That the five children were accidentally burned through the burning of the house, and there was not sufficient evidence to show how the fire originated. They also complimented Constable Pitman on his foresight and action at the fire and thought he was deserving of every credit for his action.

Western Mail 28 Dec 1901

As you will see, the father, Alexander Thomas Leithhead, succumbed to his injuries late on Christmas day. He and the children were all buried in the Cue Cemetery. The full names of the dead were:-

Alexander Thomas Leithhead age 34 born Emerald Hill, Melbourne Victoria.
Jessie Margaret Leithhead born 1890
Charles William Leithhead born 1893
Lillian Helen Bergen Leithhead born 1900
Margaret Gladys Leithhead born 1895
Harriett Josephine Leithhead born 1894

All of the children apart from Lillian, who was born in Perth WA, were born in Victoria. The couple also had lost a child in Victoria, Vivien John Leithhead, possibly a twin to Charles William Leithhead.

The mother of the children was Margaret Leithhead nee Dixon who was born in Coburg Victoria. Her surviving son, Alexander Charles Leithhead Jnr was born in 1888 and was 13 at the time of the accident. I have tried to find out what happened to Margaret and Alexander after this terrible tragedy. Alexander died in Victoria Park in Perth on 18th December 1942 aged 54yrs.

I have not as yet been able to find out what became of Margaret, did she return to Victoria, did she remarry? There is a marriage of a Magrt Leithhead to a James Follett in 1902 in Victoria, which could possibly be her.

I was later to find, in the records of the Kalgoorlie Hospital, that Little Margaret Gladys Leithhead aged 7yrs, had spent 89 days in the hospital suffering from burns, the family was living at 1044 North Tce, Boulder at the time. She was admitted on 1 Aug 1901 and discharged on the 29th Oct 1901. Less than 8 weeks later she would be burned to death in Day Dawn.

An investigation into the conduct of Dr Blanchard was made at the time in that he was negligent in attending to Alex Leithhead. Nothing was proved again him, and he continued as the doctor at the Cue hospital for some years and continued to practice in WA up to the 1920s. He showed, I think, a callous disregard at the very least, to the fate of Alex Leithhead, and his five children, not to mention his surviving wife and son.

The Constable Pitman commended for his assistance, is Alexander Pitman who was murdered with John Walsh in the famous Gold Stealing Detection Unit murders in 1926 in Kalgoorlie.

After this story was posted on the OFH blog, a reader contacted me, Heather Harvey, who was able to tell me more of what happened to Margaret and her surviving son. It is hoped that Margaret found some happiness in her new marriage and in her children and Grandchildren. Thank you Heather for letting us know the final chapter of this story:-

she said:-

You are correct in saying that Margaret Leithhead married James Follett.  However, they lived in Western Australia at Keysbrook.  James Follett died in June 1923 with a death notice in the West Australian, 4/6/1923 mentioning his stepson Alex Leithhead.   Alexander Leithhead and Thomas JAMES, who was the son-in-law of James Follett, were granted probate on James Follett’s estate, Sunday Times, 24/6/1923.

Margaret Follett died in 1937, with her death notice showing that she was not only a mother but also grandmother and great grandmother – The West Australian, 18/10/1937.  She is buried at Karrakatta Cemetery.

Alexander Charles Leithhead married  Lillian Josephine Jennings in 1913 (the marriage registration has his surname incorrectly spelled as Leithead) and there were two sons and two daughters.  He died in 1942, with death notices published in The West Australian, 19/12/1942, and mentioning all of the children and grandchildren. He is buried at Karrakatta Cemetery.   In those death notices, it mentions that the youngest son, Vivian, is listed as missing in action.  Both sons served in WW2, with Alexander James Leithhead serving in the AIF and returning safely, eventually dying in 2000.  The youngest son, Vivian Charles Leithhead served in the RAAF.   There is a news story, with a photo of Vivian Leithhead published in the Sunday Times, 28/11/1943, in which it tells of his mother hoping that he will manage to be found again after being reported as MIA for the second time.  He had walked out of the jungle after being lost for 9 days in 1942 (that is why he was listed as MIA in his father’s death notices), returning to active service and then being reported as MIA again in August 1943.  Sadly, that wasn’t to be.  He is buried in PNG.