Florence Adelaide AYRE was the daughter of Joseph AYRE (1843-1913) and Ellen JANEWAY (1832 – 1905) and was born in 1877 in Queensland. She had one sibling, Joseph Benjamin born in 1875. It was her mother’s second marriage, her first was to George RANDALL. Florence had eight half-siblings. In 1899 Joseph and Ellen moved the family to WA where Joseph was in the hotel trade and Ellen ran a boarding house. By 1903 the family was in Broad Arrow, Joseph was a miner and Ellen ran another Boarding house.
Florence was to marry Thomas Henry FLAKELAR (a barman) in St Mary’s Church, Kalgoorlie in 1904. By 1911 Flakelar had filed for divorce on the ground of desertion. This was granted in 1910 when Thomas re-married Mary Jane KELLY in NSW the same year.
Kalgoorlie Miner 18 May 1911, page 2
A BARMAID’S SUICIDE
The adjourned inquest into the cause of death of Florence Adelaide FLAKELAR (34yrs), a barmaid, who was found with her throat cut near an outhouse in a yard at Boulder on Friday afternoon last, was held at the Kalgoorlie Courthouse yesterday by the acting coroner, Mr P. Whelan J.P., and a jury.
Corporal Slattery conducted the case for the police. Constable M. G. Bannon, of the C.I.D. branch, Boulder, gave evidence of identifying the body at the morgue as that of Florence Adelaide Flakelar, otherwise known as Ayre. He said that at 4 p.m. last Friday, he went to 157 Forrest Street, Boulder — a house kept by Mrs Williams. Dr. Bridgeford was there and said the woman, Flakelar, had cut her throat. The deceased was on a wire stretcher on the back verandah. Her clothes were saturated with blood. He went to an outhouse in the yard and found a blood-stained open razor. There was also a cardboard razor case. Both were lying in a pool of blood.
About a yard from the outhouse, there were a few clots of blood. The deceased was conveyed to the Government Hospital. He had known the deceased for 18 months previously and said she was of temperate habits. Dr Bridgeford stated that he went to Mrs Williams’ house in Forrest Street last Friday, where he saw the deceased lying on the ground near an outhouse. Several neighbours were in attendance. She had a large incised wound across the throat. four inches in length. There was a hole in the windpipe. Her clothes were saturated with blood, and there was a good deal of blood on the ground and in the outhouse.
She was unconscious, and suffering from shock. He had her placed on a stretcher and removed to the verandah. He put an antiseptic dressing on the throat and bandaged it. He removed some of the blood-stained portions of her dress. The ambulance came to remove her to the Government hospital. At that time there was a possibility that she might recover, although she was in a very low condition.
There was a slight smell of liquor but he could not say that she was drunk. The wound in her throat could have been caused by the deceased’s own act. Dr. Barber, D.M.O., stated that the deceased was admitted to the Government Hospital a little after 5 p.m. on the 12th inst. She was suffering from cut-throat. He sewed up the wounds in the windpipe and throat and thought she would recover. She became quite violent later on in the night and collapsed and died about 12.30 a.m. on the 13th. He made the post-mortem examination that day.
The wound was as described by Dr. Bridgford. He said that deceased died shock and haemorrhage, due to cut throat. She was quite conscious when he first saw her, but could not speak. She nodded her head in reply to a question he had asked her concerning a scar on her body. There was no sign of alcohol about her when she was first brought to the hospital.
Adelaide Florence Flakelar -Photo Danelle Warnock
Mrs. Rose Williams, residing at 157 Forrest Street, Boulder, said the deceased came to stay at her place on Thursday night, the 11th inst. She had known her for about four years. About 3 o’clock witness laid down and got up before 4 o’clock. She went into the next room, and called the deceased by name three or four times but got no answer. She went into the yard, and found the deceased covered in blood, lying a yard from the outhouse. The witness asked,
‘Oh, Flo, what have you done?’
The deceased did not reply, as she was unconscious. She ran for assistance to get a doctor. Dr. Bridgeford came 10 minutes later. Adelaide had been in low spirits for a few days, but nothing much to speak of. She never mentioned any cause for her low spirits. She was not a woman of intemperate habits. She had only taken a small glass of ale in the morning. The razor was missing from the witness’ nephew’s room. The razor in court belonged to her nephew. Mrs Williams was not aware of any trouble that would cause the deceased to take her own life, except that the deceased had told that she was going to marry someone in three months’ time.
The ‘someone’ was William Best. The witness heard that conversation. The deceased had also described to her the dress she was going to be married in. She told them she had got a divorce from her husband three months back. Mrs Cameron Smith described how she had been summoned to assist the deceased, who was unknown to her. She found the throat was cut, but not the main arteries. She rendered first aid until Dr. Bridgeford came.
Adelaide Florence Flakelar -Photo Danelle Warnock –
NOTE: there is no reference to the name FLAKELAR on the grave at all and it looks like the name may have been removed and AYRE put in its place. The memorial on her grave is quite elaborate one and probably expensive and was erected by H S. This is think is Harry Scott, the licensee of the Newcastle Hotel in Boulder where Florence worked.
George Flakelar stated that he was a commercial traveller residing at the Inland City Hotel, Kalgoorlie. The deceased had been his sister-in-law. He saw her alive for the last time on Thursday afternoon at the Newcastle Hotel, Burt Street, Boulder. She seemed to be somewhat upset. She said the cause of it was because her late employer, Mr. Scott, was getting married. She said that she was leaving there at 6 o’clock that evening. She did not seem to be under the influence of liquor. She was crying and was somewhat depressed. She said she did not intend to stay there to be made a laughing stock. She said nothing to indicate that she contemplated suicide. She also told him that she had been paid off for the time up to the next Saturday night, but that she intended to leave on the Thursday night. She also told him that she had something else to tell him and that she would meet him at McKenzie’s corner at 8 o’clock on Saturday evening.
The deceased told him she intended, to marry Best, in about, three months’ time.
The jury returned a verdict that the deceased had come to her death by her own hand by cutting her throat with a razor whilst she was temporarily insane.
NOTE: William BEST married Dorothy WINZAR in Boulder in 1912, perhaps he reneged on his promise to marry Florence or maybe she had a relationship with her former employer Scott which came to nothing, we will never know!
Both of Florence’s parents are buried in the Broad Arrow Cemetery together.
Ellen and Joseph AYRE – Boulder Cemetery – Photo Danelle Warnock
AYRE Ellen – d 5 Jun 1905, 72yrs, Father: Charles JANEWAY, Mother: Harriet COOPER, Married to Joseph AYRE in South Melbourne VIC, Reg 5/1905 Broad Arrow, Buried in Broad Arrow Cemetery.
AYRE Joseph – d 20 Jun 1913, at Merton Street, Broad Arrow, 70yrs, Occ: Blacksmith, Cause: Chronic Cystitis, Father: John AYRE (Blacksmith), Mother: Mary ?, Born: Water Street, London England, In VIC 19yrs, In WA 22yrs, Married to Ellen JANEWAY, RANDALL in South Melbourne VIC at age 49yrs, Children: Joseph Benjamin AYRE 38yrs, 1 female deceased, Reg 1/1913 Broad Arrow, Reg 4/1913 Broad Arrow, METH, Buried in Broad Arrow Cemetery.
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