Several members of the McCormick family were to emigrate from South Australia to Western Australia in the late 1890’s but the most well know of them, was Arthur Patrick McCormick who was the inventor of the ‘Coolgardie Safe’. The following photographs are connected to this family but are also valuable in their own right, as few photographs remain of private homes in Coolgardie.
The Home of Harold McCormick (on right) and William George RENICK (left) Clifton St Coolgardie 1896.
A P McCormick
The invention of the Coolgardie Safe is credited to Arthur Patrick ‘Paddy”McCormick. In the last decade of the 19th century, Coolgardie was the capital of the West Australian goldfields. Being 180 kilometers from the nearest civilization, food supplies were initially scarce and expensive. As fresh food was a valuable commodity, there was incentive to preserve it and keep it out of reach of scavengers. It was in an effort to do this that McCormick came up with his design for the Coolgardie Safe. McCormick noticed that a wet bag placed over a bottle cooled its contents.
He further noted that if this bottle was placed in a draft, the bag would dry out more quickly, but the bottle would get colder. What McCormick had discovered was the principle of evaporation. Employing this principle, McCormick made a box for his provisions which he covered with a wet Hessian bag. He then placed a tray on top, into which he poured water twice daily. He hung strips of flannel from the tray so that water would drip down onto the Hessian bag, keeping it damp. McCormick’s safe was handmade using materials to hand.
Many other prospectors in the Coolgardie region copied the design. In the early 20th century, Coolgardie Safes were manufactured commercially across Australia, and found there way into homes in both rural and urban areas. These safes incorporated shelving and a door, had metal or wooden frames and Hessian bodies. The feet of the safe were usually placed in a tray of water to keep ants away.
The home of William George Rennick, Coolgardie 1896
Coolgardie 1896 Mrs Dorothy May Rennick and a friend child and dogs.
Coolgardie Tennis party 1895, Seated far left Dorothy May Rennick (nee McCormick), her husband George William Rennick standing far right.
Jack McCormick 3 Oct 1897 taken by Hemus and Hall Coolgardie
Other members of the McCormick family:-
Arthur Patrick ‘Paddy’ McCormick Clifton St Toorak, Business:- Shaw St Coolgardie – Mayor 1906-1908
Harold McCormick, Mining Agent Lindsay St, Coolgardie
Francis McCormick, Richards St West Toorak
Jack McCormick
Thomas Ernest McCormick, married Dorothy Harmstorf Coolgardie 1896
Margaret Elizabeth McCormick, married Thomas Francis McGauran Coolgardie 1902
Lawrance McCormick, married Caroline Ivey Coolgardie 1899
Charles Rennick, Legal Manager and Accountant Lindsay St, Coolgardie
William George, Rennick married Dorothy May McCormick
Moya Sharp
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That is a great posting I have a treasured Coolgardie safe ( modern version ) and love it so much
Hi Moya I was wondering if you found any more information on my grandfather William Arthur Gross who died in a mine don’t know which one in 1952. Are you able to find out any information on which mine he died in and what he died of. I understand if you can’t and thank you anyway.
Hi Carol I have looked up his death registration, I think this would be him.
Gross Arthur W Male Boulder 7 1952
I have checked the Mines Dep Annual report for 1952 which lists all mine accident but Im afraid Arthur isnt listed. I have tried to look him up in the online newspapers but the 1950 is the cut off date at the moment. Can you tell me what family details were told to you about him. If he does indeed turn out to be a mine accident we would be happy to add him to the memorial. Do you think anyone in the family would have his death certificate or wold you be willing to get a copy of it?
I looked up where he was buried and I find he is in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery:- GROSS Arthur William 65 METH 30/04/1952
As this give you an approximate date of death you could contact the Kalgoorlie Archives who have all of the newspapers on microfil and coukld look up this date for you to see if there are any article or mention in family notices of his cause of death. You can get in touch with them with the following email address. Tim.Cudini@ckb.wa.gov.au
Carol and Moya,
I just did another check on Trove and found this:
Two Men Die At Work
KALGOORLIE, Mon.
Two men collapsed and died while in the Golden Mile today. William Gross (63), married, labourer, of Brownhill-road Kalgoorlie, was working on the crude ore conveyor platform of the Croesus Pro
prietary treatment plant this afternoon when he collapsed.
A 71-year-old Italian, Paul Marchensi, married, labourer,of Johnson-street, Boulder, collapsed while attending to the air-conditioning boiler near the survey office of the Lake View and Star mine.
West Australian, Tuesday 29 April 1952, page 4
Hi Carol If you contact the Kalgoorlie Archives they will be able to look up a possible death notice and an obituary which may give some more details about his death. You can email them on:- Timothy.Moore@ckb.wa.gov.au Failing this the only other way is to get his death certificate. As David said, if he does turn out to be a mine accident death we will definitely add him in.
Mid fifties, 56-57, before we had an ‘STC’ electric fridge at my Grandmas home and all my memories before that were the ‘Coolgardie Safe’ and the old ice box but we survived okay. Brilliant invention.
Brilliant work once again Moya.