Biography

Deceased had lived in Victoria for 16 years prior to moving to Western Australia. At the time of his death, his father, John, was deceased and his brother, Albert Edward, was killed in August 1902 at the Golden Horseshoe Gold Mine, Kalgoorlie, just three weeks before he was to be married. While working at the Golden Horseshoe Mine, Hourie was engaged with others in working the agitating vats by hand, as the steam had been cut off, when the shift boss found it necessary to order him to help a gang working at another and a larger vat. The vats are erected on stands in a line and, though it is quite easy to step from one to another at the points of circumstance nearest contact, the management have planks laid from stand to stand so as to obviate even this. Hourie went to step across but unfortunately his foot struck against the upturned edge of the stand he was stepping off and caused him to fall across on to the next. The circular form of the stand onto which he stumbled did not afford him the facilities of saving himself that a square-shaped surface would have done and he fell head foremost on to the concrete foundation below, a distance of 86 feet. He was rendered unconscious and died soon after admission to Miss Main's private hospital. At the inquest which followed, the jury found : "That the deceased, Charles Hourie, met his death through pneumonia, caused through fumes of Phoenix explosives at Waihi mine, Davyhurst."