Biography

Patrick was descending to a lower brace when the cage went out of control and fell down the main shaft for a distance of over 300 feet into the water.

Patrick was the youngest of eight boys in the family, all born in Londonderry, Ireland. Their father, Charles, was born in 1841 and died in 1920, in Londonderry. Their mother was born 1843 and died in 1925. The family consisted of: John born 1866; James born 1868; Rodger born 1870; Henry born 1873; David born 1875; Daniel born 1876; Charles born 1878. Patrick had spent 3 weeks in New South Wales before arriving in Western Australia. Patrick's older brother, James, died in Wiluna on 28 June 1908, of pneumonia and heart failure. From the headstone, it appears that another relative, Daniel, also came to Western Australia. Daniel died in WA in 1959, aged 72 years.