Biography

Michael suffered a fractured skull and broken arms when he feel from a skeleton cage in the main shaft of the Goongarrie Gold Mine. A Coronial Enquiry into his death was held at Goongarrie on 27 July 1907, when the jury concluded the above as the Cause of Death. He was buried by William Wilkinson. In the Police Court on 30 September, Mr Hudson, Inspector of Mines, proceeded against J. H. Dewhurst, manager of the Goongarrie Goldfields, for neglecting to protect the skeleton cage, through which neglect Michael Madden lost his life on July 26. Evidence showed the men to have been removing centre pieces in the compartments, starting from the top. The cage had neither guides nor skids, so that it could oscillate where the timbers were being removed. Through this, Madden slipped off. Battens or a rope round the man would have rendered it safe. It transpired that the manager told the men to work from the bottom, but the men found the centres too loose. The cage was only working for a couple of hours when the accident occurred. The case was dismissed without costs when Counsel for the Defence pointed out that the boundaries of the field were not gazetted to bring it within Section 1 of the Mines Regulation Act 1895. The day before the accident, the deceased, in company with two of his brothers and Mr. P. C. Hughes, had himself photographed, the first time for many years. Before going to work, on a sudden impulse, he told his brother Jack where he hid his money when away at work. This secret he had kept strictly to himself up to that time. Seeing some everlasting flowers on the table at breakfast, he remarked how nice they would be to make into wreaths. He further expressed a wish that he might work in the underlay and not in the main shaft, as he did not like it. Within an hour after entering the shaft, he was taken out a battered and mangled corpse. He would be greatly missed, not only by his brothers, of whom there were two at Goongarrie, one at Bulong and one at I.O.U., but also by all those, with whom he came in contact. Madden had been in the Goongarrie community for nearly two years and was a great favorite with everyone. He was always ready with a kind word or helping hand to those in trouble. He was fond of sport, a great lover of fair play, a good workman, and a staunch comrade.

Michael was the fifth of 12 children. His siblings were: Thomas born 1857; Ellen born 1859; Mary born 1861; Daniel born 1863; John born 1867; Cornelius born 1869; Nicholas born 1870; Margaret born 1873; Johannah born 1876; twins Patrick and Philip born 1877. The deceased had spent 28 years in Victoria before moving to Western Australia.