Biography

Buried at Black Range/Nungarra Cemetery,12.25km south-west of Sandstone. Very susceptible to typhoid fever, Irvine had suffered five or more times on the goldfields, which had undermined his constitution. A very generous-hearted man, he was missed by a large number to whom he held out a helping hand. He collapsed and died three weeks after completing the building of the State Battery at Black Range.

Mr Irvine left the Shetland Islands at age 16 to join an uncle who was in charge of a mine at Gympie, Queensland. In conjunction with another uncle, he erected and ran a mill for public crushing in the far north. He came to WA on the discovery of gold and was sent out as a prospector by the Government push. He visited nearly every rush before being put in charge of Londonderry South Blocks, followed by Zealandia and then Shamrock, where he was the first to reduce public crushing from 50/- (shillings) to 30/- (shillings), and moved on to Camelia at Kalpini.

His brother, John Irvine, also worked at the State Battery Black Range.  John died 1908 in Sandstone and is also featured in this website.

Three of their uncles came to Queensland to work in the mines.  George Irvine died 10 October 1874 in Cooktown Hospital, Queensland; Henry Irvine died 18 March 1890 in Queensland (Death Registration 1890/C/1903); and Andrew Irvine died in King Street, Coolgardie, in 1900 (Death Registration 183/1900).