WA4WD

 Lonely Bush Graves

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There are many graves in the WA bush. I always wonder at the story behind these sad reminders of the past. I never travel without my More Lonely Graves of WA by Yvonne and Kevin Coate. I once had the ambition to find them all. This is an impossible task, and even trying to find a grave in this vast country is an extremely difficult task.

Over the years I have found a few. In one case, I met the brother of the deceased and he was able to tell me the story behind the tragedy.

On 9 May 2009, we found another grave after two years of searching, and once you find it, you question yourself as to why you didn't see it before. This was the grave of Andrew Feely. We searched for a very long time in very hot conditions before discovering the grave some 7 kilometres from where we had searched so long.

Baby's Grave Norseman

From Lonely Graves

Lonely Grave near Mt Herbert on Roebourne Wittenoom Road

From Lonely Graves

Lonely Grave near Ives Rock.

Unknown man buried by Albert Ives and his son-in-law in 1910.

From Lonely Graves


George Barry

George died on 21/6/1899 at Mt Higgins, now called Mulwarrie. He is apparently buried where the hospital used to be at Mulwarrie. He was 34 and died from heart disease. He died suddenly while carrying two tins of water. He was a miner.

From Lonely Graves


John Paul Brooks, Emily Henrietta Brooks

From Lonely Graves

John died around 1930 and his mother,Emily, died 28/5/1911 on Balbinia Station, south of Balladonia. The graves are located about 600m NW of the old homestead. Emily was Pauls mother. A third Brooks (Emily's daughter, Sarah) is buried in the Norseman cemetery.  They are buried near the orchard.

Thomas Cantwell and Jerry O'Conlan

Both men are buried in lonely graves near Sunday Soak on the Higginsville road. They were buried 124/12/1895. Cantwell was 42. These two men with 2 others were on their way to Coolgardie to cash a cheque they had received for the sale of a mine. They were caught short of water a Sunday Soak and these two wandered off to look for water. Their bodies were found 50 miles west of Sunday Soak.

Phil Connors


From Lonely Graves

He died around 3/9/1935 aged between 50 and 60. His body was found down a well. He was buried on the banks of the creek near the Police Lockup at Mt Gould.


Thomas Donald Cusack

From Lonely Graves

Died about 22/12/1936 from being accidentally shot in the head when removing a rifle from his vehicle.. He is buried on Tambrey Station on a small hill overlooking the homestead. His wife Dosh also is remembered there too.

Thomas Davidson

Born 26/6/1850 in Scotland. Thomas was a water borer and shot himself with a revolver on 28/5/1895.

James Dennis
From Lonely Graves

Died 14/11/1895 aged 27 in a mine accident. He is buried on the old coach road 6 miles from Norseman.

Augustus Cecil Egerton-Warburton

From Lonely Graves

Born 2/9/1888 and died 28/9/1888 aged 26 days. The grave is marked by a couple of post that can be seen across the clear paddock from the homestead.

Bob Ellsion

From Lonely Graves

Died 1906 and he is buried on the west side of the Leonora-Leinster Road.

Andrew Feely

From Lonely Graves

Andrew Feely was a foreman on the Rabbit Proof Fence. He died from an inflammation of the bowel on 15th March 1906 and was only 38 years old. The headstone says he died in the area, and whilst it is a beautiful part of WA, it would have been a terribly lonely place in 1906. Look across the bush and you can see how flat the country is. In summer there is little shade and extreme heat. There are no waterholes nearby and the coast is 15 miles away.

August Kolodzeit and Jim McCoy

Both men  are buried at Pine Hill on the track between Balladonia and Israelite Bay.

August died 20/4/1895 from exhaustion. Jim died in the 1890s. He and his mate William Kirkwood were taking horse to the goldfields. McCoy became ill at Pine Hill and Kirkwood rode all day to Balladonia to get help but McCoy had died before he got back.

From Lonely Graves

James Leonard

From Lonely Graves

Died 1/3/1907 aged 40. His grave is just south of Pear Creek on the Marble Bar Port Hedland Road. Heat died of heat stroke, and was found after his unsaddled horse returned to camp.

Jack McLernon

From Lonely Graves

Died 4/9/1922 aged 32 near well 37 on the Canning Stock Route. He was clubbed to death whilst alseep at a campsite during an oil exporation expedition.

Wilhelmina Hester Scott

From Lonely Graves

She died 17/3/192,1 aged 48, at Bokerup and is buried on the near the eastern end of the lake. From the old homestead follow the lake edge around to a rise, where her grave is marked by an old fence.

Fred Savory

From Lonely Graves

Died 11/12/1901 aged about 36 at Burrumbar pool on the Savory Creek. The creek was named after Fred by Alfred Canning when surveying the No1 Rabbit Proof Fence. Fred had re-provisioned Canning during this time. Click here for some more info on Fred Savory and his friends. 

Richard Sheen

From Lonely Graves

Died  at Shaw's Well on Meelenbye Station about 13/12/1920 aged around 66 years. He died from an accidental gunshot wound. Thanks to Stefan and Tony for the photo.

Jack (Rahal) Smith

From Lonely Graves

Died 27/5/1939 aged about 70 at well 49 on the Canning Stock Route. He was employed as a cook with George Lanagan and Ben Taylor.

Edward (Doo-dah) Sullivan
From Lonely Graves

Died 2/7/1896 aged about 36. He is buried about 2 miles north of Leonora. The headstone and fence were apparently arranged by Sir John Forrest.

Thomson, Shoesmith and Chinaman

From Lonely Graves

James Campbell Thompson, George Shoesmith and an Aboriginal Called Chinaman were murdered on the Canning Stock Route on 25/4/1911. They were on the first attempt to bring stock down the stock route from Flora Valley Station. The bodies were found by Tom Cole, also bringing cattle down the stock route. The bodies were eventually exhumed and re-interred in the old East Perth Cemetery. They were killed at Well 37, which became known as the Haunted Well for a time.

Micheal Tobin

From Lonely Graves

Died 6/4/1907, aged 33, at well 40 on the Canning Stock Route. He was speared on the first survey of the Canning Stock Route. A monument was erected on the second Canning expedition. He was the foreman of the Government Boring Party.

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