Allen Tiller's Blog, page 19

The Tragic Death of Alfred Rantanen near Ethelton Station.

 

The Tragic Death of Alfred Rantanen near Ethelton Station.

 Headstone of Alfred and Laura Rantanen, Cheltenham Cemetery.

On Saturday 14 August 1926, a body was found lying near the train tracks between the Ethelton Train station and the Port River. It was estimated that at about 6:24 pm, Mr Alfred Waldamer Rantanen had been walking home to Fairfield Terrace at Glanville Blocks. Rantanen used the railway bridge as a short cut, he was struck by a train that was heading to Ethelton that had come from Adelaide heading towards Largs Bay.

The engine driver, Thomas Trueman, had pulled into Ethelton Station and noticed that the engines ‘grip tap’ had been turned on. He switched off the tap, and proceeded to the Mile End train yards, as required. Trueman inspected his engine at the end of his shift. It was at this time he found evidence that the grip tap had struck something. There was blood and other body matter on the tap and spread over the rear of the engine.
 Trueman telephoned the Commercial Road station at Port Adelaide and told them he thought he had hit someone coming over the bridge. Porter Burden went and inspected the area and discovered at about 9pm, the body of Rantanen. Burden, with a lamp, inspected a large area around the bridge and discovered a man's coat. He then found parts of Rantanen's body, spread out over a large area. The body was removed to Semaphore where Sergeant Wilkin and Constable Atkinson were awaiting its arrival for inspection.

The Rantanen Fund was established to help support the family. T.E. Stephens (secretary of the Port Adelaide Branch of the Driver Union) convened the committee meeting. The Mayor of Port Adelaide, A.O.R. Tap was appointed to control the fund, while A.E. Wagner (President of the Port Drivers Union) was appointed Chairperson. S.J. Verran a local M.P. was appointed Vice-Chairman, and J.P. Tapping, treasurer. Trustee duties fell to Alderman J Anderson, J.H. Clouston, F.J. Brown and W.E.C. Baudinet. The auditors were D.B. Mason and E.W. Russell, with Mr Stephens, appointed honorary secretary.

 Mrs Laura Rantanen appealed for assistance via a letter in The News. This letter sparked the community into action to form the fund. The Semaphore and Exeter Labor Party, with permission from the fund board, held a dance at the Port Adelaide Town Hall to assist in raising money. The Port Adelaide Council also agreed that a ‘tarpaulin collection’ could be held during the halftime break of a game between Port Adelaide Football Club and North Adelaide Football Club at Alberton Oval.

Mr Rantanen had been a member of the Port Adelaide branch of the Ancient Order of Foresters. Mr Rantanen was also a member of the Port Adelaide branch of the Waterside Workers' Federation, was employed as a wharf labourer.[5]

  Rantanen left behind his wife and children: Emil, 17, Hilda, 14; Helma, 12 years; and Olga, 8; Walter, 4 years; and Alfred, 17 months.[6]
  Mrs Ada Dickason, of Military Road, Semaphore, and Mr. August Raeinberg, who lives with his mother, are children of Mrs Rantanen's first marriage.

Mr Ranatan was buried at Cheltenham Cemetery.

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020.

Photograph: Find a Grave, Alfred Rantanen, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1...

[1] 'SHOCKING RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT ETHELTON.', Port Adelaide News, (20 August 1926), p. 5., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article212....

[2] Ibid.

[3] 'RANTANEN FUND', News, (2 September 1926), p. 13., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129....

Ibid.

'BREADWINNER KILLED', News, (16 August 1926), p. 1., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129....

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

The Death of Station Master, George Wyles.

 The Death of Station Master, George Wyles.
1909 "F" Class Locomotive SLSA: [B 11082] 

  George Wyles was a well-respected Station Master in Adelaide. In March 1926, he was sent to the Ethelton Railway Station to relieve Station Master, Charles Field, who was on his annual leave. On his second day on the job, Wyles was struck by the 7:20pm freight train from Port Adelaide to Outer Harbour.

  John C. Cutt witnessed the tragic accident. In his statement, he described the events that unfolded. Cutt said that Wynes left the eastern platform heading towards the ticket box of the western platform. Wynes was crossing the line when he noticed a freight train was bearing down on him. Wynes jumped to try and get out the way, but the train engine struck him on the shoulder, throwing him into the nearby fence. Wynes tried to grab the fence, but rebounded off it, into the fourth and fifth carriages of the train, pulling him underneath, and dragging him along the line.

Another witness, John Taylor came forward at the inquest and stated:

 "the engine, which was of the F-class had five box trucks and a brake van attached to it. Mr Wynes had been across the line to give the 7.27 p.m. passenger train from Ethelton to Adelaide the ''right-of-way"' and was returning to the ticket office on the other side when the goods train went through on its way to Outer Harbour. The engine driver saw the man trying to cross the line, blew, the whistle sang out to him, and applied the emergency brake.”

 The police and a doctor were called. Dr K.W. Bollen attended and pronounced Wyles dead. He stated that his injuries were horrific. Wyles' head was “shockingly mutilated, the skull being split right open, and his face was battered beyond recognition.”
Constables H. Atkinson and T. Allen removed the body to the morgue.

An inspection of the line revealed Wyles gold pocket watch. The watch was spattered with blood, the glass broken. The watch was stopped at 7:35.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller  © 2020

Photo: 1909 "F" Class Locomotive SLSA: [B 11082], https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/re...
[1] 'ETHELTON FATALITY.', Recorder, (13 March 1926), p. 1., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article959....

[2] 'CASUALTIES.', The Register, (13 March 1926), p. 13., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article550....

[3] 'EFFECT OF THE CONFESSION.', The Register, (12 March 1926), p. 9., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article550....

A Disinterred Child

 

A Disinterred Child Port Pirie Cemetery - photo Allen Tiller © 2019

 Isaac Grey and William Wilson was charged in the Port Pirie courts by John Martin, for unlawfully exhuming the dead body of a child. On 30 November 1893, the two were summoned to court to hear their fate.

 It was charged that Mr Wilson, the acting curator of the cemetery and the town clerk, instructed the cemetery sexton, Isaac Grey, to exhume the child’s body, which had been buried by mistake in a leased ground.

1-year-old Esther Violet Eva Martin had died on 3 November 1893 and buried the next day. Her mother and father, John and Sarah Martin, and another relative George Heaver were all in attendance at the funeral. They placed wreaths on the child’s grave.
 On November 19, John and Sarah returned to the cemetery to visit his child’s grave, only to find all the wreaths removed. The Martin’s immediately went to the sexton’s office to find out what had happened.
 Martin asked Grey is his child had been moved, which Grey replied, “yes she had.” He asked who had approved the moving of the body, and Grey told him that Mr Wilson had done so and that Wilson had said not to make a fuss over it, unless, by chance, he met them in the cemetery.

 The Martin’s visited the Mayor, Mr Geddes, and expressed their distaste at the goings-on at the cemetery. The Mayor was outraged and went with Mr Martin to Wilson’s office to make enquiries. They asked Wilson if it was true that the child had been moved. Wilson replied indignantly, “yes, what about it?”
 Wilson asked Martin, “Have you come to make a fuss or row about it?”
 Martin asked, “Can I have the grave opened again to satisfy myself that my child is buried there?”
Wilson replied, “Most certainly not!”
 Martin asked for proof his child was buried where Wilson said she was, to which Wilson replied, “you’ve got to take my word for it.”
 Martin asked Wilson if it was not his duty to first ask the Mayor before moving a body, to which Wilson replied, “I will please myself.” Wilson then pulled out a map of the cemetery and explained to Mr Martin and Mayor Geddes how the mistake was made.

Mayor Geddes was put on the stand during the trial. He confirmed Martin’s report of what happened in Wilson’s office but also stated he gave no authority to Wilson to exhume the child’s body.

Wilson was called to give evidence. He stated it was his job to enter cemetery details into the register. He had discovered that Martin’s child had been buried in a plot already leased to Mr Davis. He discovered the error two days after the burial, so he asked Mr Grey to move the child to the nearest vacant site. Wilson blamed the error on Grey, who had not checked with him where to bury the child.

 The presiding judge ruled that the usual 10 pound fine for the crime was reduced to 1 pound and costs.

Mr William Wilson would go on to be Port Pirie Town Clerk for 31 Years (without a break, nor a holiday!). Wilson was originally from Dungannon, Ireland, arriving in Australia onboard Carisbrook Castle in 1875. He was 67 in the year of his retirement. Wilson died 25 Nov 1918 at Prospect, South Australia.

 

 Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020

[1] 'DISINTERRING A CHILD.', South Australian Chronicle, (2 December 1893), p. 21., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article928....

[2] Ancestry.com. Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 6: Francis Robert Burton

 

: Part 6: Francis Robert Burton

Francis Robert Burton was born in London on 9 September 1840. He was the second son of the surgeon, Dr Richard Burton. The family emigrated to South Australia aboard the vessel, Jane, in 1852, settling in the suburb of Sturt. The Burton’s built ‘Bexley’ in Sturt.

Francis joined the civil service as a clerk to the Northern Drought Commission. He entered the Crown Lands Office in 1865, and a year later, in 1866, was appointed clerk to the immigrant agent at Port Adelaide.  In 1868, Burton was appointed clerk of the Adelaide Local Court, and in 1867, clerk of the Wallaroo court. In 1879, he was appointed clerk of the Port Adelaide court. In March 1894, he was reappointed as clerk to the Adelaide Court.

Burton was well known in Adelaide for his efforts to stop juvenile delinquency. It was written of him in 1890;

“Mr Burton has devoted himself to the self-imposed task with the zeal and whole souledness of a thorough philanthropist, coaxing boys away from idle habits and evil associations into the line of industry, honesty, and truth, not by ordinary mean, but by force of genuine attraction. Kindly by nature, he inspires confidence in boys of a class rendered suspicious of the motives of others by their own experience of deceptive ways. Surely My Burton will yet receive for his scheme the recognition it deserves, for with every boy he rescues from vicious courses and plants firmly on the path of duty, the State gains a useful embryo citizen.”

 

While living in Wallaroo, Burton was inspired to open a youth’s recreation room, with the intention of taking boys off the street and giving them books to read and games to play to pass the time.
 In 1888, Burton opened his private boys’ reformatory at Glanville.

 Burton retired in 1909, at age 75, to his home at Belair. He then moved to Roseville, New South Wales. He died at Roseville, New South Wales in 1915.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020

Dolling, Alison, The history of Marion on the Sturt: the story of a changing landscape and its people, (Frewville, S. Aust., 1981).

'JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.', The Express and Telegraph, (4 March 1899), p. 5., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209....

'A FORMER SOUTH AUSTRALIAN.', The Register, (9 July 1915), p. 6., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article594....

Allen Tiller at the Gawler Library 27 May 2021

 

Allen Tiller at the Gawler LibraryThursday 27th May6:30 pm
Join Allen Tiller, one of Australia’s leading paranormal historian’s, as he introduces you to The Haunts of Adelaide.

About this Event

This second edition of The Haunts of Adelaide has been completely rewritten with extra historical facts, footnoting, an index, more photos, and most importantly, more ghost stories!

Allen will be discussing some of Adelaide’s most haunted locations and the history behind the buildings, the people, the urban legends and the ghosts that haunt Adelaide and its suburbs.

Allen was the recipient of the History Council of South Australia’s Emerging Historian of the Year Award 2017, and has also featured on the paranormal reality television show Haunting: Australia. He is a respected historian, paranormal researcher, author, poet, and the founder of Eidolon Paranormal, S.A. Paranormal, and The Haunts of Adelaide.

Allen will have books available for sale on the night.

BOOK HERE

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 5: Cardigan Castle

 

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part

The vessel Cardigan Castle was an iron ship (later barque) owned by Liverpool shipping company, Lewis, Davies, and Co. The vessel was built during 1870 by R.J. Evans.  Between 1879 and 1897 the ship transported people and cargo between England, Australia and New Zealand. It stopped in South Australia at Port Adelaide, Port Pirie, and Port Victoria (Yorke Peninsula). In 1893 the ship was sold to L. Davies and Co. and converted to an iron barque.
 In 1909, the Cardigan Castle was lost off the West Australian coast.

 You may remember in a previous blog regarding John Martin, Mr Burton discussed his desire to go to sea. Mr Burton had asked a judge if this were possible for the young man, and the judge had given his blessing.
 Burton and the Judge were true to their word. They arranged through Mr Philipps of Wills and Co., for Martin to board the vessel Cardigan Castle, under the instruction of Captain Golding. Martin left Port Adelaide on Wednesday, December 4, 1894, bound for England.

 1890: The 'Cardigan Castle' docked in an unidentified port SLSA: [PRG 1373/16/9]

The South Australian Register published a short letter from Mr Burton in May 1895 regarding a letter sent by Captain Golding. In the statement, Captain Golding stated that Martin had conducted himself so well on the voyage that the Captain has re-engaged him for a trip from London to Calcutta, India. Captain Golding stated, “The improvement in the boy's conduct goes far to justify the generous estimate formed of his character by his erstwhile guarding, Mr Burton.”

 

Next Week: John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 6: Francis Robert Burton

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020

Passengers in History, ‘Cardigan Castle’, South Australian Maritime Museum, https://passengers.history.sa.gov.au/....

'GENERAL NEWS.', The Advertiser, (5 December 1894), p. 4., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article257....

'No title', South Australian Register, (27 May 1895), p. 5., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article544....

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 4: Flown the Coop.

 

: Part 4: Flown the Coop.

 

   Friday 2nd November 1894, and 15-year-old John Henry Martin has flown the coop again. This time Martin escaped from Mr Burton’s truant school at Glanville. He had been locked in a room and escaped. His escape had only been discovered when someone had sought him to do some work, finding the locked room he was supposed to be in, empty.

 The Port Adelaide police were notified of Martin’s disappearance, with word put out on the street that they were searching for him. At about 10:30pm that night, a message was sent to the police station stating that Martin was seen laying on tracks at the Port Adelaide railway yards.
 Constable Schell went to investigate and found then arrested Martin. Martin was no longer dressed in his reformatory uniform, instead, wearing clothes he had borrowed from another boy. He was wearing blue serge trousers and a tweed vest, missing his hat, work coat and one boot. When asked by police why he changed clothing, he stated, “I’m not going to let anyone see me with a uniform coat on." (referring to the reformatory uniform).
 Martin was taken to the Port Adelaide police station and put in the cells, all the while protesting vigorously that he had done nothing wrong and did not deserve to be locked up.
 Mr Burton, who had taken charge of the boy, decided that he, and his reformatory, would no longer accept the boy and that he should be placed back into State care.

 

 

Next Week: John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 5: Cardigan Castle

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020

'A NOTORIOUS JUVENILE.', South Australian Chronicle, (10 November 1894), p. 7., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article938....

'A NOTORIOUS JUVENILE.', The Advertiser, (3 November 1894), p. 6. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article257....

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 3: Glanville to Manoora.

 

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 3: Glanville to Manoora.

    Saturday 16 September 1894, John Martin escaped yet again from Mr Burton's Glanville Reformatory, this time with two other lads, Patrick Quigley, and Patrick MacCabe. The boys had made it on foot from Glanville to Manoora. They had been spotted near Saddleworth. The Kapunda Mounted Police were notified and set off after them, arresting the boys on Monday afternoon.
 The three lads were sent by train back to Port Adelaide. Mr F. R. Burton, warden of the Glanville Reformatory offered his opinion that Martin’s escape had been influenced by others. He expressed his opinion in The Observer newspaper.

"He ran away three or four days after I got him last April," Mr. Burton said, "and when he was brought back he was kept under strict surveillance for a time, but for the last three months be has had full liberty, and if he had had an idea of going, he could have disappeared at any time.
  I offered to get him a situation, but he preferred to stay with me. About a week or so before he disappeared be expressed a wish to go to sea, and when I told him that I would get a ship for him to go to England and got the Judge's approval of my action he was quite pleased. No doubt the boy has been enticed away.
  It is rather annoying after struggling with him for months and seeing the end in view for someone to step in and spoil the work. A sea life is the only life for him. He is too impulsive and is too easily led away. There is not much gratitude in boys nowadays—there are very few cases of it. I do not look for it. I was surprised the way the boy has behaved, and I am sure he deserves credit for it. I'll give you an instance where he could have got away if he had wanted to do so. On the last public holiday, September 3, I took my boys down the river, and allowed each, in turn, to have a paddle in the canoe that I have there. If he had wanted to get away, he could easily have landed on the other side of the river and got a good two-hours' start of any search party.

 I don't know yet what the police will do. I would take him back. I have never given a boy up yet, and if he comes back to me, I shall carry out my intention of sending him to sea, as the Judge approved of my idea."[1]

   The boys when captured at Manoora had in their possession two greyhounds that belonged to W.J. Oliver of Norwood. Mr Oliver declined to press charges against the boys, perhaps out of fear of retaliation. Martin was returned to the care of Mr Burton at the Glanville Reformatory.[2]
   Originally Martin had been sentenced to State Children’s Department on Flinder’s Street then sent to the Industrial School, then Mr Burton’s Glanville Reformatory. All up, he had escaped 16 times, earning him the reputation of, “a cunning, daring and skilful escape artist’.

 A journalist for the Express and Telegraph went as far as writing; 

“Some of his escapes from the Reformatory were accomplished in such a daring and skilful way that many people would have preferred to see the youth pardoned and assisted into some honest situation as the regard for his extraordinary pluck than hunted by the officials and returned to the State home which he so greatly abhors.”

 

 

Next Week: John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 4: Flown the Coop.

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020

'A DARING YOUTH.', The Express and Telegraph, (10 September 1894), p. 4. (SECOND EDITION), http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209....

'THE CASE OF JOHN MARTIN, THE RUNAWAY.', Adelaide Observer, (22 September 1894), p. 31. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161....

'A DARING YOUTH.', The Express and Telegraph.

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 2: Escape Artist

 

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 2: Escape Artist

 

 John Martin became well known in Adelaide for his constant escapes from the Industrial School and Glanville Reformatory. His escapades became legendary and earned him celebrity status in Adelaide.
 when writing of his escapes, the 15-year-old (14 at the start of his crime spree) was often described with words exemplifying his actions, rather than vilifying him, as would have been done if he was an adult. ‘Pluck and determination’ were often used to describe him, and ‘courageous, fearless, and brave’.

The Express and Telegraph newspaper published one of his escapes. In the middle of the night, Martin awoke in his third-floor dormitory. While everyone else was asleep, he quietly drifted through the room, opened a window, and stepped out onto an 8-inch (20cm) ledge protruding from the wall. He was 40 feet (12 meters) above the ground. Martin, quietly, without fear, moved along the ledge until he reached a water pipe, which he slid down to reach the ground.

 

Artist impression on John Martin 1896.

He was captured after three days. On his return to the reformatory, he was shackled with ‘school-irons’, a leather and iron shackle designed to hobble the wearer. The irons were chained to the bed, and a warder was assigned to stay in the room the entire night.
 On one occasion, Martin waited for the warder to fall asleep. He found a way to quieten his shackles, and snuck over the warder, removing the keys from his pocket, and unlocked himself. Again, he snuck out the window onto the ledge and used the waterpipe to escape to the ground.

 On another occasion, Martin was segregated into an isolation chamber that the superintendent thought inescapable. The only things in the room with Martin were his blanket and bed. Martin was put in the chamber, and the warders left to their rooms. The following morning, Martin was nowhere to be seen,
 As soon as the warders had left him, Martin bit the metal buttons off his trousers. He used the buttons as screwdrivers and removed the lock from the door, from the inside! He escaped into a courtyard, where he escaped over the wall.
 Unfortunately for Martin, his notoriety meant he was easily recognised and was arrested soon after his escape.

 

Next Week: John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 3: Glanville to Manoora.

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020

'THE LAD JOHN MARTIN.', The Express and Telegraph, (11 September 1894), p. 2. (SECOND EDITION), http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209....

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 1: Bold Bad Boy

 

 In March 1894, John Martin was charged with breaking and entering and theft. He had escaped from F. Burton’s Glanville Reformatory and made his way to Magill. There, he had broken into Mr Moseley’s house and stolen a gold watch and chain, a gold ring, a gold locket, and other valuables.

 Martin was presented to the Supreme Court, presided over by Judge Bundey. In that period, boys were judged and sentenced as men. If convicted, the boys were sent to a prison hulk at Largs Bay, or if their crime was deemed too offensive, sent to Adelaide Gaol.

 Much was made in the newspapers of Martins general appearance in court. He was described as a ‘short thick-set sunburnt little fellow’ by one journalist. Martin was wearing at his hearing, a man’s coat and transfers, which were much too big for him, requiring him to hold them up with one hand.

Harry Nelson, the warder at the reformatory, stated in court that he had checked on Martin in the evening. Martin was on the third story and shackled by the ankle to his bed. At the 2am check, Nelson found Martin had escaped.
 Martin was arrested at Charles Street, Norwood by constable Garland. Moseley’s valuables found in his possession. Martin, when asked if he had anything to say, said, "I can't stop at that school".

 While standing before Judge Bundey, Martin began to sob, stating he had stolen the goods from Moseley with the idea of being sent to gaol. In his young mind, he believed he would be treated better in the Adelaide Gaol than he was in the reformatory.
 Bundey took pity upon the boy, stating “Martin, yours is a peculiar case, now if I send you to a good kind gentleman, who will treat you well, look after and train your better, will you behave yourself, and remain with him?”

Martin, holding back tears stated, “yes, sir”.

Bundey: “I have never seen anything like your case here. You are under fifteen years of age and have shown extraordinary boldness and energy. You have escaped from the Reformatory fourteen times. Now what I should like to do would be to treat you not as a bold bad boy, but as a bold good boy. a bold boy with elements of good in him. You are approaching the years of manhood, and if rightly directed may make an extremely useful man. If I were the commander of a man-of-war, I would like to take you on board my ship and put you under strict discipline, which would bring out your best qualities, and tone down your evil tendencies.”

 In 1894, John Martin would become somewhat of a celebrity escape artist in Adelaide. His escapades, crimes, and court appearances would be published in almost all South Australian newspapers. Such was this 15-year-olds notoriety, his exploits made national news.

 

Next Week: John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 2: Escape Artist

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020

'A Daring Youngster.', Evening Journal, (30 March 1894), p. 2. (SECOND EDITION), http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200....

'Law and Criminal Courts', Evening Journal, (3 April 1894), p. 2. (SECOND EDITION), http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200....