Lightning Strikes – Penola Shepherds
In January 1907, James and his older brotherAlex Patterson were mustering sheep on their uncle's farm near Penola in the southeast of South Australia. They counted the sheep they had mustered and realized the count fell short, so they went to look for the lost sheep.
As they rode their horses through thepaddocks, a storm blew in. The two boys took shelter under the tree. The treeproved to be insufficient to shelter both boys and their horses, so Alec rodeon a little further to find another tree to shelter underneath.
James could see his brother when a flashof lightning filled the gloom of the storm. James watched his brother’s horsefall. He ran to his brother to find him sitting upright with his pocketbook inhis hand, as he had been counting sheep when the lightning struck. Next to himwas his dead horse and his dead dog. He then ran to the nearest house andalerted them to the tragedy.
Mounted Constable Carter, William Patterson(Alex’s uncle) and Dr Magee from Penola made their way to the site of thetragedy.They discovered Alex’s body, his clothes were torn, his right trouser leg wasentirely split, and his boots torn to shreds. His body had been seared in someplaces and his hair singed.They loaded the body onto a cart and brought it back to Penola.
A report onthe incident was published in the Border Watch newspaper as follows,
"I have the honor to report that William Patterson, J.P. reported to me at 5.30 p.m., on the 26th inst., that his nephew, AlexanderJohn Patterson, son of James Patterson, of Suthledge, was killed by lightning onthe Victorian border, near Lake Mundi. I left immediately in company with Dr.Magee and Mr. W. Patterson, and found that, the deceased, his horse, and hisdog were all killed near a gum tree, under which they had taken shelter fromthe storm.
The horse had evidently fallen wherestruck, and it was bleeding from the ears and was dead. The sheep dog was lyingdead close to the deceased, and its hair was singed. The ground was torn upround where the deceased lay. He had the body brought into Penola.
James Andrew Patterson, aged 13 years, statedthat between 3 and 4 o'clock on Saturday, he was mustering sheep with hisdeceased brother, who was 17 years of age. They found they were short in number,and were searching for the missing ones when a heavy storm came on, and they bothtook shelter under trees. The deceased was sitting under one tree about a chainaway from the one he was under. He had his horse close to him, holding it bythe bridle, and his pocket book in his hand counting up the number of sheep. Aflash of lightning came; and he saw his brother's horse fall. He ran over,and found his brother sitting as before with his pocket book in his hand. Hespoke to him, but got no answer. He spoke to him again, and found he was dead,and also the horse and dog. He immediately went to the nearest neighbours, toldthe, what had happened, and asked for help.
Dr. C.C. Magee reported on the eveningof the 26th inst. He, in company with M.C. Carter of Penola,inspected the body of Alexander John Patterson, aged about 17 years, found deadunder a tree, 114 miles from Penola, on the Casterton Road.
He found the right leg of the trousersbadly torn from the middle of the thigh downwards. The right boot wascompletely torn off the foot, only the heel and sole of the boot being. left.The toe of the left boot was torn open. About half a dozen holes were burnt inthe singlet, and a small hole was burnt in the soft felt hat.
On examination of the body he found the hairon the back of the head and ears singed, about half a dozen small burns on theback between the shoulder blades corresponding with the holes in the singlet, abruise about an inch square between the eighth and ninth rib on the left side, thepubic hair singed, a burn about the size of the palm of a hand on front of the rightleg between the knee and ankle, a small burn under the right big toe, and the hair singed on the right leg up to theknee.
From these appearances he considereddeath to have been caused by lightning stroke, and to have been instantaneous.
Alexanderwas buried in the Penola cemetery, with the Reverend D.A. Souter ministeringover the procession.Alexander is buried alongside his uncle, Thomas MacDonald, who died just twoweeks prior.
Researchedand written by Allen Tiller © 2025
Youth, Horse, And Dog.', The Register, (28January 1907), p. 5.
'TRAGIC DEATH AT PENOLA.', The South EasternTimes, (29 January 1907), p. 2.
'KILLED BY LIGHTNING.', The Register, (29 January1907), p. 4.
'THUNDERSTORM HEAR PENOLA.', Border Watch,(30 January 1907), p. 2.
‘Patterson’, Cemetery Search, Wattle Range Council,(2025), https://www.wattlerange.sa.gov.au/liv....
'THUNDERSTORM HEAR PENOLA.', Border Watch,(30 January 1907), p. 2.
