This compilation contains the names of more than 300 railwaymen (ie employees, not public passengers) who were killed or died while on duty between 1879 and today. Many workers have also suffered injuries, some life-threatening, which it has not been possible to include.
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Death or serious injury, in the days before compulsory workers’ compensation insurance, could, and often did, result in the victim’s family being left destitute. The families often had to rely, at least in the short term, on the charity of their community and the generosity of the injured or deceased worker’s colleagues.
Many men, stationed at outlying depots, were faced with such rudimentary medical facilities that an injury which may have been survivable in a large town or city could and often did prove fatal.
Contemporary newspaper reports and edited transcripts of coronial inquiries have been included where they are available. Some photographs of these railwaymen have been made available by descendants and other family members. Other information welcome and can be sent to archivist@railheritagewa.org.au
Caution: Contemporary newspaper reports, particularly those prior to 1920, sometimes contain explicit descriptions of the injuries sustained by the deceased person. Some readers may find these descriptions offensive and in bad taste by today’s standards. However, they reflect the norms of the times and are reproduced as found.