The Deniliquin Friends of the Cemetery’s project to ensure all graves at Deniliquin are marked has piqued interest in the local community.

Thanks to a Deniliquin Community Group grant, the group has already provided crosses and plaques for 200 of the graves with the help of Deniliquin Menshed.

The project has been 18 months in the making already, and may take another few years to complete.

Designed to help family history researchers and family members more easily find their loved ones, the project has also inspired local historians to go back to the archives.

Following our article on the project in last Friday’s edition, Ian Lea from the Deniliquin & District Historical Society sent us the research he had found on one local’s newly marked grave.

The article on Florence Patterson originally appeared in the Deniliquin Pastoral Times on May 17, 1924.

The article was found using Trove, thanks to the Genealogy Society’s project to digitise early editions of this newspaper.

Mr Lea shared it with us stating it shows the “benefits of identifying those unmarked graves”.

He also praised the Deniliquin Friends of the Cemetery, Deniliquin Menshed and Edward River Council for taking on such an important project.

Following is the article on Florence’s tragic death.

Some parts of the article were not legible after being digitised. Some words and sentences may be missing from the following transcription.

Woman killed: Leg caught in sulky, dragged by galloping horse

Mrs Florence Patterson was killed on Sunday afternoon, at Pine Grove, Moroco.

When in a sulky, the wheel went over and the horse, becoming frightened, galloped away.

Mrs Patterson was thrown from the seat, and one leg was caught between the vehicle and the shaft.

The animal raced alongside the unfortunate woman's body and must have been dashed against post, and apparently she was instantly killed.

The dreadful accident happened in sight of her husband, Frank Patterson, a station hand employed at Pine Grove.

He had got out of the sulky a few moments before, and who made efforts to reach the galloping horse.

It was not until the sulky turned and was dragged some distance that the horse stopped.

Mr Patterson then ran to and lifted his wife from it by the leg.

She was bleeding from head and face injuries, and no doubt dead when he picked her up.

The body was brought to the hospital morgue on Monday.

An inquest was held at the court house by the coroner, Mr M Wyse JP on Tuesday, when the following evidence was taken:

Constable McDonald stated he went to Mr McLaurin's residence, Pine Grove, Moroco, about 24 miles from Deniliquin, on 12th instance.

He there saw the body of deceased, Florence Patterson, in a room at the residence.

The neck, arms and legs were bruised, and there were several abrasions and cuts on the face and head.

He examined the sulky and saw blood on the wheel. The gig was turned down.

He also examined the wheel tracks, along which there were portions of a woman's clothing and hat.

He conveyed the body to the hospital morgue.

Frank Patterson, labourer, at present employed at Pine Grove by Mr McLaurin stated the deceased was his wife.

On Sunday evening about 5.30pm, his wife was with him in a sulky drawn by one horse, about 200 yards from the Pine Grove homestead.

He got out of the sulky to drive a calf that was hanging about. As they were driving, he left his wife driving the sulky and was about 20 yards away from the sulky when it struck a stump.

He shouted to his wife ‘pull the horse back!’, so that could pull the gig from the stump.

The horse moved on, and the wheel went over the stump, which was about two feet high.

She fell out of the gig and her right leg was caught between the top step and the horse galloped to a fence.

Deceased reached with her left hand and caught hold of the shaft so that her body was free from the wheel.

He ran to the horse, and it swerved away to the right when it reached the fence.

The horse galloped to the fence with the near side wheel striking several posts as it went.

Deceased was on the near side and must have struck the fence.

Deceased's leg was still caught in the step, and the horse travelled about 100 yards with the off wheel off the ground.

When the horse stopped, witness ran up and found his wife hanging by the right leg, with her head on the ground.

He lifted her up and carried her part of the distance to the homestead.

A message was sent to the Dr (name obscured).

Deceased was 32 years of age, and had two children.

John Edward Francis, medical practitioner residing in Deniliquin, stated that on Sunday evening, May 11, he received a telephone message asking him to go to Pine Grove, Moroco, where there had been a serious accident.

He went in his car and saw the dead body of deceased.

There was no rigor mortis, and blood was still oozing from a wound in the forehead.

There was a wound horizontally across the forehead above the right eye, and bone was exposed, but not fractured.

The right side of the face and arms were extensively bruised, and there was a marked depression of the temple, probably causing a fracture of the base of the skull.

There was extravasation of blood into of the right upper eyelid.

The eyebrows and arms were scratched; there was extensive bruising of the left thigh and legs.

He was of the opinion that death was practically instantaneous from pressure on part of the spinal cord, and dislocation of the neck.

A finding was recorded that death was due to injuries accidentally received through a fall from a sulky.

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Thursday, 10th July 2025

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