William Norman Hancock (1866 - 1904)

Born 7 May 1866 in Stepney, South Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Levina (Waghorn) Hancock — married 23 May 1894 in Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia

Husband of Sarah (Halstead) Hancock — married 16 Jul 1901 in Belair, South Australia, Australia

Died 23 May 1904 at age 38 in Wallaroo Mines, South Australia, Australia

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Biography

William Norman Hancock was born in Stepney, South Australia on 7 May 1866, the second of four surviving children of John Charles Hancock and Jessie White. ^[1] Five more children were born after Robert, none of whom survived more than two years.

His father was a baker and in 1881 was operating from his own bakery in Glen Osmond. On 4 August 1881 William’s mother died tragically from burns. With his siblings William was sent to live with his grandfather and his two maiden aunts in Stepney, while his father took up work on the construction of the Great Northern Railway.

On 23 May 1894 William married [[Waghorn-335|Levina Waghorn] at Glen Osmond. ^[2] Levina passed away on 19 July 1896. ^[3]

On 16 July 1901 William married Sadie Halstead at Holy Innocents Church, Belair. ^[4] The couple made their home in Kadina where William worked at the Wallaroo Mine as a fitter. Their daughter, Nellie was born in Kadina on 15 November 1902. Nellie died on 24 June 1903 aged seven months.

On 16 May 1904 William Hancock went to work as usual at the Office Shaft of the Wallaroo Mine. His work on that day was to go with two other men to change the pipes in the water main on level 245 pumps close to the shaft carrying the timber skip to the surface of the mine. It appears that William dropped his spanner and reached out for it as the skip was travelling past him. The skip caught the lower part of his body. William’s workmates carried him back to the surface. The doctor who treated him considered that although he was alive and conscious his “injuries were so bad that it would only have caused unnecessary pain to have tried to do more than make him as comfortable as possible”. The doctor provided some pain relief and had William carried to his home where he died three hours later from haemorrhage and shock. ^{[5] [6]}

William was buried with his daughter at the Kadina Cemetery. ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922, Page Number: 219 Volume Number: 43
2. ↑ Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950. South Australia. Page number 672 Volume Number 179
3. ↑ Australia Death Index, 1787-1985. South Australia. Page number 341 Volume Number 236
4. ↑ South Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950. Page number 213 Volume Number 208
5. ↑ South Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985. Page Number: 194 Volume Number: 302
6. ↑ FATAL ACCIDENT AT WALLAROO MINES. (1904, May 25). The Kadina and Wallaroo Times (SA : 1888 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109145433
7. ↑ Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/190006048/william-norman-hancock