top of page
Deer Park Hunt Club.jpg

Sunshine & District

Historical Society Inc.

Reg No: A00212758

Local Tragedies

The Sunshine District, like all districts has seen it's fair share of tragedies.

The most significant accident was the Sunshine Station Railway disaster in 1908 and at that time it was Australia's worst railway accident. 

But there has been many more tragedies in the local district and whether these have been work site accidents, motor car accidents, level crossing accidents, drownings in the district's creeks & pools and murders. Other tragedies have not happen in the district but the families of the district has had to mourn these events.

A sample of these tragedies have been recorded in various Victorian papers.

1870

Salt Water River, Boy John Clancy & unknown man drowns

1877

Matricide near Footscray

1892

Terrible explosion, men killed, Galvin Alan Warnock aged 19, Alex Stewart aged 22 & John Alan Hearse aged 26

1898

Terrible explosion, one man killed, John O'Shannassy

1908

Sunshine Railway Station Disaster

1923

Terrible explosion in Deer Park - Three young women killed, Mabel "May" Veronica Jackson aged 20, Margaret "Maggie" Nelson aged 21 & Florence "Florrie" Smith aged 42

Deer Park tragedy, cause of explosion a mystery - Three men killed, Frederick Ingle, Thomas Askew & Chris Villa

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bottom of page