The Death Roll. A Melancholy List. Apoplexy, Thirst, and Sunstroke. SYDNEY, Tuesday.

14 January 1896, Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), page 2

…By Tuesday Jan 14, people were reported falling dead in the streets. Unable to sleep, people in Brewarrina walked the streets at night for hours, the thermometer recording 109F at midnight . Overnight, the temperature did not fall below 103f. On Jan 18 in Wilcannia, five deaths were recorded in one day, the hospitals were overcrowded and reports said that “more deaths are hourly expected” . By January 24, in Bourke, many businesses had shut down (almost everything bar the hotels). Panic stricken Australians were fleeing to the hills in climate refugee trains.  As reported at the time, the government felt the situation was so serious that to save…

…It got hotter and hotter and the crowded trains ran on more days of the week . The area of exodus was extended to allow not only refugees from western NSW to flee to the Blue Mountains but also people to escape via train from the Riverina to the Snowy Mountains . The stories are heartbreaking. “A child sent to the mountains to escape the city heat died at the moment the train arrived.” “Six infants have died at Goulburn since January 1 through the excessive heat. ” Towns were losing their esteemed, lamenting the loss of the good reverend, or of their well known miners. Children were orphaned.…

Thunderstorms and High Temperatures. Alarming Sickness in Many Towns. SYDNEY, Thursday.

23 January 1896, Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), page 2

…By Tuesday Jan 14, people were reported falling dead in the streets. Unable to sleep, people in Brewarrina walked the streets at night for hours, the thermometer recording 109F at midnight . Overnight, the temperature did not fall below 103f. On Jan 18 in Wilcannia, five deaths were recorded in one day, the hospitals were overcrowded and reports said that “more deaths are hourly expected” . By January 24, in Bourke, many businesses had shut down (almost everything bar the hotels). Panic stricken Australians were fleeing to the hills in climate refugee trains.  As reported at the time, the government felt the situation was so serious that to save lives and ease the suffering of its citizens they added cheaper train services:…

(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.) EXTRAORDINARY HEAT AT WILCANNIA. THERMOMETER 119[?] IN THE SHADE. FIVE DEATHS IN ONE DAY. THE HOSPITAL CROWDED. WILCANNIA, Friday.

18 January 1896, The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), page 9

…By Tuesday Jan 14, people were reported falling dead in the streets. Unable to sleep, people in Brewarrina walked the streets at night for hours, the thermometer recording 109F at midnight . Overnight, the temperature did not fall below 103f. On Jan 18 in Wilcannia, five deaths were recorded in one day, the hospitals were overcrowded and reports said that “more deaths are hourly expected” . By January 24, in Bourke, many businesses had shut down (almost everything bar the hotels). Panic stricken Australians were fleeing to the hills in climate refugee trains.  As reported at the time, the government felt the situation was so serious that to save lives and ease the suffering of its citizens they added cheaper train services:…

THE HEAT IN NEW SOUTH WALES. AN UNPRECEDENTED RECORD.

24 January 1896, The Horsham Times (Vic. : 1882 - 1954), page 2

…By Tuesday Jan 14, people were reported falling dead in the streets. Unable to sleep, people in Brewarrina walked the streets at night for hours, the thermometer recording 109F at midnight . Overnight, the temperature did not fall below 103f. On Jan 18 in Wilcannia, five deaths were recorded in one day, the hospitals were overcrowded and reports said that “more deaths are hourly expected” . By January 24, in Bourke, many businesses had shut down (almost everything bar the hotels). Panic stricken Australians were fleeing to the hills in climate refugee trains.  As reported at the time, the government felt the situation was so serious that to save lives and ease the suffering of its citizens they added cheaper train services:…

THE GREAT HEAT IN NEW SOUTH WALES. NO CHANGE YET. MORE DEATHS REPORTED._ RESIDENTS OF BOURKE PANICSTRICKEN. SYDNEY, TUESDAY.

22 January 1896, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), page 5

…By Tuesday Jan 14, people were reported falling dead in the streets. Unable to sleep, people in Brewarrina walked the streets at night for hours, the thermometer recording 109F at midnight . Overnight, the temperature did not fall below 103f. On Jan 18 in Wilcannia, five deaths were recorded in one day, the hospitals were overcrowded and reports said that “more deaths are hourly expected” . By January 24, in Bourke, many businesses had shut down (almost everything bar the hotels). Panic stricken Australians were fleeing to the hills in climate refugee trains.  As reported at the time, the government felt the situation was so serious that to save lives and ease the suffering of its citizens they added cheaper train services:…

THE HEAT WAVE. CONTINUED HIGH TEMPERATURE 120 DEATHS. RESIDENTS FLEEING TO THE HILLS. (By Telegraph.) SYDNEY, Sunday.

22 January 1896, The North Queensland Register (Townsville, Qld. : 1892 - 1905), page 7

…By Tuesday Jan 14, people were reported falling dead in the streets. Unable to sleep, people in Brewarrina walked the streets at night for hours, the thermometer recording 109F at midnight . Overnight, the temperature did not fall below 103f. On Jan 18 in Wilcannia, five deaths were recorded in one day, the hospitals were overcrowded and reports said that “more deaths are hourly expected” . By January 24, in Bourke, many businesses had shut down (almost everything bar the hotels). Panic stricken Australians were fleeing to the hills in climate refugee trains.  As reported at the time, the government felt the situation was so serious that to save lives and ease the suffering of its citizens they added cheaper train services:…

…“The Commissioner of Railways promised a deputation of members of Parliament to run a special train every Friday at holiday excursion rates for the next month to enable settlers resident in the Western part of the colony to reach the mountains to escape the great heat prevailing.” ( Source )…

A RUSH TO THE MOUNTAINS. LAWSON, Saturday.

27 January 1896, The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), page 5

…It got hotter and hotter and the crowded trains ran on more days of the week . The area of exodus was extended to allow not only refugees from western NSW to flee to the Blue Mountains but also people to escape via train from the Riverina to the Snowy Mountains . The stories are heartbreaking. “A child sent to the mountains to escape the city heat died at the moment the train arrived.” “Six infants have died at Goulburn since January 1 through the excessive heat. ” Towns were losing their esteemed, lamenting the loss of the good reverend, or of their well known miners. Children were orphaned.…

PHENOMENAL HEAT. ELEVEN MORE DEATHS. BOURKE HOSPITAL CROWDED. BRISBANE, WEDNESDAY.

23 January 1896, Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899), page 6

…It got hotter and hotter and the crowded trains ran on more days of the week . The area of exodus was extended to allow not only refugees from western NSW to flee to the Blue Mountains but also people to escape via train from the Riverina to the Snowy Mountains . The stories are heartbreaking. “A child sent to the mountains to escape the city heat died at the moment the train arrived.” “Six infants have died at Goulburn since January 1 through the excessive heat. ” Towns were losing their esteemed, lamenting the loss of the good reverend, or of their well known miners. Children were orphaned.…

EXCURSIONS TO COOL CLIMATES.

25 January 1896, The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), page 9

…It got hotter and hotter and the crowded trains ran on more days of the week . The area of exodus was extended to allow not only refugees from western NSW to flee to the Blue Mountains but also people to escape via train from the Riverina to the Snowy Mountains . The stories are heartbreaking. “A child sent to the mountains to escape the city heat died at the moment the train arrived.” “Six infants have died at Goulburn since January 1 through the excessive heat. ” Towns were losing their esteemed, lamenting the loss of the good reverend, or of their well known miners. Children were orphaned.…

NEW SOUTH WALES. SYDNEY, January 15.

20 January 1896, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), page 4

…“ A woman has been brought to the Bulli Hospital in a demented condition, suffering from sunstroke.  She was tramping the roads, with her husband, two days before, when she was prostrated by a sunstroke.  Her husband carried her through all the sweltering heat to Bulli, taking two days over the journey .” ( Source ).…

MAD FROM THE HEAT. BOURKE, Saturday.

25 January 1896, Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal (NSW : 1851 - 1904), page 2

…In 1896 the heat was causing people to faint, become demented and was even blamed for driving people mad . “ Several women fainted in the streets. A little girl, while walking along Surrey Hills, suddenly became demented through the heat .” In Bendigo “ a young man named Edward Swift, hairdresser, was so overcome by the heat that he was unable to work, and in despair shot himself, in the breast. It is a hopeless case .” Longreach “police authorities at Longreach received information that a man who was insane was about fourteen miles out of the town .” “ The bodies of people who die of sunstroke decompose very quickly” . An axe wielding man in Bourke…

…even blamed for driving people mad . “ Several women fainted in the streets. A little girl, while walking along Surrey Hills, suddenly became demented through the heat .” In Bendigo “ a young man named Edward Swift, hairdresser, was so overcome by the heat that he was unable to work, and in despair shot himself, in the breast. It is a hopeless case .” Longreach “police authorities at Longreach received information that a man who was insane was about fourteen miles out of the town .” “ The bodies of people who die of sunstroke decompose very quickly” . An axe wielding man in Bourke cut down three telegraph poles before he was “secured” by police. Presumably the real cause of the madness was something else, but the heat was the last straw. “ Birregurra was stirred from its wanted sleepiness on Saturday evening last by the appearance in the streets of a mad man who caused no small consternation .”  It could be that nuttiness was equally common on other months, or other years. But at the time, people blamed the heat.…

The Weather in the Colonies. Great Mortality. Over Eighty More Fatal Cases. BY TELEGRAM. BRISBANE, Wednesday.

21 January 1896, The Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts (Barcaldine, Qld. : 1892 - 1922), page 8

…In 1896 the heat was causing people to faint, become demented and was even blamed for driving people mad . “ Several women fainted in the streets. A little girl, while walking along Surrey Hills, suddenly became demented through the heat .” In Bendigo “ a young man named Edward Swift, hairdresser, was so overcome by the heat that he was unable to work, and in despair shot himself, in the breast. It is a hopeless case .” Longreach “police authorities at Longreach received information that a man who was insane was about fourteen miles out of the town .” “ The bodies of people who die of sunstroke decompose very quickly” . An axe wielding man in Bourke cut down three telegraph poles before he was “secured” by police. Presumably the real cause of the madness was something else, but…

2nd EDITION MINER OFFICE, 4 p.m. THE HEAT WAVE. Effects in Victoria. Suicide at Bendige. [BY TELEGRAPH.] MELBOURNE, Friday.

24 January 1896, Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), page 4

…In 1896 the heat was causing people to faint, become demented and was even blamed for driving people mad . “ Several women fainted in the streets. A little girl, while walking along Surrey Hills, suddenly became demented through the heat .” In Bendigo “ a young man named Edward Swift, hairdresser, was so overcome by the heat that he was unable to work, and in despair shot himself, in the breast. It is a hopeless case .” Longreach “police authorities at Longreach received information that a man who was insane was about fourteen miles out of the town .” “ The bodies of people who die of sunstroke decompose very quickly” . An axe wielding man in Bourke cut down three telegraph poles before he was “secured” by police. Presumably the real cause of the madness was something else, but the heat was…

ARTHUR WHITING'S CASE. THE POLICE REPORT.

30 January 1896, The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), page 6

…In 1896 the heat was causing people to faint, become demented and was even blamed for driving people mad . “ Several women fainted in the streets. A little girl, while walking along Surrey Hills, suddenly became demented through the heat .” In Bendigo “ a young man named Edward Swift, hairdresser, was so overcome by the heat that he was unable to work, and in despair shot himself, in the breast. It is a hopeless case .” Longreach “police authorities at Longreach received information that a man who was insane was about fourteen miles out of the town .” “ The bodies of people who die of sunstroke decompose very quickly” . An axe wielding man in Bourke cut down three telegraph poles before he was “secured” by police. Presumably the real cause of the madness was something else, but the heat was the last straw. “ Birregurra was stirred from its wanted sleepiness on Saturday evening last by the appearance in the streets of a mad man who caused no small consternation .”  It could be that…

A WELL-KNOWN WINCHELSEA CONTRACTOR DEVELOPS INSANITY. COMMOTION IN THE STREETS OF BIRREGURRA.

10 January 1896, The Colac Herald (Vic. : 1875 - 1918), page 2

…named Edward Swift, hairdresser, was so overcome by the heat that he was unable to work, and in despair shot himself, in the breast. It is a hopeless case .” Longreach “police authorities at Longreach received information that a man who was insane was about fourteen miles out of the town .” “ The bodies of people who die of sunstroke decompose very quickly” . An axe wielding man in Bourke cut down three telegraph poles before he was “secured” by police. Presumably the real cause of the madness was something else, but the heat was the last straw. “ Birregurra was stirred from its wanted sleepiness on Saturday evening last by the appearance in the streets of a mad man who caused no small consternation .”  It could be that nuttiness was equally common on other months, or other years. But at the time, people blamed the heat.…

THE FATAL RESULTS OF THE EXCESSIVE HEAT. DEATH-RATE MORE THAN DOUBLED.

21 January 1896, The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), page 5

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…

THE HEAT WAVE. SATURDAY'S TEMPERATURE. ONE HUNDRED AND NINE DEGREES. TWO MORE DEATHS IN THE CITY.

6 January 1896, The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), page 4

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…

THE HEAT WAVE IN NEW SOUTH WALES. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE DEATHS IN SYDNEY. A SLIGHT FALL IN THE TEMPERA[?] TURE. TWENTY-SEVEN DEATHS AT BOURKE. SYDNEY, January 20.

22 January 1896, The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), page 3

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…

THE HEAT WAVE. PERTH, Monday.

7 January 1896, The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), page 5

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…

The Register. ADELAIDE: WEDNESDAY, JAN. 15, 1896. THE HEAT WAVE.

15 January 1896, South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), page 4

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…

MORTALITY IN QUEENSLAND. BRISBANE, Jan. 22.

31 January 1896, The Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth, WA : 1855 - 1901), page 4

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…

HEAT WAVE IN QUEENSLAND. CONTINUANCE OF EXCESSIVE TEMPERATURE. NUMBER OF FURTHER DEATHS.

24 January 1896, The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), page 5

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…

THE HEAT WAVE. Effects in Victoria. [BY TELEGRAPH.] MELBOURNE, Friday.

25 January 1896, Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), page 1

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…

ANOTHER HEAT WAVE. MELBOURNE, Monday.

25 February 1896, The Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts (Barcaldine, Qld. : 1892 - 1922), page 9

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…

UNDER FIRE. [BY TELEGRAPH] SYDNEY, Monday.

27 January 1896, Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), page 2

…With this and people dropping dead in the streets from Perth through Adelaide to Sydney , the heat wave was described as being universal from west to east . It went north into Queensland and south through Victoria . … twice , by which time Australians considered themselves to be “ Under Fire ”.…