A St Marys Tragedy

By Lyn Forde – President/Research Officer of St Marys & District Historical Society Inc.

In 1908 a blushing bride named Emily Frances Luke married a dashing groom by the name of Albert Henry Stonestreet at the All Saints Church in Silverdale. Emily, born at Mamre in 1886 was the daughter of Elizabeth Ann Delaney (Luke) and Elizabeth’s first husband Robert Luke. Albert, born in 1882 was the son of James and Elizabeth Stonestreet (Walker). Albert and Emily had four children, the last one Albert Joseph was born in 1913. In January 1914 Emily, accompanied by her mother Elizabeth went into St Marys to register Albert Joseph at St Marys police station and about 6pm they started for home with her brother who drove the sulky and while Emily nursed her son Robert James who was born in 1912 her mother held Albert Joseph and about two miles along the Mamre Road Emily suddenly said to her mother that she was on fire and burning to death. She quickly handed Robert to her brother and her mother jumped out of the sulky with Albert Joseph and Emily stood up in the sulky and as soon as she did flames went up over her head and she jumped from the sulky and ran around. Her brother took off his coat and tried to put out the fire putting his coat around her and beating the flames but to no avail. Just then Mrs Baker and Mr Lambert came up in their vehicle and Mr Lambert did what he could with Emily laying down on the ground. Her mother rolled the sulky rug around her with assistance from the others and more people came up at that time but they could do nothing because all her clothing was burned off her. The whole thing happened so suddenly and quickly, Emily was wearing a thin print dress and flannelette petticoat and the bottom part of her dress caught alight first, then when she stood up the whole of her clothing burst into flames. The sulky caught on fire and the groceries were destroyed and her brother’s hand was also very burnt. Elizabeth said at the inquest at Penrith Court House that she did not know whether her son was smoking or not. He had a few drinks in St Marys but he was not drunk and was quite able to drive. On the way out of St Marys they were laughing and talking as they drove along when suddenly this occurrence happened and she could not say how the fire started or what caused it. She mentioned that Emily’s life was not insured and she possessed no property apart from her interest in the property Elizabeth lived on. next at the inquest Samuel Henry Luke said that he was a labourer and lived with his parents on Mamre Road and that Mrs Delaney was his mother and Emily Stonestreet was his sister. He remembered before leaving

St Marys about 6 pm he had two or three glasses of beer but that it was not sufficient to affect him and he was perfectly sober. When he got up in the sulky he was smoking and continued to for a distance along the road but said that he did not light a match after he got into the sulky. When they were about two miles along the road Emily called out that she was on fire and handed Robert to him and he got out on the opposite side and let the horse go and took off his coat and tried to put out the flames. His sister ran around for a moment and then laid down on the ground while we dragged the burning clothing off her. He said that the fire only lasted a few seconds and the clothing burned so easily and quickly that he got his hands and arm severely burnt trying to help put out the fire and his hands were very bad now and he would not be able to use them for at least another fortnight. He confirmed that he was not smoking when his sister called out she was on fire and that he had put the pipe in his pocket about a quarter of an hour before and they were travelling very slowly being about half an hour on the road. He said that the day had been a terribly hot one with a strong wind blowing. As soon as possible, Mrs Baker went to St Marys to contact Dr Bell who came and attended to his sister and ordered her immediate removal to the nepean Cottage Hospital. Mr Lambert and Emily’s brother took her quickly to the hospital where she was admitted and treated but she died. Constable John Joseph Walsh said at the inquest that he was stationed at St Marys when Emily Stonestreet called at the St Marys Police Station and filled in a form for registration of a birth at about 5pm and that she was dressed in extremely light dress material with the day being exceptionally hot with strong wind blowing and he knew nothing of the particulars of Emily’s death only when he had heard from the eye-witnesses. The whole thing seemed to have occurred so suddenly and quickly from a spark from the pipe of her brother that would account for the fire and fanned into flame by the strong wind blowing. He said that Emily appeared very delicate when he saw her. The finding from the Coroner at the inquest was that “Emily Frances Stonestreet at the Nepean Cottage Hospital in Penrith on the 10th January 1914 died from shock, the result of burns accidentally received on the same day at St Marys caused by a spark from the pipe of her brother.” Emily is buried at St Mary Magdalene cemetery along with her husband Albert Henry Stonestreet who died in 1963 at nepean District Hospital.

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