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

SYDNEY, Tuesday.
William Clark, aged 51, proprietor
of the Royal Hotel, Singleton, died
yesterday of heat apoplexy.

Arthur Hassett, a director of the White Reef Company, Wyalong, was attending a meeting inside the com-
pany's office, when he was stricken.His condition is critical.


 
John McCarker, 26, of Jerilderie,
seized with heat apoplexy, has expired.

Six infants have died at Goulburn since January 1 through the excessive heat.

A child sent to the mountains to escape the city heat died at the moment that the train arrived.

The coroner at Collarendabri has returned to the town after holding an inquest on the body of a man which was found in the bush at Burren. The verdict was that deceased (whose name is supposed to be George Schweiss) had
cut his throat, having apparently become insane through the heat and want of water.

A little girl has died at Mount Hope as an effect of the heat.
Two more deaths have occurred at Bourke. One, Mrs. Costello, aged eighty, was found dead in her chair.

This makes at least a dozen victims in the Bourke district.
There were many casualties in the city.

A man at Surry Hills sustained a sunstroke. He was taken to the hospital, where he recovered.

A young girl walking along a city street suddenly became demented.

Sydney Merewether, aged 63, a miner from New Zealand, was trans-acting some business in the Union Bank, when he was stricken down. He was at once removed to the hos-
pital, but expired.

William Foulston, employed at the post-office tunnel works, was taken to the hospital unconscious through the excessive heat, and died.

James Quinn was working at the embankment at Lady Macquarie's Chair, when he was overcome, and very soon died.

Several men were taken to the hospitals and, under proper treatment, recovered.

Duggle McLachlan, a widower with four children, residing at Balmain, was returning to his home from the city, when he was stricken. Before medical help could be obtained he
was dead.

A man, his wife, and their child went out in a boat at Balmain, hoping to escape some of the heat. They were caught in the buster and the boat was capsized. The child was drowned.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44132389?zoom

(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT)EXTRAORDINARY HEAT AT
WILCANNIA.

THERMOMETER 119° IN THE SHADE.

FIVE DEATHS IN ONE DAY THE HOSPITAL CROWDED.

WILCANNIA, Friday.

The heat has been umbearable to-day. The thermometer registered 119 in the shade at 2 o'clock. Five deaths from heat have occurred since last night, the Rev. Father Davern being amongst the number. He intended to leave for

Sydney yesterday, but complained of being unwell owing to the excessive heat. Last night Dr. Atkins was called in, and found the reverend gentleman unconscious. He expired at 2 o'clock this morning from heat apoplexy. He has been here for the past five years, and was universally esteemed by all sections of the community.

The hospital is crowded, and a number of people are dangerously ill. More deaths are hourly expected.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/14033576?zoo

THE GREAT HEAT IN NEW SOUTH WALES. NO CHANGE YET.

MORE DEATHS REPORTED. RESIDENTS OF BOURKE PANIC-

STRICKEN. SYDNEY, TUESDAY.

The light rain which has fallen during the past three days on the coast has penetrated inland across the mountains, with the result that only six places to-day report heat over

100deg., as compared with 63, which sent inthat record yesterday. The hope that the mon-soonal depression which developed yesterday over Western Australia would bring rain has now gone, and there is not the slightest prospect of a general rain to relieve the dis-tressed settlers in the back country. In the south-east parts of the colony there has been a considerable fall in the barometer while the variations of the barometer inland seem to indicate the possibility of thunderstorms.

a high-pressure depression is coming across the continent from Western Australia and the hope is expressed that it may bring some rain and cool weather.

Single deaths from heat apoplexy are re-ported from Angledool, Moree, Condobolin Crookwell and Young.

BOURKE, TUESDAY.
The heat to-day was very trying, the thermometer registering 118deg. in the shade. Two more deaths were reported to-day. Mr.R. Rheuben, a resident of Bourke and a wool-classer, died suddenly from heat apoplexy on Saturday at Boorara, near Hungerford, and Kenneth Stewart, a local identity, dropped down in the street last night and never regained consciousness, dying at the hospital shortly after being ad-mitted.

This brings the record to 35 deaths directly ascribable to the heat. The average heat in the shade for the month to date isover 112deg., while for the past four days the
average has been 118¾deg.

A large number of residents left by train this morning, and
the cheap excursion trains which leave to-morrow will be largely availed of.

LATER.

The residents are really panic-stricken and hundreds are leaving for cooler cli-mates.

CONDOBOLIN, SATURDAY.

The extreme heat continues unbroken, thefollowing being the reading for the past four days :—15th, 106deg.; 16th, 110deg.; 17th, 118deg.; 18th, 107deg., accompanied on most days by furious hot winds from north-west and north. Tanks all over the district are drying up daily, and stock-owners are having an anxious time. A large number of horses, sheep, and cattle have been re-moved to districts that have had rains. Mr.

Robert Officer, the manager of North Con-dobolin Station, has been brought into town from the station suffering from the intense heat. The doctor reports that he is progress-ing favourably.

GOODOOGA, TUESDAY.

The hot weather still continues, and there is no sign of rain. An old man named Larry Keogh, who has been working on Mogila for years, was found dead in his hut yesterday morning, death being due to heat apoplexy.

WILCANNIA, TUESDAY.

Eight deaths have so far occurred locally from the heat. Several persons were struck down yesterday and to-day, but they are pro-gressing as well as can be expected. The
glass registered 117 in the shade yesterday and 118 to-day. There is no prospect of a change. Three deaths are reported from White Cliffs, and one each from Gnalta,

Wonnaminta, and Tongo, all due to the heat.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8888573?zoom

THE WEATHER IN THE EASTERN COLONIES.

SHADE TEMPERATURE AT BOURKE 120°.

MORE DEATHS REPORTED.

Sydney, January 22.

A welcome fall of rain occurred to-day over the central coastal district and highlands, accom-panied by a great lowering of the tempera-ture all over the colony except in the far west.

Bourke to-day reports the heat as having been 120° in the shade. Two more deaths have occurred in the town, with five in the immediate vicinity.

Broken Hill, January 22.

A south wind brought a temporary cool change last night. The heat to-day was intense, the maximum temperature registered in the shade being 113.5°. Jane Thomson, aged fifty-six, of Crystal-street, died from heat apoplexy to-day.

Brisbane, January 22.

The weather was exceedingly hot and op-pressive to-day, the temperature being thehighest recorded for the summer. High tem-peratures prevail throughout the colony.

Roma reports that all the crops are withering,and Thargomindah states that five more suddendeaths have occurred in the district, which are attributed to the heat.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/53682260?zoo

THE HEAT IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

AN UNPRECEDENTED RECORD.

Telegrams from Sydney and more complete details in the Sydney papers furnish amazing and distressing ac-counts of the terrible effects of the re-cent heat wave in New South Wales.

A Bourke telegram dated Tuesday reports—" The heat to-day was very trying, the thermometer registering 118deg. in the shade. Two more deaths were reported today. This
brings the record to 35 deaths directly ascribed to the heat.

The average heat in the shade for the month to date is over 112deg., while for the past four days the average has been 118¾deg.

The residents are really panic-stricken, and hundreds are leav-ing for cooler climates. On Wednes-day afternoon a terrific wind blew several verandahs down, as well as half a dozen ornamental trees in the streets.

The thermometer registered 120deg., and in many shops and houses the temperature reached 125 deg. Almost all business was practi-cally suspended except in the hotels.

Two more deaths occurred in the town. A powder magazine exploded and for five minutes afterwards rain fell.

At Condobolin the extreme heat continued unbroken, the following being the readings for the past four days:—15th, 106deg. ; 16th, 110deg.; 17th, 118deg. ; 18th, 107deg.

At Wilcannia eight deaths have so far occurred locally from the heat.

Three deaths are reported from WhiteCliffs, and one each from Gnalta,

Wonnaminta and Tongo, all due to the heat; a total altogether of 15 deaths in the Wilcannia district from heat since Thursday last.

At Tiboburra 119 was reached, and the death of W. Hodge, a well known miner, is reported.

Nine deaths have been recorded at Nyngan.

At Coonamble the ther-mometer has registered 110deg. in theshade.

The thermometer has not re-gistered less than 100 deg. since two or three days before New Year.

At Warren the thermometer, in well-shaded situations, registered from 114deg to 119deg, while on many of the neighboring stations 110 deg. were recorded. Twenty cases of heatapoplexy were reported.

In several localities the thermome-ter has registered 105 at midnight.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/75263800

And yet there were no major WILD FIRES as the land back then was still benefiting from the effects of Aboriginal Land Care Management.

If any fires did erupt - the local Aboriginal Brigade had them under control and saved the Whities.

President Elect, The Mechanic wrote on Dec 19^th, 2019 at 11:13am:


No Mechanic as usual, you, the daily mail and Jo Nova are wrong.

Methods of recording temperature were not standardised until the early 1900s. A Stevenson screen was not installed in Bourke until August 1908

The Bureau of Meteorology noted in a 2017 report the 1896 data "cannot be easily compared with modern recordings".

"Detailed study has shown that extreme temperatures recorded at Bourke during the 1896 heatwave were likely suspect due to non-standard exposure, and likely around two degrees warmer than temperatures recorded with standard instrumentation."

And the death toll of 437 people?

There was no airconditioning, poorer medical knowledge about dehydration, and heat stroke, no OHS laws and poorer forecasting.