A Tragic Accident

 Besides many famous and infamous people who call Rookwood "home" there are many people who are remembered not for their great works or deeds but the way they tragically died. The Cemetery has many headstones stating the manner of death of it's inhabitants. Train accidents, building site accidents and many others including those that seem rather freakish. 

Today's blog is about one of those horrific, tragic accidents.

JOSEPH LEEDS

Joseph was born in Maitland NSW in 1850, the youngest of eight children to John, a native of Yorkshire England and free settler, and Rachel nee Aarons, the daughter of Joseph and Rachel, German Jews who were sentenced for life (later commuted) for the theft of a bolt of woollen fabric. 

The family relocated to Wellington after the death of his father when Joseph was three years old. His mother died nine years later and Joseph became an orphan at the age of twelve. He remained in the area, was involved in pastoral pursuits and rose through the ranks in local stock and trade in the Dubbo area joining the firm of Messrs. Moulder, Leeds and Co. carrying agents before starting the firm of Leeds, Wilkinson and Co. He married Phoebe Nelson in 1877 and they went on to have eight children together. 

In 1883 he moved with his family to Sydney and founded Joseph Leeds and Company, a stock and station agency that extended it's business all over the state of NSW. Living in the Glebe area, in "Kerribree" in Hereford Street, he was known as the Captain of the local rowing club and a successful senior oarsman. Having a love of horses, it wasn't long before he became a committee member of the Tattersall's Club. Joseph was known locally as a generous man amongst his friends, affectionate husband and father. 

Image from Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser 23 January 1897

About 6pm on the evening of 14th January 1897, Joseph returned to his offices in the Camden Buildings near the Strand Arcade in George Street Sydney to attend some urgent business. Leaving a cab waiting at the door he went to his office to collect paperwork.

The young man who operated the life well in the building had left for the night and Joseph entered the lift and operated it to go to his office. 

It is surmised that he took the lift from the basement and up to the floor where his office was located and stopped the lift momentarily. It is assumed the lift must have moved upwards and Joseph turned around with the intention of stopping it and in attempting to do so, overbalanced and fell down the lift well some 60 feet (approximately 18 metres)  to his death. 

This theory of how the horrific accident occurred was borne out in a statement of a young man who was at work in a room nearby. He heard the lift ascend to that floor and further heard the door click upon opening. A scream cried out and upon investigating he looked down the well and saw the inert body of Joseph. 

The Coroner's report states that his neck was broken, his body extensively bruised with many broken bones and that death would have been instantaneous. The Jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Joseph left a widow and six children. His funeral at Rookwood was well attended and consisted of vehicles stretching for half a mile (about a kilometre) from his home to the receiving train station at Chippendale (near Central Station) and via special train to the Cemetery. The funeral at his graveside in the old Anglican area was attended by many representatives from prominent companies operating at the time and many relatives, friends and employees. 

Joseph Leeds Monument at his burial plot - author's own

After his death Phoebe and the family moved to Drayton Court in Mosman where she resided until her death after a short illness in 1930. She never remarried. Their son, Robert, became a surgeon, serving as such in WW1 but was based in Cloncurry Qld. The family home Kerribree in Glebe is still standing and after Joseph's death became a Congregational Theological College from 1914. Later it formed part of the NSW College of Nursing and is now in private hands.

Recent photograph of Kerribree in Glebe - Glebe Walks with thanks

The stock and station business continued as early pioneers at the Homebush Abbatoirs and by 1954 was selling hundreds of thousands of sheep, lambs and cattle. After the closure of the abbatoirs prior to the 2000 Olympics the firm combined with another company and operated out of McGraths Hill for some years before being acquired by Jones Berry Agencies. 

Joseph was only 47 years of age when he died but he certainly had lived well,  developing a business that would outlive him by decades. It is just a dreadful shame that his life had to come to such an abrupt end so early. Who knows what could have been.

Due to the nature of Joseph's death there are a number of references to him where a simple Trove search can yield many newspaper reports of the time.

If you have any comments or queries please leave them on this page or at the related group facebook page which can be found by a simple search via rookwoodcemeterydiscoveries.