J A Sanger

Epitaph

Description

Article from The Argus Saturday 22 September 1945

Grave at Diggers' Rest

Mr Robert Roulston (Diggers' Rest) writes: In "I'm Telling the World" (28/7/45) was a story about a head- stone at Diggers' Rest. Mr Moscript's account, however, was not in accord- ance with facts. When I bought my farm in 1911, I was curious to know the facts about the headstone. The stone is about 200 yards from the Bendigo rd on the lefthand side of the drive that comes up to my house, and most people about here know it. A very old resident told me 34 years ago that J. A. Sanger and a mate were "swamping it" to the gold diggings ("swamping" meant that a man helped a teamster in return for his "tucker" and getting his swag carried on the dray). They camped for the night, where an old stone building was (now only part of the wall is left standing, about midway from the Oval Hotel and Diggers' Rest railway station.) In those days was used a heavy dray with a pole attached and two bullocks or more hitched on to the dray. At night the propsticks were set to keep the dray put, and the bullocks turned out to graze. There was a good deal of sly grog-selling at this house, and in the carousals which took place someone, either for a joke or accidentally, removed the back propsticks and tipped up the heavy load of the dray, which pinned the unfortunate men, killing them. They were discovered dead in the morning, and buried at a spot near where the stone now is.

There are several more graves there in a row, but no headstones. Some of the occupants were killed in a railway cutting near by, when the line was being made. Word was sent to Sanger's people in USA. and they sent out money to have this stone erected on the grave and this inscrip- tion cut into the stone: "J. A. Sanger,

Woodstock, USA. May 12th, 1855. Aged 24 years."