George Danby Blanche
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Died 30 March 1866
George Danby Blanche (Toowong Cemetery Symbology Display)
Headstone
Fragment of George Danby Blanche's headstone discovered in a Toowong Cemetery Archaeological Dig in 2015.
- Erected: North Brisbane Burial Grounds, Episcopalian section. After 30 March 1866
- Moved to: North Brisbane Burial Grounds, Reserved Area. ca. 1914. Recorded as G. D. Blanche
- Demolished and disposed of in: Toowong Cemetery, Portion 29A. ca. 1930
- Discovered: Toowong Cemetery, Portion 29A near Section 72. ca. May 2015
- Moved to: Toowong Cemetery Symbolism Display. ca. 2016
Inscription
In memory of
George Danby …
…
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Death registration: George Darby Blanche
Death date: 30/03/1866
Mother's name: -
Father/parent's name: -
Registration details: 1866/B/3173
The inquest on the body of George Danby Blanche, who was drowned in the Brisbane River on Friday evening, was held on Saturday. Since publishing the paragraph which appeared in our last issue, we have ascertained that Mr. Blanche's parents are at present living at Dapto, Illawarra, and not near Melbourne, which they left some time ago; nor was the deceased an only son. The evidence adduced at the inquest differs little from the account we have given, but as the facts are set out at greater length, we subjoin the statements of the witnesses :-Sub-inspector Lloyd deposed that, at about 8 o'clock on Friday evening, he received information that the deceased had been drowned; he went to the locality pointed out to him, and dragged the river ; after an hour's search, he found the body eight or ten yards from the river bank, and opposite an old wharf, in the reach below Kangaroo Point ; the deceased was dressed in his ordinary clothes ; there were no marks of external injury on his body ; found in his coat pocket letters to him from his father and sister, dated from Dapto, Illawarra.—Joseph Fowles, C.E., residing in George-street, said : I have known the deceased for some time ; he was a clerk in the employ of Bright Brothers ; a party of six started in a boat yesterday, at 11 o'clock, from the baths' on an excursion down the river ; the party consisted of Messrs. W. H. Cooper, H. Bohm, J. Wight, T. Lenneberg, the deceased, and myself; the boat was half-decked, and carried a small mainsail and jib ; we went down a little below Doughboy Creek, landed there, and had lunch ; we started at 3 o'clock to return, and called at the Hamilton jetty on the way: we stopped there a considerable time, and played two games of quoits ; we then took in two more passengers—Messrs. Macnish and Elliott—and proceeded on our way up the river ; it was then about half-past 5 o'clock ; we were under sail until we got to Bulimba ferry, where the wind died away ; we then lowered the jib, topped the mainsail on the boom, and commenced to row ; the sun had then set, and the moon was shining ; when we were opposite the old wharf in the reach below Kangaroo Point, the deceased was sitting on a keg on the dock between the mast and stay, and Cooper was a little in front of him ; Macnish and I were rowing ; the deceased jumped up and said " I'm going up the mast," and immediately began to climb up it ; one or two in the boat called out " Don't ;" Macnish said " Come down out of there Blanche," and tried to pull him down ; Macnish was standing on the wash-deck, and the boat leaned over ; the deceased was half way up the mast; as the boat leaned over, Macnish seemed to lose his balance, and caught hold of the stay ; the boat then upset with the mast towards the shore, we were about fifty yards from the land; all of us were thrown into the water ; the boat lay on her side, but did not sink ; her air-tight compartments kept her afloat; I swam towards the bank a little way, and then returned to the boat ; Wight was holding on to the boat, and also Lenneberg, who had made for the shore in the first instance, but afterwards came back saying, he could not see the land ; the other five swam towards the shore, and as I found the boat would not float with the weight of three holding on to it, I followed them; about twenty yards from the shore I saw the deceased ; he was six yards to the left of me ; his head and shoulders were out of the water, and his hat was on his head ; I did not see his arms moving, but he did not seem distressed, and did not call out for assistance ; Elliott was two yards in front of me ; the deceased was not making much way, and appeared to be drifting ; as soon as Elliott touched shore he said, " Poor Blanche is gone ;" when I got out I looked round, and could see nothing of the deceased ; we ran along the bank to see whether we could find him, and hailed some boats to come and help us ; we got into a boat and looked about, but saw nothing of the deceased ; we found the deceased's hat about a hundred and fifty yards from where he upset ; I never saw the deceased again; the ketch Violet brought us up to town ; Lenneberg and Wight were picked up by a passing boat, and they reported the matter to the police first ; we went back to the place in another boat, and when we got there the deceased's body had been found. By a juror:—Ten minutes, or a quarter-of-an-hour elapsed from the time the boat upset until I last saw the deceased. The Coroner (Mr. Massey) briefly addressed the jury, who returned a verdict of " Accidentally drowned." The funeral of Mr. Blanche took place on Saturday afternoon, and was attended by a large number of his friends.