Albert Drayton's accident - an epic tale of survival and mateship

I bought a postcard of the Melbourne Fire Station, mainly because it was very pretty with the horse shoe of forget-me-not flowers. The post card is addressed to Alice Drayton, Jumbuk, Yinnar, Gippsland. The letter reads -
Dear Alice,
I must send you a few words and tell you that I am back in town now and very happy and busy. I stayed a days [sic] at Trafalgar and had a good with [sic] my uncle. I will send you my photo as soon as I get it taken. How is your brother Albert and all of you. Hope you are all well, as it leaves me. 
M. Blucher.

The message to Alice Drayton

Who were the Draytons? Alice and Albert were the children of  Robert and Mary Drayton. They had married in 1878 and had six children -

Mary Jane  - born 1879 and registered at Yea.  Died at King Parrot Creek in 1879 aged 10 days old.

Ada Caroline Brown - born 1881 at Yea.   Died in South Melbourne in 1883 aged 2 years old.

William Albert  - born in 1883 at Yea.  Married Matilda Henrietta Koenig in 1921. Albert died in Traralgon in 1960,  aged 77;   Matilda Henrietta died in 1979, aged 82. They are both buried at the Hazelwood Cemetery. Matilda was the daughter of John and Annie (nee Cameron) Koenig. John Koenig was born into a German Lutheran family at Harkaway, read about this here. He was also a pioneer of the Jumbuk area, read his obituary, here. 

Ellen Maud (known as Maud) - born 1884 at Yea. Maud married Peter James Jarvie in 1905. Peter was a Boer War Veteran, and sadly took his own life in 1915, at the age of 43, leaving Maud with five young children. Maud married Arthur Cecil Vere Pritchard in 1918; he died in 1936 aged 48. Maud died in Dandenong, in 1950 aged 66. 

Alice Mabel - born in 1887 at Yea.   Died in Dandenong in 1972, aged 85.

Caroline Anne  - born in 1889 at Reedy Creek.   Died in Prahran in 1971,  aged 82.

To finish off the genealogical information - Mary Drayton was born Mary Firth, the daughter of James Firth and Mary Loutett. She had been married in 1867  to James Duff and they had two boys - John Firth Duff born in 1868 and  James Duff, born in 1870. I don't have any information about the fate of James, Mary's husband, but I presume she was a widow when she married Robert Drayton. Mary died in Garfield, in 1925 at the age of 78; Robert also died at Garfield in 1927, aged 79.

The 1903 Electoral Roll has the family living at Yinnar and Robert is listed as a grazier and in the 1909 roll the family are listed at Jumbuk, the address on the postcard. The writer of the card, M. Blucher (of which more later) asks Alice - How is your brother Albert? As it turns out, we can find out how Albert was because on July 3, 1908, Albert had an accident which was reported on in the newspapers. It was an epic tale of survival, community spirit and mateship. The report, transcribed, below, is from the Morwell Advertiser, July 10, 1908 (see here)

Morwell Advertiser, July 10, 1908  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65871831?

THE JUMBUK ACCIDENT.

ALBERT DRAYTON CARRIED TO MORWELL. A JOURNEY OF 20 MILES.

As briefly mentioned in our last issue, Albert Drayton and William Langford met with a serious accident whilst engaged felling a huge tree in the hills. Langford, we are pleased to say, has almost recovered from injuries received, but Drayton, who was much more seriously hurt, is still in a critical condition, but is progressing as favorably as can be expected.

It appears that both men were felling a giant tree, about seven feet in diamater, for the purpose of split ting palings out of it. As is customary with these large trees, which enormous butts, a "landing" was fixed some twelve or fourteen feet from the ground. As a general rule these big trees begin to "crack" some minutes before they fall, and men on landings are thereby warned in ample time to reach the ground and stand clear. In this case the tree, which was about a mile from Drayton's home, gave practically no warning. This was due partly to the fact that the cuts on each side were put in above one another so that the tree would fall in a certain direction, and the tree was really cut through before it gave any warning of falling. A slight crack was heard, and on looking up the men saw that the tree was falling, and then jumped for their lives. In all probability they would have escaped injury, but for the fact that soon after starting to fall the tree crashed into the top of another, tree threw it back on the men. The head of the tree, which was broken off by the collision, came down where the men were standing, and it is a marvel they were not killed on the spot. Both men state that they fully expected to be killed, and can scarcely account for their escape, as huge limbs and large pieces of wood that came crashing down are strewn all over the ground where they were.

Langford believes that the axe handle which he held in both hands above his head saved him and partly turned off a limb that struck him on the head. Drayton fell once and on getting to his feet again was struck by a huge limb across the hips and pinned against another log. Fortunately Langford, who was in a very dazed and injured condition, was able with much difficulty to get the log off his mate, and call for help. Albert lay in a helpless state, but was quite conscious. His father, brother and sister were soon on the spot, and assisted by Langford, they carried him home on a mattress placed on a door. Dr M'Lean was summoned, but as the night was dark and roads bad, it was some hours after the accident before the doctor was able to treat the injured men. On examination, the doctor found that Langford had escaped with a few severe bruises and shock, but Drayton was badly crushed across the lower portion of back; the pelvis was broken, hip joint fractured, and he was otherwise seriously injured. 

Subsequently Dr McLean (Morwell) and Dr. McLean (Traralgon) held a consultation in
connection with the case, and it was resolved that the injured man should be carried on a stretcher into Morwell, being in too critical a condition to stand the journey in a vehicle. This meant a great undertaking as the distance to Morwell was twenty miles, and the road in a bad state. The recommendation was, however, no sooner made than there were ample volunteers for the arduous
task. A stretcher was procured from Morwell on Monday, and early on Tuesday morning practically all the men in Jumbuk and Jeeralang were at Drayton's home ready to render wholehearted service. 

Dr. McLean visited the patient on Monday and remained with him all night and prepared him for the journey next morning. A start was made at ten o'clock, there being nearly forty men present, and carrying the injured man in relays of six they set out on the trying journey. Steady rain was falling, and the road was muddy and slippery, but nevertheless splendid progress was made, the "team" being changed at frequent intervals. Dr. McLean accompanied the "caravan" most of the way as it was thought possible the injured man, may collapse during the way and the doctor's services would be required. Fortunately such was not the case, which was no doubt due to the great care exercised throughout the journey by the bearers of the stretcher. At Billy's Creek ford which was running strong, two of the strongest men took the stretcher, and with boots off, waded across the stream without a mishap.

The party arrived at Miss Townsend's private hospital, Morwell, at five o'clock, the journey having been accomplished in seven hours, which is considered excellent time considering the state of the country passed through. The men have to be congratulated upon their efforts and there is something about their actions that one might call "practical Christianity" that cannot be too highly commended. We understand that Drayton is now progressing favourably, and the doctor has every hope of his recovery. (Morwell Advertiser, July 10, 1908, see here)

We came across this postcard addressed to Albert Drayton, No. 1 Ward, Melbourne Hospital, City. It is just a classic postcard - the writing on the front at the bottom left says I believe this gum leaf came from Jumbuk - well I think it says that. Albert may have been in the hospital for further treatment related to his accident.

The postcard reads - Morwell 4-6-09 Was surprised to hear you had gone to town. Hope you will soon be quite well again. Am laid up myself with poisoned foot. Will be glad when over and I get about again. Sincerely yrs [yours] K. Sheen. There is a Kathleen Bertha Sheen listed at Morwell in the 1909 Electoral Roll.

The tale of Albert Drayton became part of the folklore of the area and the story was revived in 1942 in the Morwell Advertiser as part of their Harking Back column written by E.L. Vary, J.P. There is a description of the accident, along the lines of the report transcribed, above, and Mr Vary ends with
I cannot remember the names of all these men but amongst them were W. A. Young, Christie Kleine, Jim Duff, Geo. Firth and W. Gow. He, was taken to Miss Townsend's hospital, then situated in Commemcial Road, where he spent many months and now Albert, though not the powerful man he was, is like Johnnie Walker, "Still going strong," (Morwell Advertiser,  October 1, 1942, see here).  It is interesting to see the names of some of the men who helped Albert out - Jim Duff would be his half brother and George Firth is no doubt another relative, perhaps a cousin on his mother's side.

We know Albert married Matilda Koenig in 1921, I don't know if they had any children. Albert was involved in the Jumbuk Rifle Club, in fact he was stilling winning competitions at rifle clubs when he was 66 years old (see here).  According to the Electoral Rolls, they spent most of their married life on the farm in Jumbuk. They had the misfortune of having their hay shed, buggy shed, separator room and pig-stye destroyed by fire in 1922 (see here). As for Alice, she never married and by 1949 was living at 29 Scott Street in Dandenong with her sister Caroline. She must have kept the post card all her life, then after her death in 1972 it was obviously kept by someone else - maybe a niece or nephew until 2020 when it found it's way to EBay.

Who is M. Blucher, the writer of our postcard? The 1909 Electoral Rolls have a family of Bluchers living at Jumbuk that year - Augusta, Frederick, Herbert, John, John Jnr, Margaret Frances, Margaret Frances (she is listed twice) and Sophia. I believe our writer is almost certainly connected to this family. In 1908,  Jane and William Blucher (incorrectly spelt as Bloucher) were listed in the Electoral Roll at Trafalgar - he was  a farmer. William is possibly the uncle that the writer stayed with at Trafalgar. That's as close as I can get to identifying M. Blucher.

I have created  a list of articles on Trove on Albert Drayton, his accident and his family and connections, access it here.