John Miller Triplett

  Noted events in his life were:

• source. Doug Hooper who notes:
He served in the Royal Australian Navy on the HMAS Leeuwin with the rank of Able Seaman during World War II.

A DISTRESSING CASE

DEATH AND HARDSHIP ON OVERLAND JOURNEY

Round Condemnation of Action of Commonwealth Railway Authorities

A very distressing return home was experienced by members of a family who have resided in the Fremantle district practically all their lives.

Last February John and R. Triplett left the coast on bicycles to journey to N.S.W. At Cook, on the trans line, the elder of the two brothers, John, damaged his bike and after effecting repairs and making another start they got off the track and were lost for a couple of days. They suffered from the lack of water. They plugged away and eventually arrived at their destination where they connected up with their sister and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. P. G. Burnett and four children who had also left Fremantle to try their luck in N.S.W. Mr. Burnett, who is a returned soldier, was also seeking better health than he had been experiencing in Fremantle.

Luck did not go their way so it was decided to motor back to the West. On August 27 the party consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Burnett and their four children, whose ages ranged from eleven to five years, and John and R. Triplett, with plenty of tucker aboard, started on their long overland trip, their destination being Beach Road, Hamilton Hill. No fault could be found with the roads or camping facilities between Sydney and Port Augusta. It was after leaving the last named town that the motorists had the full responsibility placed upon them. Extra petrol and water had to he carried as the tanks and wells are at considerable distances apart and in many instances are polluted by dead birds and rabbits. Some of the tanks are riddled with bullet holes. Supplies of petrol can be obtained from most of the managers of the stations passed through, the price ranging from 2/6 to 5/- per gallon. On leaving Port Augusta the overland motorist leaves behind him every semblance of made roads.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened to the Burnett-Triplett party until they reached White Wells station, practically 500 miles from Port Augusta and 198½ miles from Ceduna. It was at White Wells that Mr. and Mrs. Burnett and young R. Triplett, aged 20 years showed symptoms of illness. The full responsibility of the Party's welfare was then thrown on to the shoulders of John Triplett, aged 24 years, and he decided he would turn off the regular overland trail after passing Nullabor station and take the track for Cook in the hope of getting medical advice. This track is particularly rough and on this stretch Mr. Triplett had his first serious motor mishap. One jolt was so severe that the radiator sprung a leak and he had to use a quantity of their drinking water to supply the radiator. It was a much worried man who eventually arrived at Cook, and his first move was to try and make arrangements to get his brother, who by this time was seriously ill, on to the 'Tea and Sugar' train for Kalgoorlie, and the hospital. He had a lengthy telegram sent to the Commonwealth railway authorities at Port Augusta asking permission to place his brother on that train and explaining his predicament. The answer asked for further particulars and when this was forwarded the reply came back that he must give a guarantee that the fare money would be paid on arrival at Parkeston. Parkeston is the western terminus of the Commonwealth trans-train. That was impossibility.

Leaving Cook, the party got within 18 miles of Deakin, when the radiator of the car burst, and the engine ran hot and would not pull. A camp was made for the night, and next morning John Triplett walked to Deakin too water.

At the '632 mile,' John Triplett made the sick members of the party, who were now worse, as comfortable as possible in a carriage which had been side-tracked, but he says they were disturbed a little time later by an official who ordered them to leave the coach because of the risk of infection. A considerate railway workman offered the party the use of an iron shed. According to John Triplett, the removal or his patients from the warmth of the coach, no doubt accentuated their suffering.

Wrapping up his young brother as warmly as he could, and with both Mr & Mrs Burnett showing signs of becoming seriously ill, Mr Triplett decided to push on.

After leaving Rawlinna, 303 miles from Cook, one of the children drew attention to the fact that they had a flat tyre. On alighting, John Triplett noticed that his sister looked peculiar and on feeling her wrist found that she had passed away. He knew that his sister was very ill, but she had made no complaint and led the others to think that they were worse than she. What n shock for her husband, who was getting weaker all the time, and the two brothers. The children thought their mother was just sleeping. Mrs Burnett's age was 31 years.

There was nothing for it but to push on. After passing Naretha, 30 miles from Rawlinna, the engine of the car broke down. Up to this stage Mr Triplett had been practically five days and nights without sleep. He had the nursing and the cooking as well as the driving to do. When the car stopper, and noticing that the others were asleep, the driver thought it was a good opportunity for him to have a well needed half hour's sleep. It was during that time that a motor car going east to the Naretha Quarries passed the stranded party. About 4.30pm the same car, which was returning to Kalgoorlie, pulleed up, and Mr J M Mummy, the driver, of Brookman Street, Kalgoorlie, when he found that nothing could be done to restart the engine, transferred the two sick men, four children and the body of Mrs Burnett, together with the weary driver, into his car, and covered the 200 miles in about eight hours, arriving at Kalgoorlie about one oçlock on Sunday morning. Mr Burnett and young Triplett were admitted to the Government Hospital and the body of Mrs Burnett was placed in the mortuary. Mr John Triplett and the children taken to Mrs M Hehir's home where Mr Mummy resides.

When interviewed by our Kalgoorlie representative on Monday evening, Mr Triplett still seemed slightly dazed from his awful experience and sad bereavement. He said he was feeling better for the sleep he had in a bed provided by Mrs Hehir. The children, while not yet recognising the loss of their mother, were well and the report from the hospital was encouraging. Mr Triplett said that the people he had come in contact with since arriving in Kalgoorlie had been very kind to him, particularly the Clerk of Courts, Mr E Flanagan.

In the opinion of the hospital doctor (Dr. Sargent) the cause of Mrs Burnett's death was pneumonia, and Mr. Burnett and R. Triplett are suffering from the same complaint. The remains of the late Mm Burnett were buried in the Anglican portion of the Kalgoorlie Cemetery on Tuesday morning. The Child Welfare Department, Perth, through the application of Mr. Flanagan, authorised the payment of the train fares of Mr. Triplett and the four children, and they arrived in Perth on Thursday morning. Mr. and Mrs Triplett, sen., are still living at Hamilton Hill.

At a meeting of the Fremantle Road Board early in the week, in whose district the Triplett family has resided for many years, some strong comments were made in condemning the actions of the Commonwealth Railway authorities in quibbling over fares when the party was so palpably in need of immediate medical attention Mr. J. R. Greenslade moved, and it was carried without a dissentient voice:

'That this board express their abhorrence at the shameful treatment rendered to Messrs. Burnett and Triplett by the Federal Railway authorities in not assisting them in their sad plight while travelling overland, and that a letter condolence be sent to the family concerned.'

It was resolved further that a copy of the resolution be forwarded to Mr. W Watson, M.H.R.. the Federal member for Fremantle.

The treatment of the party by the Federal Railway Department, was brought under the notice Mr W Artlett, chief traffic manager for the Commonwealth Railways. He denied that the department was in any way to blame, but admitted that something definite in regard to the payment of fares was asked for. He said no mention was made of the mother or the children being in the party.

It would appear from Mr Artlett's statement that the collection of a fare was more important to the department than the relief of a party in distress, some of the members actually being dangerously ill, and in urgent need of medical attention.

Learning that the four Triplett children were badly in need of clothing, Mr. J. M. Farrell, secretary of the Fremantle Ugly Men's Association, at once made funds available to enable the children to be provided with new and complete outfits.

John married Sylvia Agnes Ducie in 1936 in Fremantle, Western Australia. (Sylvia Agnes Ducie was born circa 1910.)