Obituaries Australia

Mr. William Alfred Condon, of Hallam street, Port Pirie, died at the hospital yesterday at the age of 72 years.

He was a resident of Pirie for 43 years and was well-known in industrial and waterfront circles here.

Mr. Condon was born at Micheleston, County Cork, Ireland, and had resided in Australia for 54 years.

When sixteen years of age he left, Plymouth for Australia by the sailing ship Benclue. The vessel came by way of the Cape, taking ten weeks for the voyage, and reached Port Adelaide on September 21 1876. He went up to Burra (Kooringa), and for a time: worked on the Burra-Hallett railway. Afterward, for three years, he engaged in farming on shares in the Hallett district, and later, for two years, was similarly occupied on land near the Burra. He then entered the employ of Messrs Sara and Dunstan, well-known contractors of those days, and when working for them he experienced many changes of scene.

The Burra mines were working when Mr. Condon got there, employing nearly 2,000 men, and the railway line had got through that far in 1873, three years before his arrival.

In 1886 Mr. Condon secured employment on the Beetaloo reservoir construction scheme, and remained there until the completion of the work.

He leaves a widow, six sons and one daughter: Mr. Harold Condon (Hawker), Hon. Frank Condon, M.L.C. (Rosewater), Messrs. Thos. J. (Port Pirie), Sylv. (Laura), John V. (Port, Pirie), and M. B. Condon (Port Pirie, and Mrs. A. Shearwin (Glenunga). Another son, Mr. W. A. Condon died in 1907.

Mrs V and the late Mr. Condon celebrated their golden wedding in Pirie last October.