Death at Sea question

[kristof]

I'm trying to find out more about records relating to a death at sea in 1925
The person in question fell overboard in Bass Strait from a ship traveling from Sydney to Hobart, between Gabo Island and Flinder's Island.  Their body was recovered and then given a burial at sea - they fell overboard at 11am and the burial at see took place at 4pm (though why they didn't just wait until they got to Hobart is beyond me?).
My question is, would there have been an inquest in their death and if so, would it have been conducted in Victoria, Tasmania or even New South Wales, as that was where the ship sailed from? Or would they not have bothered with an inquest at all?

[sparrett]

It was common to read of an inquest in the  daily newspapers of the time.

A glance through for the year mentioned suggests you may be speaking of Mary STURGEON, the author.

I do not see mention of an inquest concerning her drowning in 1925 .Overboard from the Moreton Bay

Others may have other sources you could check.

Sue

[kristof]

Yes it was Mary Sturgeon. So, there's no mention of an inquest on Trove, nothing turns up on a search of the state archives of either Vic. NSW or TAS, nor the National Archives. So, I was wondering if an inquest was even carried out, but if it was, which jurisdiction would have done it and where the record would be held?

[wivenhoe]

https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/2027818
Death is registered in Tasmania, so I suspect that any inquest would be held in Tasmania.

If the circumstances of her entering the water were clear eg witnesses saw her fall or jump then an inquest might not have been necessary.

LINC TAS has inquests, digitised and indexed, and for this period, and nothing for Mary STURGEON.

[kristof]

Well, the newspaper reports are a bit ambiguous - one witness suggested she fell while leaving over the rail, another suggested that she jumped. Apparently it was calm weather so unlikely the movement of the ship unbalanced her, it was 11am in the morning, so not night time or anything. Perhaps an inquest wasn't carried out? I suppose it would be good to know, one way or another though, that way I can stop looking.

[giblet]

There are a few articles in the British newspapers on her death. I can only get an index up but one of the articles appears to have a bit more info maybe. The below is all i get.

Published: Saturday 04 April 1925
Newspaper: Westerham Herald
County: Kent, England

BIGGIN HILL AUTHORESS FALLS FROM LINER. Miss Mary Sturgeon, W. of Iliggin Hill, an authoress, who writing a book on Tom Hood, the humorist. has been drowned on a trip from Sydney to Hobart. She fell from the liner Moreton Bay. Miss Sturgeon had been suffering ...

Free to register and you get first 3 searches free but have to pay after that.
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/advanced

[kristof]

Thanks, I've managed to track down almost all the news articles, even the listing for probate in the UK, it's just the issue of whether there was an inquest or not and if a ruling was made regarding the cause of her death, was it intentional or not.

[Jebber]

I can’t speak for Tasmania, but in the UK it would state on the death certificate if an inquest was held. From what you have already described it looks as if there was no inquest.