Royal Hotel, Cargo

Licensees

December 1868-1877: Samuel Mayne

1877-1910: Emily Jane Mayne

1910: Hotel destroyed by fire

Roadtrip to Cargo

By Mick Roberts  on  August 3, 2018

Licensees - Cargo Hotels

Royal Hotel, Cargo

• December 1868 - 1877: Samuel Mayne
• 1877 - 1910: Emily Jane Mayne
• 1910: Hotel destroyed by fire

Cargo Inn Hotel (formerly White Horse Hotel and Commercial Hotel)

• White Horse Hotel Licensees:

  • March 1869 - 1871: John Hawkins
  • 1871 - 1873: Henry Zeplin
  • 1873 - 1876: Daniel J Robertson

• Name changed to Commercial Hotel:

  • 1876 - 1877: Ann Butler
  • 1877 - 1887: James Hamilton
  • 1887 - 1888: Elizabeth Hamilton
  • 1888: Hotel destroyed by fire & rebuilt
  • 1889 - 1890: Elizabeth Hamilton
  • 1890 - 1907: William Thompson
  • 1907 - 1913: Elizabeth Thompson
  • 1913 - 1914: John Workman
  • 1914 - 1915: Mathias Martin
  • 1915 - 1917: Henry A. Morton
  • 1917 - 1919: David McCaffery
  • 1919 - 1920: Patrick O’Brien
  • 1920 - 1921: Henry J. Moore
  • 1921: A. Mullin
  • 1921: Frank McCaughey
  • 1921 - 1922: J. W. M. MacMahon
  • 1922: W. H. Masters
  • 1922 - 1923: S. L. Turnbull
  • 1923 - 1924: F.T. Bradstreet
  • 1924 - 1926: E.H. West
  • 1926: W.A. Thompson (owner)
  • 1926: A.E. Hawkins (owner)
  • 1926 - 1927: T. Shools (owner)
  • 1927: William Cliff (Freehold)
  • 1927 - 1929: H. Bollard
  • 1929: J. R. Ferris
  • 1929 - 1940: J.J. Flavin (Manager for Ferris)
  • 1940 - 1941: Charles F. Dillon
  • 1941 - 1942: J. B. Flaherty
  • 1942 - 1947: James J. Flavin
  • 1947 - 1949: Leslie Arthur Job Prime
  • 1949: Elfreda Parnell Gardner
  • 1949 - 1950: Herbert Richard Wailes
  • 1950 - 1951: D’Arcy Andrew Young
  • 1951: Frederick William Young, C.H.V. Digges, C.I. Robert Green
  • 1951 - 1952: Clarence Rees
  • 1952 - 1953: Jean Cole
  • 1953 - 1954: Norman Ernest Keen
  • 1954 - 1956: Leonard Mitchell Cole, Elsie Irene Cole
  • 1956 - 1958: William George Golding, Albert Boomer
  • 1958: Albert Frederick Coomber
  • 1958 - 1962: Laurence Dudley Montgomery
  • 1962 - 1963: Thomas Charles Drummond
  • 1963 - 1965: William Urquhart Rennie
  • 1965 - 1969: Edna Jean Halls (later Edna Jean Boardman after marriage) (owner)
  • 1969 - 1973: Joseph Dobson, Gwendoline Dobson

• Name changed to Cargo Inn Hotel:

  • 1973 - 1974: Kevin Thomas Marshall (Freehold)
  • 1974 - 1975: Ivan Francis
  • 1975: Edward Charles Melling, Pamela Fleck
  • 1975 - 1979: Durhams Rentals Pty Ltd
  • 1979 - 1980: John Francis Davies, Gladys Davies
  • 1980: Percy Hubert Forrester

Post Office Hotel (formerly Miners’ Arms), Cargo

• August 1869 - 1871: David Louisson Bayliss

• Name changed to Miners’ Arms:

  • 1871 - 1873: Edward Carroll
  • 1873 - 1875: Thomas Hurkett
  • 1875 - 1876: Amelia Hurkett
  • 1876 - 1879: Henry Miles

• Name changed to Post Office Hotel:

  • 1881 - 1890: James Powers
  • 1890 - 1893: Charles Stephen Lowe
  • 1893 - 1896: Jeremiah Murphy
  • 1896 - 1897: James Wright
  • 1897 - 1919: William Moses Collins
  • 1919 - 1920: John Joseph Carmody
  • 1920: Hotel destroyed by fire

TRAGEDY AT CARGO HOTELKEEPER AND HIS WIFE INCINERATED

ELMORE STANDARD, SATURDAY, MARCH 13 YEAR 1910s or 1920s.
BURNED TO DEATH
TRAGEDY AT CARGO
HOTELKEEPER AND HIS WIFE INCINERATED

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Introduction and Initial Report
We take the following reports of the sad tragedy which affects so many respected district folks, relatives of the victims, from the “Canowindra Star”:

The community of Canowindra was shocked on Saturday morning, Feb 21, when the news came through that Mr. J. Carmody’s Post Office Hotel at Cargo had been burned to the ground and Mr. & Mrs. Carmody had been incinerated in the ruins.

At first, there was doubt as to whether they were in the building while it was burning, and initial reports said they were missing. This was later corrected when a messenger arrived with the dreadful news that the worst fears had been realised—the charred remains of the victims were discovered in the cellar underneath the bar parlor.

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Description of the Hotel and Fire Event
The hotel was an old wooden structure, built in the very early days of Cargo, and was always susceptible to fire from just a match and a strong wind.

It appears the family went to bed after ensuring everything was safe for the night. At about 4 o’clock in the morning, Mr. Carmody was awakened by the crackling of flames. He rushed out of the room, where he and Mrs. Carmody were sleeping, to investigate what was happening.

He immediately awakened the hotel’s residents, including his eight children. It is supposed that he carried some of them to safety, then rushed back for Mrs. Carmody, who was recovering from an illness. That was the last time either of them was seen alive.

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Firefighting Efforts and Discovery of Remains
Willing hands arrived soon, but little could be done as a strong wind was blowing and there were no fire-fighting facilities available. The building was destroyed within minutes, with the roof collapsing rapidly and ending the fire.

The scene was heart-wrenching—a child was running around calling for his parents. A search was made but no one could find them. Though no one wanted to say it aloud, the general conclusion was that Mr. and Mrs. Carmody had perished in the flames.

When the fire died down, a further search through the ashes found nothing. Later, the awful discovery was made: the charred remains of two people in the cellar.

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How They May Have Died
How the victims met their death will never be known exactly, but there are various theories. The most common belief is that when Mr. Carmody went back to save his wife, they were overcome by smoke and either went down to the cellar for safety or were standing on the floor above the cellar when it collapsed beneath them.

The cash box was found nearby, but the notes and cheques inside were burned and rendered almost worthless.

Another theory suggests one or both went back to retrieve the cash box after ensuring the children were safe but became trapped. Mr. Carmody regularly banked with the Commercial Bank in town, and the money was likely kept in a known hiding place.

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Loss and Background of the Family
Nothing was saved from the fire; all the furniture, including a new piano, was destroyed. The property and contents were insured.

Mr. Carmody, father of nine children, was known in Trundle and Orange as a hotelkeeper, having previously operated the Exchange Hotel in Orange. He had come to Cargo from Baldey and was formerly a successful wheat farmer in the Ardlethan area.

Mrs. Carmody had only recently left Grantham Hospital after a serious illness.

There is wide district sympathy for the orphaned children.

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Funeral and Community Response
The funeral of the late Mr. and Mrs. Carmody, victims of the Cargo fire, took place in the Roman Catholic portion of the Cargo cemetery. The funeral procession was one of the largest seen in Cargo for some time, reflecting the couple’s popularity.

The bodies were enclosed in a single coffin. The children from the public and convent schools marched in front of the hearse, followed by the priest and altar boys. Members of the Hibernian Society also marched. The graveside scene was deeply moving.

Relatives present included Mr. James Carmody and Miss Carmody of Mt Pleasant (a brother and sister of Mr. Carmody), and Mr. John Tohill of Myola (brother of Mrs. Carmody), along with many children.

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Aftermath and Sympathy
The tragedy has caused widespread sorrow in the Elmore district, where the Carmodys were well-known. Deep sympathy is extended to the bereaved family.

Mrs. Carmody’s aged mother and brother John live at Myola, and Mrs. M. Ryan is a sister. Mr. Carmody has brothers and sisters residing in the Elmore district.

Newsclipping of Fire Inquiry and death certificates

Fire Doc 2

Fire Doc 3

Inquiry register

Inquiry Register part 2

John Carmody Death Certificate

Mary Carmody Death Certificate