"Yorky" was the nickname used by a man struck by a car on Dandenong Road in East Malvern. While he initially survived the impact, he died in hospital a few days later.
Case[]
At approximately 8 PM on 28 August 1937, the decedent was seen staggering on the side of the road near the intersection of Dandenong and Darling Roads in East Malvern. When a passerby told him to get out of the road, he replied, "Go away," and waved his arms.
A short time later, he was struck by an Essex Tourer motorcar, traveling at about 20-25 mph. Whilst he initially survived the impact, he remained unconscious until his death at the Alfred Hospital at approximately 7 AM on 30 August 1937. Witnesses to the accident recalled that the man appeared to be drunk and smelt of alcohol.
Police were soon notified after the accident. Despite an initial police investigation, a coroner's inquest held at the Melbourne Morgue on 24 September 1937 could not identify the decedent. The receipt found in the decedent's bicycle bag was traced to a man who sold the bicycle in 1934. He could not identify the decedent other than that he went by the nickname "Yorky" and came from Yorkshire, England.
The coroner determined the death to be an accident by misadventure and that the driver's error had contributed to the fatality, as they had not given enough clearance to the decedent before the accident.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Bicycle.
- Bag.
- Tools used for mat mending.
- Meat and foodstuffs.
- Receipt for the bicycle dated 1934.