Helensburgh NSW 2508
Robert Hails - Death in the Railway Tunnel
Last updated 7 July 2026
For context on all eight tunnels in the area, see Railway Tunnels near Helensburgh. None of the disused tunnels are open for casual public access today.
Killed by a train in a dark tunnel, late at night. In 1895, a coal miner from Clifton working at Helensburgh’s Metropolitan Colliery took a fatal walk through one of the Illawarra line’s tunnels. His name was Robert Hails, and his death is the subject of this article — part history, part detective work, because the newspapers and the inquest do not agree on where it happened.
Robert Hails
| Born | 9 November 1855, Southwick, Durham, England |
| Arrived in Australia | Brisbane, 1876 (aged 20) |
| Occupation | Coal miner, Metropolitan Colliery (from 1893) |
| Residence | Clifton — wife Isabella and six children |
| Died | Thursday 13 June 1895 (see correction note below) |
| Age at death | 39 |
Robert migrated to Brisbane in 1876 and made his way to Newcastle, NSW, where he met his future wife Isabella Court. The couple moved several times between Newcastle and the Illawarra, most likely in search of work.
In 1893 Robert began work as a coal miner at the Metropolitan Colliery, living with his large family at Clifton. Two years later, on a Wednesday night, he stayed late in Helensburgh into the early hours of Thursday, 13 June 1895. On his way home he chose to walk through the tunnels along the railway line.
What the inquest recorded
The following excerpt appeared in the Illawarra Mercury, dated 15 June 1895:
A miner named Robert Hails was run over by a train and killed early on Thursday morning in one of the tunnels near Helensburgh railway station. He had stayed rather late in the township and on going home had to pass through the tunnel where the accident occurred. The driver of the train, feeling that something had been run over, stopped the train and went back, and found the deceased lying dead and terribly bruised. One leg was cut off and carried about two chains from the body. The stationmaster was roused, and the Helensburgh police communicated with, and the body was conveyed to a hotel for the inquest. The deceased, who was 39 years of age, leaves a widow and six children unprovided for.
Evidence was given by Isabella Hails (wife of the deceased), William Hanley, James Gordall, Henry Jeffreys (driver of the engine), Thomas Smith (guard), and the local constable (J.H. Wilkinson). The jury returned the following verdict — “That deceased came to his death by injuries accidentally received on the 13th of May through being run over by a passing train — No. 67 — in No. 2 tunnel on the Illawarra line. We desire to add the deceased was trespassing on the line, and great credit is due to the driver and guard in calling instant attention to the accident and stopping the train.”
A “chain” is an imperial unit of length equal to the length of one cricket pitch (1 chain = 100 links = 4 rods = 20.1168 m).
The jury’s formal finding named Tunnel No. 2 — the Cawley Tunnel — and train No. 67. Witnesses included the engine driver Henry Jeffreys, guard Thomas Smith, and Constable J.H. Wilkinson.
Burial at Helensburgh Cemetery
Robert was buried in an unmarked grave in the Church of England section at Helensburgh Cemetery. His daughter Sarah was buried beside him when she died four years later. Several members of the Hails and related families were later interred in the same plot, including daughter Mary and her family, wife Isabella, her second husband Benjamin Batey, and their infant son Benjamin.
Did he die in the Cawley Tunnel?
The Illawarra Mercury account says Robert had stayed late in the township and had to pass through a tunnel on his way home. The train driver found the body, then went to wake the stationmaster at Helensburgh. The driver would possibly have had to move the train to the Helensburgh siding to report the incident without blocking other early-morning traffic.
Train No. 67 originated in Sydney and was heading southbound. Helensburgh’s siding could be reached quickly by up trains (though down trains could reverse if needed). The siding was very limited in size, squeezed between the Helensburgh Tunnel (No. 3) and the Metropolitan Tunnel (No. 4). The loop at Cawley did not open until 22 November 1901, and Lilyvale siding (Saywell’s siding, later Vickery’s siding) on 30 October 1900. It is quite possible the driver of No. 67 simply stopped on the main line.
But would Robert have been at Cawley at all? On a Wednesday night it seems a stretch that he knocked off at the mine and walked roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) north to Cawley for a late drink — the opposite direction from his home in Clifton. Cawley station was largely used for railway works and deliveries to the colliery. By 1895, seven years after most gangers had moved further down the line, the township of Cawley had all but disappeared. A late-night visit there is plausible but does not sit easily with the facts.
Robert could have made the journey by road or walked roughly 1.2 km along the rail alignment to Cawley, but I have reservations. It is more reasonable to believe he was visiting a workmate’s home or an establishment on the land above Helensburgh railway station. If he had been in West Helensburgh — development had begun by this time — he might have travelled along the track toward the mine (today’s access road) and over a bridge through both Lilyvale Tunnels. Many residents used that route to reach Bulgo, Burning Palms, and beyond, even though it was technically trespassing.
Other newspaper reports
Two further articles complicate the Cawley theory. Several papers misspelled Robert’s surname as “Hailes” — a common error in wire-service copy.
Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal — Friday 14 June 1895
A wire from Wollongong says: — News is just to hand of a train fatality which occurred in the first tunnel this side of Helensburgh this morning. A miner named Robert Hailes, residing near Helensburg, was returning by way of the railway line to his home from Helensburg late last night, when it is believed he fell asleep on the line in the tunnel. As a pick up train from Sydney was passing through early this morning, the driver found they had passed over a body.
South Australian Chronicle — Saturday 15 June 1895
He had apparently gone to sleep on the line in a short tunnel as he was returning home late last night from work.
New clues emerge here. First, the fatality occurred in the “first tunnel this side of Helensburgh” — remembering the wire came from Wollongong — and train No. 67 had come from Sydney heading south. Second, the South Australian Chronicle describes a short tunnel, which narrows the field considerably.
Which tunnel?
“The first tunnel this side of Helensburgh” (from the Wollongong perspective) could mean the Otford Tunnel, the Lilyvale Tunnels, or the Metropolitan Tunnel — but the reference to a short tunnel points strongly to two candidates:
- Tunnel No. 5 — Lilyvale No. 1 tunnel, 80 m
- Tunnel No. 3 — Helensburgh tunnel, 80 m
By contrast, the Cawley Tunnel (No. 2) at 381 m was the fifth-largest of the eight tunnels on the line at the time — hardly a “short tunnel.”
Inquest vs. press reports
The Illawarra Mercury reports that the jury returned a verdict naming No. 2 tunnel (Cawley Tunnel) on the Illawarra line. Other contemporary wires describe a short tunnel on the Wollongong side of Helensburgh. I am not fully convinced Robert died in, or immediately beside, the Cawley Tunnel — Lilyvale Tunnel No. 1 remains the most likely location in my view.
So many questions remain unanswered. Without further evidence, the full story will stay a mystery. (Just the way I like it.)
Memorial
On a brighter note: I managed to locate Robert’s unmarked plot in Helensburgh Cemetery. A couple of years ago I made a headstone and erected it; it still stands today.
Rest in peace, Robert.
Tunnels on the Illawarra line (late 1880s)
| No. | Name | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterfall tunnel | 221 m |
| 2 | Cawley tunnel | 381 m |
| 3 | Helensburgh tunnel | 80 m |
| 4 | Metropolitan tunnel | 624 m |
| 5 | Lilyvale No. 1 tunnel | 80 m |
| 6 | Lilyvale No. 2 tunnel | 322 m |
| 7 | Otford tunnel | 1,550 m |
| 8 | Clifton tunnel | 1,000 m |
Date correction
The Illawarra Mercury inquest report gives the date of death as 13 May 1895, but contemporary wires and the Thursday-morning timing point to 13 June 1895 as the correct date. Thanks to Natasha Watson for uncovering this correction.
Related pages
Sources: Trove (Illawarra Mercury, Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal, South Australian Chronicle); inquest evidence as reported June 1895. Originally published on Helensburgh.com.au, 1 November 2009.