Heffernan, Michael

4619 Private Michael Heffernan - 48th Battalion AIF

Michael was born on the 18th December 1888 in Townsville Queensland to John and Mary Heffernan, being one of four siblings, John 1887, William 1893 and Annie 1896.

His Father died in 1896, leaving his Mother to bring up Michael and his siblings.

After leaving school he took up work with horses and then became a jockey.

He was married on the 24th June 1912 to Eva Emily Wells, and a son Victor born in 1914.

Prior to the Great War the family were living at 249 Mandurah Road South Fremantle.

On the 2nd November 1915 Michael enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner recording Michael's physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 7 inches tall;

Weight - 118lbs;

Chest Measurement - 35-37 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Blue;

Hair - Black.

Upon his successful enlistment, Michael was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the Depot Training unit. He was taken through the basics of infantry work for the next few weeks.

On the 16th December 1915 Michael was assigned to the 14th Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion AIF. He trained with this group in WA for the next several weeks. Their embarkation orders then came through, and on the 12th February 1916 entrained to Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Miltiades.

This ship then left Fremantle Harbour and set sail for Egypt, arriving at Suez on the 11th March 1916. The men were then disembarked and sent to the AIF reinforcement camp.

Michael did not join the 16th Battalion as, on the 2nd April 1916, he was transferred to join the 48th Battalion AIF. He trained in Egypt with his unit for the next two months.

On the 2nd June 1916, the 48th Battalion departed from Alexandria Egypt and proceeded across to France, arriving at Marseilles on the 9th June 1916. After being disembarked, Michael and his Battalion were entrained north for the Armentieres region of France.

In late June and early July 1916 they gained their first experience of the Western Front near Estaires and Bois Grenier. In mid July 1916 they were then transferred south to the Somme battlefield.

The 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions had already been in action here, capturing Pozieres village and advancing towards the strong German position at Mouquet Farm.

The 48th Battalion went into the front line at Pozieres on the 6th August 1916. Michael lasted a week as on the 13th August 1916 he was hit by shrapnel in the leg and foot. He was initially treated at the 4th Field Ambulance and then after a few days in hospital at Boulogne, Michael was transferred to England, being admitted to Graylingwell War Hospital in Chichester.

The wounds were serious as Michael was a patient at Chichester till the 29th December 1916. He was then transferred to the 2nd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Southall. He remained there for a few weeks and on the 23rd January 1917 was transferred to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth.

Michael spent a month there and on the 22nd February 1917 was sent to the Hospital Ship Karoola which brought him back to Australia, disembarking in Fremantle on the 10th April 1917.

Michael was then sent to No.8 Australian general Hospital in Fremantle where he spent a few more months.

in his absence his wife and child had moved to Hill Street Fremantle.

Michael was discharged from the AIF on the 12th October 1917. He was then granted a military pension of 60/- per fortnight.

He then returned home and reunited with his wife. The family then moved to live at Sayer Street Osborne. (present day Swanbourne).

Further children were born, with Doris 1921, Joyce 1922, Valma 1926 and Leslie 1928. The family were now living in Northam.

Sadly Leslie Heffernan died in a drowning accident at Mortlock Lake at Northam in 1933, aged just 5 and a half years old. As reported by the Northam advertiser;

MORTLOCK RIVER TRAGEDY

TWO CHILDREN DROWNED

RIVERS SEARCHED AT NIGHT

Shortly before midnight on Thursday the bodies of two boys were recovered from the edge of a deep pool in the Mortlock River, about 75 yards downstream from the old Mortlock Avenue bridge. They were close together and Dr. K. G. Aberdeen certified that they had been dead for several hours. The bodies were taken to the morgue of the Northam Hospital.
The deceased were:—
SCALLY, Eric Vernon (5½), son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Richard Scally, of 42 Fitzgerald street.
HEFFERNAN, Leslie James

(5½), son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Heffernan, of 21 York road.
At 6.35 p.m. on Thursday, the Northam police were notified that the boys had not been seen by their parents since 2 p.m. Statements received by the police from various sources were that they had been seen playing in the shallows of the Mortlock River on the right of the new bridge at about 3.30 p.m. At 6 o'clock they were seen playing not far from the locality where the bodies were discovered. Later Peter Itzstein (4½) who had been playing near where the boys were, was seen coming from the Mortlock River. He was crying and the police considered that his distress might have been connected with the accident. First inquiries were made by Constable H. Fraser and at about 7.30 p.m. Sergeant W. Carroll carried out a torchlight search of both banks of the Avon River from Peel Terrace to the mill bridge. Accompanied by Mr. Sydney Thompson, Sergeant Carroll then made a search of the Mortlock River from the Mortlock Avenue bridge to the junction with the Avon River, the search being continued until 11 p.m. Results were negative and arrangements were made for the police to continue the search next morning.
Messrs. Percy Due, John Keely, P.Enright, V. Heffernan, M. Heffernan,
S. Thompson and T. Scally continued the search on the Mortlock River near the bridge and at 11.30 p.m. Mr. Scally called to his companions that he had discovered a cap which he thought was the boy Heffernan's.

The party then waded into the river, and about 20 feet south of where the cap was, Messrs. Keely and Due found the bodies of the two boys.
They were floating close together in about a foot of water very near the bank, and appeared to have struggled with each other. The river was about five feet deep near where the bodies were found, and about four feet deep in places near the western bank. Between 6 and 7 p.m., Messrs. Scally, Keely and Due had visited the place where the bodies were discovered and could find no trace of them. Apparently the bodies were then in the bed of the river.
Child's Story.
Peter Itzstein (4½) was yesterday interrogated by the Northam police. He said that the two boys had been playing in the middle of the river bed, whilst he had been on the end of the bridge. They had "played mud pies" and were kicking up sand. One of them had put his foot into the
water and had fallen in. Shortly afterwards, the other boy had follow-
ed him, and he had seen them no more. He had stayed on the bridge
whilst the boys were playing as he was afraid to go near the water. After the accident, he had gone away crying and his father had found him in the street and had taken him home. He had been too frightened,
he said, to tell his father of the accident.
The statement made to the police was in places incoherent, but it appears probable that one of the boys fell into the deep water and that
the other became involved in the tragedy in trying to save him.
Details of the tragedy will be communicated to the District Coroner (Mr. F. M. Read), who will decide whether an inquest is necessary.
 

The family remained living in Northam and Michael's wife Eva died in 1943. Michael then went to live in Bulwer Street Perth.

Michael Heffernan died on the 9th October 1968 in Midland WA. He was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery plot Roman Catholic 0247.

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