Divorce petition before tragedy
It was bad timing when Mary Ellen Maher requested a divorce from husband Martin Christopher Maher. A few weeks later he was dead.
Martin Christopher Maher married Mary Ellen Robinson on 8th December, 1901 in the Roman Catholic Church in Bethanga, Victoria. However, cracks started appearing early in the relationship when only three months later, in March 1902, Martin packed his bag and left. A notice in the Police Gazette was printed soon after. It was in the 1902 edition, under the title Deserters of Wives and Children that Martin was named as having deserted his wife at Bethanga.
There was also a description of this Victorian miner, showing he was 26 years of age, five feet and eight inches high, medium build with dark complexion, dark brown hair and a dark moustache. It was even noted that he wore a dark suit and a soft felt hat.
In February 1902, only two months after their marriage, a daughter, Elizabeth Ellen, had been born to Martin and Mary, making it more imperative that he be found and provide for his young family. By 11 August, 1905, when Elizabeth was three and a half years old, Mary was in court petitioning for divorce from Martin.
During the process of the petition, Martin's father, Michael, revealed that the reason Martin had left had been over the question of paternity of Elizabeth. The judge asked Ellen directly if she was sure Martin was the father of her baby. Mary hesitated in her response before saying, 'I'm not sure.' The judge was quick to refuse the petition.
Only two weeks later, on 26 August, 1905, Martin, who had left for the mines in Boulder, Western Australia, was killed in a mining accident. He and another man, John Bevan, had started their Friday night shift at the Lake View Consols mine in Kalgoorlie. Early Saturday morning, a co-worker headed down to the level where Maher and Bevan were, only to discover their dead, mutilated bodies, the result of a premature explosion.
In his memory, Maher Street in Somerville, Kalgoorlie is named after Martin and he was laid to rest in nearby Boulder cemetery.
References
'The Peace Conference', Ovens and Murray Advertiser, Saturday 12 August 1905, Page 9
'Martin Christopher Maher', Findagrave, accessed 17th September, 2026, Martin Christopher Maher (1875-1905) - Find a Grave Memorial
'Martin Christopher Maher', Victoria, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1855, 1864-1924, P.141
'Remarkable Divorce Case', Wodonga and Towong Sentinel, Friday 11 August, 1905, Page 3
'Maher vs Maher', The Age, Wednesday, 9 August, 1905, P. 8
'Shocking Mine Accident', Bendigo Advertiser, Monday, 28th August, 1905, P.8
'Martin Christopher Maher', Western Australian Virtual Miners Memorial, accessed 18th September, 2026, Martin Christopher MAHER - Western Australian Virtual Miners Memorial
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