Community & Business
10 April, 2026
Grave service to honour rail victims
AN official service will be conducted within the Mareeba Pioneer Cemetery to honour and remember a number of railway employees who tragically lost their lives on Far North Queensland’s lines.
The Express recently published an article honouring Emanuel “Manny” Robert Borghero who was fatally injured in a derailment outside Yungaburra on 14 May 1959.
Manny lost his life days later in the Brisbane Hospital to serious burns. His unmarked grave will receive a headstone, and plaque to ensure his memory will be honoured.
Once the article was published, the Mareeba Pioneer Volunteer Group were notified by descendants from other families who had also lost loved ones to railway accidents.
On 1 November 1938, railway porter Thomas Ure was fatally injured as a result of a shunting accident within the Mareeba Railway yards. He is buried within the Mareeba Pioneer Cemetery in a marked grave.
On 31 October 1942, railway bridge inspector Albert Colin Robinson was tragically thrown from a pump car that derailed near Dimbulah, resulting in serious injuries and never regained consciousness.
He was rushed to the Mareeba Hospital by ambulance, but he sadly passed away. His grave was not marked.
On 7 September 1956, railway worker Moses Edwin Busby lost his life in an accident near Mount Surprise whilst riding a trolley drawn by a Firmont motor, when one of the front wheels collapsed, causing the towing motor to uncouple. His grave also was unmarked.
In May this year, the unmarked graves of Borghero, Robinson and Busby will receive plaques and headstones due to the help of descendants and the Australian Federation Union of Locomotive Employees (AFULE), who are banding together to ensure these brave men are recognised and remembered.
Pioneer Cemetery volunteer coordinator Michael Musumeci said the support from the descendants, and AFULE had been overwhelming.
“We continue to find these tragic pieces of our local history within the cemetery that have long been forgotten and it truly is something very special to honour these brave folk before us,” he said.
“Our own local history including this cemetery is truly a ‘vault in time’ that somehow has just been forgotten but we hope we are changing that.
“It’s our main priority not only to make our Pioneer Cemetery one that will open your eyes the second you arrive, but also a place we duly honour and respect those who came before us, to make our region what it truly is today.”
A grave service has been scheduled for 17 May at the Mareeba Pioneer Cemetery, on Costin Street at 10am. All railway employees, (retired and ex-railway) descendants and members of the public are invited to attend.
