Following Henry's
death in 1886 his obituary appeared in the Examiner Newspaper in
Tasmania
"Henry Goninon was born in Cornwall on July 14th, 1827, and
died on February 11th last.He commenced work underground at the
early age of eight years, in the Strapeparks mine, where he
laboured 14 years; he also worked in the North and South Scears,
Boiling Well, and other mines. He then left England, proceeding
to America, where he worked very hard in the Copperfalls mine.
Not finding the New World all it was painted, he returned to
Cornwall afterwards leaving with his family for Victoria. He
reached that colony in 1857, and worked at the Old Bendigo,
Creswick, and other gold-mining districts, afterwards going to
South Australia, where he worked in the Moonta copper mine; from
there he proceeded to New South Wales, where he remained some
time working at the Bore Hole coal mine. He arrived in Tasmania
in 1878. He worked at Mt.Bishoff for a short time and then tried
the alluvial goldfields at Lisle, afterwards joining the Tasmania
mine in June 1880, on which claim he worked his last shift on
July, 1883. Although a good alluvial man he excelled in hard
ground where blasting was required. More than once he told me
that he left mines in the other colonies on account of the
"dynamite fumes." I believe that if he had not worked
so much in those fumes he would have been alive and well today.
His conduct was always upright and honourable. He had a strong
faith in God and the Atonement, and his end was peace. He was
buried on Sunday February 14, when fully 500 persons followed him
to his last resting place. Deceased, who was 59 years old leaves
a widow and eight children to mourn their loss."
(notes on mines - Stapeparks, this is probably Stray Park in
Camborne; North and South Scears-possibly Roskear; Boiling Well -
near Gwithian in Cornwall; Copperfalls - this is in the Keweenaw
in the Upper Michigan, USA- like so many Cornish miners, Henry
was well travelled)
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