Station Masters at Darlington - George Richard William Burgoyne (December 1919 - May 1921)

George was born in 1891 in Victoria to parents George Richard Burgoyne and Jane Kiddell who married in 1880 in Victoria. The family came to WA where his father George worked for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR), firstly as a carpenter in 1896 at Albany then as a foreman at Wagin, Beverley and finally Katanning where he retired in 1918.
In August 1910, son George also joined the West Australian Government Railways (WAGR) and started as a Junior Porter at Brookton then in early 1912 he was promoted to Porter and later that year moved to Mt Barker. He worked his way up to Assistant Station Master at Broome Hill, Goomalling and Beverley until he got his first Station Manager position in 1915 at Jarnadup (Jardee) near Manjimup from June 1915 to November 1917. It was while George was here that he married Laura Maud Maria Brandon in 1916 before they were moved at the end of 1917 to Southern Cross where he was Assistant Station Master. They had their first child Alexander in 1918 at Northam and then were moved to Merredin, still as an Assistant before his second placement as Station Master to Darlington: He was Darlington’s first appointed Station Master. His appointment coincided with the birth of his second child, a daughter Evelyn, on the 1st December 1919. George’s father was widowed and lived with the family at Darlington until they left in May 1921.This was before the Station Master’s house was completed later that year so they didn’t have the opportunity to live there. The family moved to Dumbleyung, where a third child, Norman William, was born in 1922, the family remained there until July 1925. They next went to Northam where that same year they had their last child, a daughter named Laura Elaine Chifley.

In late 1929 the family were on the move again this time to Wokalup. In 1935 they returned to Northam for two more years before a last posting to the country in October 1937 at Mundijong. George’s final time with the Railway was at the Perth Office C3 where he appeared to have worked up until he died in September 1960 aged 69. George played the trumpet in the Beverley Brass Band and was a capable carpenter, these skills he would have picked up from his father whose trade was in carpentry. In later years he would make a lot of his own furniture such as tables, bookcases, chest of drawers and the like. His daughter Evelyn still has the bag her father used to take to work each day. Being handy, he had made this himself. His wife Laura was looked after by their daughter Evelyn, who never married and Laura died in August 1984 aged 91. George and Laura were buried in the Anglican Section at Karrakatta Cemetery.