1863 was a year of great change for Rev. Henry Backhaus.

In the almost 12 years that he had worked on the Bendigo Mission, Backhaus had rarely taken a break. However, in June 1863, he tendered his resignation to the Bishop of Melbourne, James Alipius Goold, and he left Bendigo in early October of the same year.

From June in 1852 Backhaus kept meticulous records of the Baptisms, Marriages and uniquely, Deaths that took place in and around the Bendigo goldfields. 

This sample of death records taken from St Kilian’s Parish death register between May and October 1863, demonstrates the substantial losses endured by Catholics during the mid-1860s, following a long and devastating drought.

Of the 26 deaths listed on this one page, eighteen were children aged under seven. Some of the children were siblings. 
The archive has digitised the records of 19 parishes, including the unique records of death on the goldfields. In many cases this is the only record of those who died, many of the babies are not listed in cemetery records or in civil records.

Download  pdf Rev. Backhaus' Death Register (301 KB) (May-October 1863)