Robert Drake had been living in Waimate for about a year before his death, earning a living doing light work in the bush. The Timaru Herald described him as a man who had “evidently seen better days” and who kept a quiet and reserved disposition. Nothing in his early months in the district suggested trouble. But two or three months before his death, his mind became unsettled. Neighbours noticed his behaviour changing. He grew anxious, confused, and increasingly distressed.
His condition worsened to the point where it was considered necessary to send him to Timaru for assessment. When his symptoms eased, he was allowed to return to Waimate, but the improvement was short-lived. The newspaper reports that he complained of being haunted by devils who continually told him that he would never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. These thoughts tormented him.
Robert lived alone in a small hut at the edge of the bush. He normally went to work early each morning, but on Monday 17 October 1864, he remained indoors. People passing by saw him and noticed nothing outwardly alarming, yet just after nine o’clock a neighbour found him standing in a large pool of blood at his door. He had cut his throat in what the coroner later described as “a most frightful manner”.
Constable Scott, newly stationed in Waimate, acted with commendable urgency. He caught up with horsemen travelling to Timaru and sent them ahead to summon medical help. Dr McLean was attending another patient and did not reach Waimate until late that night. By then, Robert’s condition was considered hopeless; the severing of the jugular vein had caused such loss of blood that recovery was not possible. He died the next morning, around half-past ten.
An inquest was held at Clarke’s Hotel, Waimate, before coroner W. Woollcombe, the same official who would preside over many early South Canterbury inquests. The jury returned the verdict that Robert Drake had taken his own life while in a state of temporary insanity.
His burial in Row 0, Free Ground reflects the practices of the time. Row 0 contains some of the earliest burials in the Timaru Cemetery, including paupers, travellers, and those without family able to purchase a plot. No headstone marks Robert’s resting place, but the record remains: Robert Edward Drake, age 50, buried 18 October 1864.
His story is one of isolation, illness, and a community without adequate medical support. It is also a reminder of the quiet lives lived on the margins of early settlement. Though his grave is unmarked, his life is not forgotten.