A man whose legacy is larger than life rests at East Perth however his death passed by with very little fanfare

Written by Cherie Strickland and Lorraine Clarke – Swan Genealogy

Henry Laroche Cole rose from the ranks of seaman, having arrived in the colony on the Marquis of Anglesea in 1829, to become the Builder and Proprietor of the United Service Hotel; he was a chairman of the Perth Town Trust in 1853, then Chairman of the Perth City Council from 1858 to 1860. Married to Emma Read in 1837 they had no children. Henry Laroche Cole’s voice is not heard in the newspapers after November of 1865, it is not clear when he had left Perth, nor the reason for his departure. The first evidence of his leaving Perth and being in Albany is that of his death notice on the 6th April 1866 which states that he had died 18 days before. No obituary, no letter to the editor nothing and yet before the end of 1865 his name appears in the newspapers almost daily. Henry Laroche Cole’s body was returned from Albany to rest in the Church of England cemetery at East Perth between the graves of several old colleges.

For a man who was held in such high esteem as Henry Cole it is surprising that his death was met with a resounding silence.