THE WAIHI FATALITY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 305, 21 December 1912, Page 4

THE WAIHI FATALITY.

CORONER'S INQUEST. (By Telegraph..—Own CorresponSeat) WAIHI, this day. An inquest was held last evening touching the death of Thnothy Egging a miner who fell down the Grand Junction No. 3 shaft on Thursday manasz, The evidence showed that deceased wm employed sending up planking, from a staging. He had already removed tin, staging from the northern end centre compartments of the shaft, end »as ia the southern end at the time of the accident, 50ft. from the surface. Bepairs to the shaft had just been, completed, and the removal of planks »as the last operation. When the staging was inspected after the accident, it mt noticed that only one plank had been removed, leaving a space of about 16 iiicliss. through which deceased met fallen on to the pent house bdov, a distance of 26ft. The plank was frond near where deceased fell, and it m surmised that he lost hU balance w&ea palling the plank towards him. W. L,. Pittton. who was in charge of No. 3 shaft, said he knew of nothing I that had not been done that could have been done to provide for the safety of men working there. Deceased was a native of BaUarat, 46 years of age. and had been in Xct Zealand for 12 year?. He was a piactien] miner. Thp jury returned a verdict to the effect that deceased met his death by misadventure, no blame being attachable to anyone. Xo trace h?i= yet been found of the boiy of the native, Houpapa Perett, whois thought to hive "been drowied, off Otehe Point, near Razlan, on Fridayof last week. The Maori went to the' Point by himself in the morning to do some fishing, and wh<"n some other mtires .%rat there to fish in the afternoOTjler <?ou!d see no' sign of' Houpapa,'tfogi his horse w-a<s taeFe.-and his tsiining a schnappor. - was on the rocks. From the fact that Houpapa's two dogs wrre standing on the rocks, barking out towards the eea, the natives arriyed »t the conclusion that the missing nun had slipped into thp sea and been drowned. The Dairy Produce Committee h2s fixed the wholesale price for butter aad esgs for the week ending Saturday, 28th December, as folio we:—Factory butter, 1/1; farmer's separator and dairy tatter, Sd; eggs, lid per dozen. ' Country visitors to the city, and tie ■public generally, -will have as opportunity once more of listening to tie .fine organ in the Town Hall, at a concert to he given on Christmas nigM. LTaUitkm to several organ eolos by Mr WIT. Sharp, vocal and instrument*! IteM a keeping with the season wfl] be rendered by leading artists, including Mr.Ehiulton Hodges, .the well-known buftoM. ■wiro is journeying from 'WyEagte specially to appear at t&e concert. He full programme, which is an ocetet one, appears in our advertising cotaß to-day. After close on forty years' aelsn-ta-vice the little coastal steamer, Coromaadel, has now been diemantled and let hall, shorn of all its fittings, repose I peacefully in the Auckland Harbour: There is no element of romance conmet , ed with her career, which haa been a vtrr •jTi-eventful one. She was bn2t about the same tizne ac the packet Bofcom*"nana, for a 'private owner. Some twenty ypars' ago she wae taken over by tie Northern Steamship Company, and w»» , later used as a Tender for. th& W3ttgare.i boat, and traded. 4o Jtangspss, Parua Bay. Whangarei Heads, and linestone Island. The Company's reeentlyacquired Manaia, however, wae too higi : out of the water to permit of roand-el being nrilii>ed as a tender, a»d another sipamer was placed on tie ran direct from Auckland u> tbe small pork the Ooromandel had been calling at The latter vessel was then brought to Auckland, and having hid h<!i <iay, "■•* • ott " verted into a hulk.