FERNHILL FATALITY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 76, 11 March 1933, Page 8

FERNHILL FATALITY

INQUEST ON MAORI BOY.

ACCIDENTAL DEATH VERDICT.

"I find that the deceased Hetariki Arapata Hakiwai came to his death accidentally at Omahu by coming into contact with an 11,000 volt electric power line. I am of opinion that in the case of this pole the Hawke’s Bay Power Board has done everything reasonably possible to warn people of the danger of coming near or getting into contact with the power line.” The foregoing was the verdict returned by the Coroner (Mr George Ebbett) at the inquest at Omahu yesterday into the circumstances of the death by electrocution at Fernhill early on Thursday evening by a Maori boy, Hetaraki Arapata Hakiwai.

H. Hakiwai, father of the deceased, gave evidence of going straight to the scene of the fatality after he had been informed of the accident and finding his son lying on the ground inside the legs of the tower. His shirt had been practically burned away, and it was still smouldering. His left shoulder was badly burnt. Witness stated he had previously warned deceased of the danger of flying kites near the electricpower lines and the danger of the lines generally. Witness judged that the boy had climbed the pole and come into contact with a live wire. As far as he knew, no-one actually saw what had happened. Watara Wi Pineaha, a friend of the deceased stated that he last saw him when he went to get the cows. When witness got to the top of the embankment running through the paddock deceased was standing on a cross-bar of the tower a few feet from the ground. Witness asked: “What are you doing there?” and deceased replied: “Have a look for yourself.” Witness then said: “You can’t find the cows up there.” Nothing more was said and witness came away, deceased then being on the second bar of the tower. When witness returned to the pa he heard an unusual buzzing sound which he thought came from the wires, and he told another boy that he thought something must be wrong with Heta. Witness, ran back and saw something smoking on the ground under the tower, and he ran back and told others of what he had seen.

Witness had seen deceased climbing up the tower quite often before, and he had often seen him right at the top of the tower. He climbed there to see where his cows were. Witness had heard other boys warning him of the dangei John Alexander Mitchell Ferguson, an electrician in the employ of the Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board, stated that he received information that the feeders at the Redcliffe substation had tripped and he later visited Omahu and was shown the body of the deceased. The steel tower was 65 feet high and the first stop was 10 feet from the ground. There were four danger notices, two of them at the corner where the steps were, and the deceased would have to climb over two of them to get up. Witness went to the fop of the tower and found signs of someone having been there. The lino carried a voltage of lI.IXMI. and lie considered that the death of anyone who touched it would be instantaneous. Constable J. Hartley gave evidence on the lines covered in the foregoing statements