WELLINGTON TRAMWAY ACCIDENT

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXX, Issue LXXX, 7 January 1920, Page 5

WELLINGTON TRAMWAY ACCIDENT

FURTHER DETAILS

As car 105 emerged from the Hataitai tunnel on Saturday evening (says | the New Zealand Times) there was no hint of the tragedy that was to follow. It was about 50 or 60 yards from the tunnel entrance that the motorman was observed td fall Emoly forward over the front portion of the car. His hat must have fallen off when he collapsed, for about 65 yards from the tunnel mouth it was found later by a Mr Boyce. It is believed that Motorman Small's plight was first observed by Evans, who was with his wife and child. Evans told his wife ihe was going to render assistance, and j hastened forward. By this time the I j car was gathering up a terrific speed I ! and it is evident that the period from j when the motorman collapsed was noticed to when the final crash came was so short that the attempt by Evans to avert disaster could not have possibly succeeded. NO PANIC. While Motorman Small was lying unconscious in the front of the car those in the fore compartment were immediately seized with the terrible position they were in. There was no panic, however. On the centre platform were several people, including two or three children, while in the rear compartment were only three passengers.

ATTEMPT TO WORK REAR BRAKES. One of the last-mentioned, Sergeant - Major Hunt, endeavored to lend a hand to Conductor Quayle, who was frantically endeavoring to ' work the brakes. The car was violently swaying and rocking, so that the efforts of these two were not effective. The last few hundred yards of the terrible journey were negotiated at a frightful velocity.

LEAPS FOR SAFETY. A httle girl, Edna Haig, aged 12 years, who was on the centre platform made a leap for safety, and fortunately escaped with slight injuries. Another passenger, Frank Neal, jumped from the platform just as the car overturned. He fell on his hands and knees, and beyond being badly bruised escaped serious hurt. A little sister to the girl Edna Haig, who had jumped ■a few moments before, attempted to follow her sister's example, but was held back by another passenger, who thought the child was safer where she stood.

Sergeant-Major Hunt, a returned soldier, who is a son of the Rev. A. E Hunt, of Ellice Avenue, was in the rear department of the car with his sister Miss Lorna Hunt, and a friend, Mr W. Wade, of Christchurch. To a Times reporter Sergeant-Major Hunt stated that his sister, Mr Wade, and himself were the only passengers in this compartment. The first indication they had that something was wrong was shortly after the car emerged from the tunnel. A woman on the footpath screamed as the car passed her. He thought he heard her sing out, "The motonnan has fainted." Then he noticed the car develop an amazing speed. He saw the conductor struggling with the roar brakes, and he rushed to assist him. The speed of the car was too great, however. Rocking and swaying in a, terrifying manner, the tram sped down the hill. There was no panic— there was really no time to think. The car leapt the rails at the corner, and with a frightful crash was hurled on its side into the building at the corner. ANOTHm VERSION. One of the injured men, John William Range, a single man, aged 27, stated that, with his mate, Alexander McStay, he had been out to the ga.a at Lyaii Bay. They boarded the car for the return journey about 5 c clock. As it happens, said Range, I was zmployed on the cars three years apo as a conductor, and I took partic.ii.ir no.tice .of the motorman, in case he urgnt be an old friend of mine. He appeared to be .quite normal. There was nothing whatever to indicate that anything .was wrong with him. Nothing unusual occurred till we were coming out of the tunnel. There were one or two.-setts unoccupied at the time. The car was comfortably full, with no one standing. It was rathe r too early fo r the tea.time rush home from the gala. The first thing unusual that I noticed was that the car went right out of the tunnel without stopping. Instead of stopping on reaching the city end of the tunnel, as it usually does, to my surprise it continued onward. Some fifty yards further on it began to gather speed; and then two or three girls, about l^urteen or fifteen years of • age, became excited. They started screaming, and, getting on their feet, commenced to run about inside the car. One or two made as if to jump off the car, but the speed was so terrific and -the ca r swayed so madly that they changed their minds. CONDUCTOR JAMS ON THE BRAKES. Just before/ the car reached the dip in the road, Range, who was seated with his back towards the motorman, lin the central open part of the car on the right-hand side, with his back up : against the end. of the front compart- | .meat, was in.a position to see the conj ductor, and, just before the ca r reached [the foot of the dip he noticed the conductor rush out and put on the handbrakes at the back of the tramcar. He seemed to jam them as hard on as possoble: but the speed of the tram appeared to be very little diminished. Range saw that it would be useless to attempt to jump off, as he would more than likely break his neck. His companion, who was sitting facing him on the left side of the car, now became thoroughly alarmed, and made to jump off when the car was about fifty yards from the corner where the smash occurred. He called upon Range to jump off., too. The latter, however, seized had of McStay, and pushed him , back i&to his seat, urging him to hang on tight and trust to luck. UNNOTICED WARNING TO CONDUCTOR, A message from Christ-church states: Miss D. Osborne, a Christchurch gir;, had made the following statement to the purser of the Mararoa: "I intended boarding the tram at Austin street, but it did nofc slacken speed, and as it dashed past I exclaimed, 'The motorman is down. 3 I waved and called to the conductor to go forward, but do not know that he saw me. "As the car passed to the. next stop a ofedld appeared to jump or to be thrown out. and a few seconds later a man also fell or was thrown out of the car. WOMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS. One of the passengers who miraculously escaped serious injury was" Miss Constance Kitching, of Hataitai Describing the accident Miss Kitching stated that when the ca r was about j hauf-way down the hill a lady sitting [ near her, noticing tEat the motorman

3iuJ fallen, apparently in a faint, passed through to the rear of the tram to inform some male passengers of the fact, 'lhe car began to sway as it gathered speed descending the slope, and screams arose, but the motion became considerably worse as the Brougham street bend was approacned, and many of the passengers became frantic. The majority were calm, however, realising that tlie best thing to. do was to hang on.

Mr h. G. P. Whyte, of Hawera, who was a visitor to Wellington, was near the spot on the occasion of the accident, and says that the newspaper accounts of the accident give but a very general idea of the terribi.3 scenes of terror and suffering eyewitnesses saw.