COLERIDGE DISASTER

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 289, 10 November 1925, Page 10

COLERIDGE DISASTER

EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST

CAUSE OF FALL NOT KNOAVN, Z .

The story of the Lake Coleridge tunnel tragedy was re-tpld in Christchurch, when an inquest was held touching tho death of Archibald McFarlane, Richard. Green and Archibald McDonald.

The first witness was George Shaw, who was in charge of the shift that went on duty at midnight on October 1. Everything . went all right until about 6.30 in the morning, when he was about two chains away from the face. A crash was the first’indication that he got of the accident. AA T hen he heard the crash he went bade to the face, and found the tunnel full. The shingle was very wet. He endeavoured to find the cause of the accident, and to ascertain if sum* of the five men. were alive. He knew that McFarlane was dead, but he thought that Green and McDonald might have escaped. Mr Beban went on with tho job immediately to get a connection to the other side of the fall. AVitness assisted with the rescue work, and was present when McFarlane’s body was recovered. His. leg was broken and lie was badly smashed. AVlien McDonald was recovered his face and chest were crushed. Mr Hunter: AVas the same method of construction used as elsewhere ? Yes, the same method-as at Otira, and any other tunnel I have worked iii.

"Would there always be a certain amount of danger/In underground work ? —Yes.

Hugh Daly said that his name was really Deery. He had been employed in the party for three months. • He had had many years’ experience of tunnelling work in Australia, mostly mining in Victoria. He went on shift at midnight, working on the..tunnel face with Gordon Archer. About 6.30 a.m. the fall came very suddenly. He could see somebody go under the fall further down tho tunnel. He thought at that time that it was McDonald, but it must have been Green. AVhen he looked around the earth was falling quickly. AVitness was rescued after 40 hours, but to him it seemed like a year. Mr O'Regan: Have you any opinion as to the cause of the accident?— No.

Daly added that his work usually was on the concreting, but at that time thero was no concreting to do, and he went up to the cuddy to assist Archer. Gordon Archer, a miner belonging to tlio* Behan party, said that he had been engaged on tunnelling for nine months, but had never done any tunnelling work previous to that. He saw practically nothing when the fall occurred. He was working in front of Daly.

INSPECTION OF THE AVORK. John Manson, inspector of ivorks at Lake Coleridge, who has had 22 years’ experience of tunnelling work, said that he inspected the tunnel at 5 p.m. on October 1, and found everything satisfactory. He inspected the tunnel regularly, and he could give no cause for the accident. He did not agree with Mr Hunter’s suggestion that on a curve the work of timbering was particularly dangerous. zE. R. McKillop, inspector in charge of the duplication work at Lake Coleridge, said that he always inspected the tunnel thoroughly at least twice a week. Beban and party were carrying out the contract satisfactorily and taking all precautions for the protection of the men. On October 2 lie was at the scene of the disaster about 7.15. Nobody could give any idea of the cause of tho fall, but many slips had come down during the winter, and it looked as if tho rainfall had something to do with it. It had been three times as bad this winter as the previous winter. Tho earth that iiad fallen had almost reached a point of saturation. If it had been any wetter there would have been water dripping through the timber to warn of the danger. The work of recovering the bodies was done under Mr Beban’s direction.

To Mr O’Regan, witness said that the character of the country was altogether different from what it was before. He did not know if a deviation had been decided upon. Mr Donnelly said that the Public AVorks engineer had agreed with Mr Beban to make a deviation in the line, of the tunnel.

SPECIALLY SELECTED MEN

AVitness continued to Mr O’Regan that the work in the tunnel could bo called risky work. There was no additional danger in a curve of that degress'of sharpness, and no need for additional precaution. To Mr Donnelly, witness said that the Beban party consisted of 34 men, specially selected and very efficient. AVitness had never had to make any complaints regarding the work of tho party. To Mr Hunter, witness said that work had been done in much more dangerous country than was that in .which the fall occurred. To Mr Holmes, witness said that when ho inspected the work he was mainly concerned with the strength of the completed work, but he also looked at the timbering. He inspected the work on the Tuesday before the fall occurred.

Several other witnesses also gave evidence.

After a very brief retirement, the jury returned at verdict that the three deceased died of injuries received at Lake Coleridge on October 2, and that the jury was of the opinion that there was no blame attachable to the contractor or any person in charge of the work or enguged in the work.