ACCIDENTS, ETC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8931, 15 July 1892, Page 10 (Supplement)

ACCIDENTS, ETC.

The dead body of a man named Henry Richmond, a well-known Auckland hotelkeeper, was found under the Devon port Wharf at eight a.m. on Thursday, June '23. The circumstances connected with Richmond's death seem to indicate that he accidentally fell from the wharf shortly before ten o'clock on the previous evening whilst waiting to catch a ferry steamer. Mr. Richmond, who had reached the age of 67, was a publican for many years in the Auckland district, having come irom the West Coast to the Thames on the outbreak of the goldfields in the latter place, and opened a hotel there. An inquest was held at the Wynyard Arms Hotel on June '24, before Dr. Philson, Coroner, and a jury of six, of whom John Grey was chosen foreman. The evidence taken disclosed no additional particulars to those reported above, beyond the fact that deceased's life was insured for £500. One witness, however, stated that deceased was latterly subject to attacks of giddiness. The jury returned an open verdict of " Found drowned." j

Shortly before three p.m. on Friay, the ]=t July, a fine little boy, named Malcolm Ferguson, son of Mr. Thomas Ferguson, jun.. of Penrose, met with a very serious accident in Seaneld View Road by being run over by a grocer's cart, fracturing his thigh. Ee was removed to the hospital.

O.i the 29th June, about half-past one p.m. .a painter named Thomas Hammond bad a miraculous escape from being killed in the Bank of New Zealand premises. He was on a scaffold decorating the ceiling of the large public room, when, through a fit of giddiness or through inadvertence, he overbalanced himself, and fell about 25 feet, his fall being broken by the dropcloth beneath the scaffolding, which sustained him for an instant, and then striking the guard of the exchange clerks' desk with his head and shoulders, finally reaching the floor. Dr. Hooper was sent for, and after ascertaining that Hammond's collarbone was broken and he was otherwise bruised, recommended his removal to the Hospital.

A narrow escape from drowning occurred in the harbour on the 13th July. A seaman named Frederick Smith, of the scow Mabel, while walking along the breastwork near the Quay-street Jetty, tripped and fell into the water. Smith was unable to swim, and, being heavily clothed at the time, soon sank. His predicament was observed by an employee at the fishmarket, James McMillan, who pluckily sprang overboard to the rescue of Smith, who was sinking for the second time. The rescuer got hold of the drowning man, and swam with him to one of the stringers under the Fishmarket, whence he was taken by a man who procured a dingy from one of the cutters anchored near the scene, and Smith was taken into the Fishmarket, when it was found that he was very little the worse for >is immersion. McMillan is to be highly commended for the plucky and prompt manner in which he went to the rescue of the drowning man, and it is to be hoped that his action will be brought before the Humane Society, so that he may receive some acknowledgment for his brave action.

On the 28th June an infant about three months old died somewhat suddenly at the residence of Mrs. Watson, Drake-street, Freeman's Bay. The child, it appears, belongs to a woman named Annie Snowling, who resides at the Thames, and had been left in charge of Mrs. Watson. It died before medical aid could be procured. As no medical man had attended the child, an inquest was held on June 29 at the Rob Roy Hotel. The evidence showed that the child had been given by the mother, Annie Snowling, to Mrs. Watson, to be taken care of, but had been neglected by those who had the charge of it previously. A verdict was returned that the child had died from inanition, through the want o proper nourishment. The body of a man was found on the beach at Tararu, about one hundred yards distant from the main road, at eight a.m. on July 3, by Richard Murdock, of Tararu, who reported the matter to Police Constable Bern. That officer had the body removed to the Governor Ferguson Hotel, where it has been identified' as that of Richard Herk, a miner, of Tararu. An inquest was held on July 4. The evidence showed that deceased had met his death by drowning whilst in a state of intoxication, and a verdict was returned accordingly. A coroner's inquest was held on the 30th June, on the body of Charles Jones, a gumdigger, who died at Pukepetara, Kerikeri, on the 29th June, after a short illness. The jury returned a verdict of " Death from natural causes." An inquest was held on July 5 at the Asylum on the remains of Mrs. Elizabeth Dunn, widow of ex-warder Dunn, by Dr. I'hilson, coroner. After hearing the evidence, the jury returned ft verdict of " Death from natural causes." Deceased, who was an old Auckland resident, was admitted to the Asylum on the 2nd ult. An inquest was held at the Avondale Asylum on Saturday, the 9th July, by Dr. i iiilson, coroner, on the body of a patient named W.J Grimes. After hearing the evidence adduced, the jury returned a verdict of death from natural causes. n . u y 4 Inspector Broham received a telegram from Sergeant Stagpoole, stating that a German named Carl Weisse, a gumdigger, has been reported a, missing at Ivaikohe. He had been suffering from delirium tremens, and ran away on Wednesday, June 29, from his camp towards Lake Omapere. A subsequent message stated that the body had been found after" a search in Lake Omapere. The body of Thomas Fitzgerald, late second cook of the steamer Ohau, was found floating in the Westporb river near Staith's on July 10. Fitzgerald was missing since the early morning of June 2, when it is supposed he fell into the river. At an inquest on July 11 the jury returned a verdict of "Found drowned."

On the arrival of the 5.9. Maori at Lybteltou on Tuesday night, the 28th June, from VVaitara, news was received that the chief engineer, R. B. Wilson, was lost overboard on the trip down. It is thought ho lost his balance while looking over the side of the steamer at the discharge pipes. On Wednesday, June 22, Constable Abrams, of Pahi, telegraphed to Inspector Broham that an inquest had been held on the body of John Cain, brought in from the Paparoa gumfields on June 20, and died on the following day at the Pahi Hotel. After hearing the evidence the jury returned a verdict of " Death from natural causes." So far as known deceased has no relatives in the colony. The dead body of a native named Herai Karanua, who was recently reported as missing from Pakanae, was found on the 21st June at tho mouth of the Waimamaku River. An inquest was held at Pakanae on the '22nd June, before the district coroner, Mr. G. F. Webster, J.P., when a verdict of "Accidentally Drowned" was returned. Our Clevedon correspondent writes :—On June 23, about one o'clock in the afternoon, a very serious accident befell Mr. George Atkins, settler, of this district. Mr. Atkins was assisting Mr. E. Clare, surveyor, to cut some lines on bush lands in tho parish of Wairoa. A tree obstructing the line Mr. Atkins pub a scarf in the one side of the tree, and then went to the opposite side to chop the tree down, when suddenly thetreesplit up the centre breaking off without any warning, and striking Mr. Atkins on the head, shoulder and back, and fracturing the leg at the knee. Verv great sympathy is felt throughout the district for Mr. Atkins, as ho is a struggling settler with a large family. At ten a.m. on Saturday, June 25, a man named William Swanson, employed on Messrs. McLean Brothers' contract at Kaukapakapa, sustained serious injuries through a log falling upon him, one of his arms and a leg being broken, besides having his back injured. The injured man was conveyed to the hospital. A serious accident occurred to Mr. Firth Wrigley, at Tauranga, on Wednesday, July 6, by which the bones of his right leg, close to tho ankle, were broken. As the injury proved to be more serious than was at first suspected he decided to go to the Auckland Hospital for treatment. A young man named McCreadv, Whatawhata, while endeavouring on July 5 to break two young horses in a bugsy, was thrown out and suffered a severe compound fracture of one of his legs, both bones between the knee and the ankle being brftken. Dr. Brewis was sent for, and set the fractured

limb. McCready was taken into Hamilton to the hospital. Mr. James Brown, of Aratapu, has an airgun, which propels a small leaden plug with considerable force, and on Tuesday, the '28th of June, he was showing it to a young man, who took it into his hands to examine. The gun went off, and the plug struck Mr. J. Elliott, who was standing on the other side of the road, some twenty yards distant, on the cheek, about two inches below the eye. It penetrated the flesh, and travelled downward an inch or more. Blood flowed pretty freely, but no serious injury was done, and the missile was extracted by Mr. Welham. The schooner Awaroa struck on June 17 on n reef off Tauraoto Island, one of the points of Poverty Bay. She left for Auckland in the morning, and lay becalmed for several hours. A slight breeze sprang up, and in attempting to go about the vessel got close to the reef, dropped anchor, and signalled for assistance. Two steam launches went out, but arrived ten minutes too late. A heavy swell was running, and the cable parted, and the schooner bumped the rocks, knocking several holes in her side. The vessel was owned by Messrs. Harding, Wall, and Skeet of Gisborne. The Awaroa is a total wreck. She is a well-known vessel in

this port, she having been trading between here and Gisborne for a long time past, She was a wooden vessel of GO tons register, and was built at Awaroa in 1575.

News reached the Thames on Tuesday night, Jane 21, that a house at Matatoke, about seven miles distant from the Thames, was struck by lightning during a heavy thunderstorm that morning. The house, which is occupied by Mr. Crane and his wife, was split from roof to floor, and shingles were torn off for a space of about two feet broad and six feet long, whilst weatherboards down the side of the house were split right down to the floor. The side of the house was also charred. Mr. and Mrs. Crane had just got of bed at the time, and narrowly escaped being struck. Thomas Stevens, aged 58, was found dead off Lincoln Road, near Christchurch, early on Saturday, June IS. He lived with his mother, aged 82, in Christchurch, and was subject to fits and wandering. He loft home on June 17. The body was discovered about four miles from his residence.

A sad drowning accident occurred at Woodville on the 18th of June, by which Charles Penny, aged 10, son of the Rev. C. Penny, of the Methodist Church, lost his life while crossing the Manawatu River in flood. Air. Foster, a Mangahoe settier, was nearly drowned trying to save him. The body of a boy named Gore, seven years of age, son of Henry Gore, 'bus driver, Dunedin, was found in the water near the wharf on July 9. The body had been missing since eleven o'clock the previous day. The boy was deaf and dumb. A boy named Russell, about 9J years of age, was killed in Hutt Valley on July 7. He was playing with others at bush falling, when a tree caught and crushed him. Whilst engaged bushfalling at Birmingham, a young man named Sweeney had both his legs broken through a tree falling across them. He was brought to Feilding, and then taken on to the Wanganui Hospital. Our late Marlborough exchanges report that the dead body of a man, supposed to be that of Charles Hurley, who was drowned on the 21st April, has been picked up in the bed of the airau River, about 20 miles from Blenheim.

During the voyage of the barque Alcestis from Newcastle to Dunedin, the cook, a man named Charles J. Miller, aged 56 years, while drawing a bucket of water, overbalanced himself and fell overboard. The ship was brought to the wind, and a boat lowered and sent in search foi; the man, but without success, as the unfortunate fellow must have struck when falling, and did not rise.

An accident happened on board the cable steamer Terranora on Thursday afternoon, June 30, during the running out of the new cable in Lyell'p Bay, Wellington. The cable jumped out of the hawse-pipe and jammed Captain Lees, Captain Gray (pilot), and a seaman (a Maori), against the bul. warks. The seaman was injured about the body, and was removed to the hospital. The others are not hurt so seriously. A young man named Wm. Herbert met with an accident near Dunedin lately, which narrowly escaped having fatal results. He was out rabbit shooting on Flagstaff Hill with another young man. The latter, in discharging his gun before returning home, nearly lodged the whole of the contents in Herbert's head. Herbert was taken to the hospital, and has so far recovered as to be able to leave for his home.

A man named George Johnston, 80 years of ape, died suddenly at Blight's restaurant, Christchurch, on the 25th June. He had been staying there for the last five months, but took to bed two days before his death. A lad named Jervis Wilson was kicked in the abdomen while putting a cover on a horse at Dipton lately, and he died two hours after admission to the Invercargill Hospital.

A young man named J. McDonnell, of Hunterville, who had his leg broken in the football field, died from his wounds on June 23.

News was received at Dunedin on Friday, the 24th June, that John Henderson, carpenter, of St. Kilda, who had just completed a contract at Bannockburn, fell into the water while going on board a steamer at Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, and was drowned, or killed by striking the wharf. There was a bruise on the head. He was a married man.

An old man named Donald Murron was found drowned in a creek ab Papanui, near Oumaru. on June 25. He had evidently fallen off the bridge into the water. A man named George Frame, over 70 years of age, was killed at twenty minutes to five p.m. on July 1 at Napier. While passing over a railway crossing in Sole-street, alongside the Gasworks, deceased saw the train coming, and made a rush across the line, evidently thinking to get over before the train reached him; but he was caught by the cowcatcher and thrown aside, receiving such injuries about the head that he died as soon as be was taken to his house, close by- Deceased was father of a well-known local architect, D. B. Frame. At the inquest on the body a verdict of accidental death was returned.

An inquest was held at Omapere, on the sth July, by Mr. Davie?, J.P., on the body of Carl Weisae, a gumdigger, who was found drowned in Lake Omapere. Deceased had been on a drinking bout, and had left his camp in the direction of Omapere, and never returned. A search was made, and the body found on the 4th July. The jury returned a verdict of " Found drowned." A man named George Hutching, a farmer at Courtenay, Canterbury, was found dead in one of his paddocks on July 8. A boy named Walter William Claridge, aged 13 years, son of Thorn-is Claridge, was accidentally killed at Papanui, Canterbury, on July 8. A child named Benjamin Nettleship, 18 months' old, was burnt to death at Wellington through the capsizing of a kerosene lamp. A miner named Joseph Woodford has been killed at Caverley's Sand Pit, Green Islands, by a fall of. earth. Ha leaves a wife and large family unprovided for. A man named D. Russell has been killed by a falling tree in the Hutt Valley, Wellington.

The five-year-old daughter of James McClymont, South Inrercargill, was accidently burnt to death in the absence of its mother. A burning stick fell from the fire, igniting the clothes of the child. She seized a chamber of water to extinguish it, but fell, breaking the jug. The poor child ran across the street to her grandmother, but before the fire was out she was terribly burned, and died a few hours afterwards.

A man named James Bruce was killed on July 11 at Sawyer's Bay, Dunedin, by being run over by a train on the Port Chalmers line. So far no tidings have been received regarding the missing schooner Louie, from Lyttelton to this port; and all hopes of her turning up have been abandoned. The general opinion is that nothing further will be heard of either tho vessel or those on board, it being now regarded as pretty certain that she went down with all hands in the tremendous south-westerly gale which raged along tho coast a couple of days after she left Lyttelton, and which did such serious damage to the steamers Wairarapa and Taupo and schooners Annie Hill and Saxon. The Louie was laden with wheat, and had a larger number of sacks on board this trip than she ever had before, and, therefore, must have been pretty deep in the water. The Government steamer Hinemoa went in search of the missing vessel, but returned without having seen any traces of her.