ACCIDENTS, ETC

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11716, 26 July 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

ACCIDENTS, ETC

THE INCH VALLEY FATALITY. THE BODIES RECOVERED. . Dr/NEDix, July 3. Gangs of men worked all last night to reach the men entombed by the fall of earth near the Government limekilns at Inch \ Valley. It was not expected : that the men would be found alive, and the worst fears were confirmed at three a.m., when the bodies of Murray and Flynn were found close together. The former was pinned behind a truck. ''■':■■ Flynn's body "was . knocked about considerably. The body of Hannah was found nearer the end of the cutting. : He had evidently made a dash for the face, but was caught by falling material. The cutting was 30ft deep, the formation being of a loose, gravelly nature. Five men had been at work.: One had gone for the mail and another, named Service, had been apprehensive of the place. Murray -called out that the wall had cracked, and was coming '<■ down. '-: Service :ran, -and was hardly clear when the bank came down, and what was intended ■as a joke proved a terrible reality- " July 16. The ' inquest was concluded . to-day. The jury "returned a verdict to the effect that the death of the deceased was caused by want of proper precautions and appliances, due to culpable neglect of duty by George Francis Robinson, engineer in charge of the work for the Government.

..V- ■ — t —- . '•_■■■•■'.■'. ■■• _ At the Dunedin Police Court on July 20 George Francis Robinson, Government engineer, was charged ■ with the manslaughter : of the three men killed at/the , Dunback limekiln. Mr. Fiaser. asked for a re-.and to the 24th of July. Mr. Palmerston, S.M., granted bail in one. surety of £200, and two others of £100 each, .the amount being immediately forthcoming. " EXPLOSION AT A FIREWORKS DISPLAY. A WOMAN KILLED. A shocking fatality occurred during the fireworks display at Invercargill on Friday, the 12th of July. A bomb went off horizontally among the crowd, and exploded in the face of Mrs. Sneyd, an aged widow. She was struck full in the face, and was killed. ;:'v • ; '-. ; '.'' . Her son had a great wound in his thigh, and his wife is seriously bruised all over, and ; has a contused wound, caused by fragments, and their son is also injured. The fireworks were also responsible for other injuries more or less serious. In all, six persons are in the hospital in connection with the bomb explosion. . ' i Invekcargill, July 14. The inquest on the ■ body of Mrs. Sneyd opened yesterday, when evidence was taken with a view, to ascertaining who was responsible for setting up a stand in the busiest part of the town to discharge fireworks. It came out that a ship's 'danger signal, containing high explosives, was fired, without the precautions printed upon the outside of each being noticed. , Several additional cases of injuries are reported, but with the exception of one, they are of a minor character. July 16. The inquest oh the fireworks fatality was resumed to-day, when the carpenter who made the socket for the signal rocket gave evidence. He deposed that Captain McGilvray * wanted him to bore two-inch holes through a rail, but as he had not a suitable auger he made a subsitute at the captain's suggestion, by nailing two battens on a 4in by 2in upright, forming a square box to hold the rocket. The timber of the platform now bore cuts, with pieces of metal in them, caused by the explosion. He gave no one permission to discharge the fireworks. \ Chas. Eeid, second officer of the Monowai, detailed the correct method of using ships' signal rockets, and said firing in any other way : was extremely dangerous. , ; Sergeant-Ma or Wall, instructor on War Office explosives, described the rocket. Among other things, it contained a quantity of guttapercha, 3oz of gunpowder, and 2oz of; ghricotton. ' When ;: the guncotton ex-;. ploded the iron cylinder would be blown into - fragments. 'He did not regard the: socket used in this case as "safe. It was; not strong enough to withstand the explosion of the gunpowder in; the base of the rocket, while its shape rendered it dangerous. He would expect if a rocket were fired out of such the gunpowder, instead of forcing the rocket upwards, would exert its force on the i box on the line of least resistance. Guncotton was four and a-half times stronger, than powder, and if a signal exploded near the ground he would expect to find fragments of the metal casing near by. • The gunpowder produced had not deteriorated, ft Accidents of the kind might happen without negligence in the hands of experts.:'-': Sockets 2in square on the inside for a rocket l|in in diameter were not safe. ;, , ;:-,■',;' July 18., ; ; s The jury : found the death Of Mrs. Sneyd was caused by a signal rocket fired by Captain McGilvaray,-and also expressed the opinion that the Council and police showed neglect in not enforcing their powers. /Captain McGilvaray. ; was charged with ; manslaughter at .the Police Court, and was re-, manded for a-'week on bail, in two sureties of ; 100, which were forthcoming.

; A sad accident occurred from H.M.s. Pylades in the harbour on the 12th of July resulting in the death of Second-class Pettyofficer Charles Baker, of the warship/ Deceased was engaged in cleaning the captain's gig, which was , slung in the davits at the stem of the warship, and by some means overbalanced himself, falling overboard. * In his fall he struck his head on the stem of the ship's .whaler, which, ; : it ; is supposed, knocked him senseless, as after reaching the water he never came to the surface again. Two of deceased's shipmates, who witnessed the accident, promptly jumped overboard to his assistance, and lifebuoys were also thrown overboard. > .; After diving for some time the \ men could find no trace of Baker, and were taken back to the warship. The deceased was very popular with his shipmates, and his untimely end cast quite a gloom over the ship's conmpany. On 14th; of July the body of John Murdoch, carpenter, was found close to the edge of the Bluff railway platform, with his right temple driven in. , Deceased was seen on the platform of a carriage as a late train entered the station on Saturday, July 13, and it is -supposed • that he slipped in stepping off, and was killed instantly. : ; Mr. Alex. McKenzie, son of Mr. A. G. McKenzie, of; Otonga,' was killed while jacking in Qalbraith's Bush, Whananalri, at three u.m. on July 16. - • Another shocking accident occurred about two o'clock on July 4 in the Waihi Gold Mining Company's workings, resulting in the death of a stoker named W. Reddy. It seems that a truck, used for conveying firewood from the stacks to stokehole of No. 1 shaft," and running on a tramline on which there is a steep incline for some distance, broke away from the man in charge, who jumped off ■ and shouted out, but too late, for the truck, gathering way, rushed down into the ; stokehole, instantly killing Reddy, who was engaged stoking. He was dragged' out dead by several surface workers who saw the truck bolting. The body was conveyed to Flett's Hotel. 'Deceased leaves a wife and five young > children, the eldest being about nine. William Harvey, the senior settler at Pig Bay. near French Pass, was found dead near his home oil July 2. He had gone out with dogs on ounday, June 30, for the purpose, 5 it is supposed, of pig hunting. When found he had a gun wound in his breast, and the gun was lying beside him. His age was about 47, and he leaves a widow and six children. '-..-- A young man, named Ernest Gravatt, was killed in Eraser's Bush, Tiki, on July 4 by an accident. He was crosscutting a windfall, when the head log came away, and jammed him between it and another. He was terribly crushed, and death must have been instantaneous. The body was brought into town in the evening. Deceased was married, and had one child.' An inquest was held at the Star and Garter Hotel, Coromandel, on July 5. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, and held that there was not any blame attachable to anyone. , '. , .' .; , '•' '>'■ The body of Win: Hazlett, farmer, of South Hillend, about 53 years of age, was found in a ditch between his two farms on the 14th of July. It is supposed that in crossing the ditch he slipped on the frosted sticks, and fell, was stunned, and Pierished. ' \ ' • •

Our Eltham ? correspondent -writes:—-I regret to record a fatal gun accident at Rawhitiroa yon June 26. Air. "; Thomas Waller went; out in the morning, accompanied by Mr. i C.; J. Maslin, after cattle, and carried a gun in case of a shot at game. After going some distance they separated. ; Mr. Waller's prolonged absence caused Mr. Maslin to return, and he discovered his companion lying on i the : ground dead. 'V: Mr. Waller had climbed on a stump, when the gun was accidentally discharged, the contents entering the: throat. ■ Mr. Waller had been in the the throat. At the inquest held the following day, before Mr. C. Major, coroner, the jury brought in a verdict of accidental death; "no blame being attachable to anyone. ';"- '-'.'- ' : -

■ ; The body, of a girl was found in the Wellington Harbour on Friday, the sth of July, \ and was identified 'at. night as that of Maggie Yates, of Fiiwarra, aged 17 years. She left home on July 3 to ■: .go to service in the city, but .her subsequent movements could not be ascertained. At the inquest an open verdict was returned, the jury considering that there was nothing to show how she got into the water. The -: body of; a woman named Blanche Walls was found in Dunedin harbour at Anderson's Bay. She: was 28 years of age, widow of a wharf labourer who was killed on the wharf some time ago.: She obtained an order to go to the Benevolent Home lon July 3. She was afterwards y seen under the influence of drink. ....

Catherine Kennell, a widow, aged 68, was missed on July 9, and was found drowned in Hagley Park, Christchurch, next morning. There were no marks of violence on the body. Deceased had been unwell and medically attended for some time. She was an old age pensioner. A boy named , Willie Warre ,12 years of age, was run over by a Sydenham tram on July 13. He died in the hospital in the afternoon. ; An inquest was held on July 15. The accident was attributed to the boy jumping off the wrong way while the tram was Jin motion.' A verdict of death from injuries, the result of accident, no blame attachable to the tram officials, was returned. A man has been reported to Inspector Cullen as being missing at the works above the Poro-o-tarao tunnel. He has been missing since July 2, and a search party has been out looking for him. He is supposed to have been drowned in the Ongaruhe River. His name is Jas. Brennan, son of John Brennan, of Church-street. Onehunga. Two Austrians, Martin md Joh Rubeic, on Saturday, July 6, left Port Albert, in the boat of a fisherman, Stephen Michalevich. He landed them on the muddy beach of a tributary creek of the Oruawharo River, which is part boundary of Hargreaves' run and gumfieM. A third brother, located on the field, finding his brothers did not i arrive as anticipated, made inquiries the following Saturday at Port Albert. A search, under Constable George Thompson, was instituted, and on Tuesday afternoon, the 16th,-the body of Martin Rubeic was found. Some six miles further off, floating at ebb tide past the Raikau Mill, the body of the other missing brother, John Rubeic, was recovered by some of the workmen. The inquest was held on July 19, and was adjourned. A child, named George Sellwood, was drowned on or. about June 11. ". The re : mains were found by Mr. Lapwood, about 15 miles below• Tuakau, near the Otau Creek. . t .;/ ' • . . The body of the man found in the water near Give has been identified as that of John Prior, who had been working for a contractor in the district. Our Whananaki correspondent writes: — An accident, resulting in the crushing to death between two logs, ' occurred to a man named Alex. McKenzie. who was working for Messrs. C. and J. ' Galbraith in their bush known as Caneo Gully. An inquest 'i was held before Mr. ; J.'. M. Killen at Mr. McInnis', Maunu, and the verdict returned was accidental death. The body of Charles Parkinson, Mr. R. H. Rhodes' coachman, missing for previous 17 days, was found in the Avon close to -where he was last seen. The body was taken to the new city morgue, being the first admitted there. At the inquest a verdict of "Found drowned" was returned. News was received in town on July 17 that a young; man named-' James Mr-Lee wps'ar'ei-' dentally killed near Towai, Bay of Islands, on July 16. The - deceased was working inone of the timber bushes at Towai, and met his death by a log- rolling upon him. A fatal accident has occurred at Galbraith's Bush, Whananaki. A young .man named Alexander McKenzie, eldest son of Mr. A. G. McKenzie, was jacking when a limb of a tree fell, striking and stunning him.:; Then the fallen log rolled over him, killing him instantly. ■.