FEARFUL TRAMWAY ACCIDENT IN DUNEDIN.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 6272, 19 May 1881, Page 7

FEARFUL TRAMWAY ACCIDENT IN DUNEDIN.

TWELVE PERSONS SERIOUSLYINJURED. j Dosedik. April 24. An accident of a most alarming character—resulting in the injury of twelve persons, one of whom is almost certain to die—occurred at half-past 11 o'clock last night, on the Eoslya Tramway. Roslyn is a suburb situated on the bills above Dunedin, and the tramway started about four mouths ago. It is worked by an endless wire rope, to which carriages are attached by gripper carriages, which are provided with brakes, supposed to be powerful enough to bring them to a standstill whenever applied. Last night the last car started up Rattray-street for Roslyn, and proceeded some 600 yards up the hill—a gradient of about 1 in 16 when something went wrong with the gear. The general statement is that the man in charge of the brake put it off instead of on, and before he could rectify the mistake the carriage commenced to run down the hill, attaining such speed as it rushed down the incline that all efforts to stop it by

means of the brake van were futile. Three men, Garrett, Speers and Stewart, jumped off, the rest were nuable to get out of the car which reached the terminus line at a feariui rate of speed, tore through the heavy woodwork and three feet of metal road, and then turned over on its side. At one moment it appeared probable it would dash across the footpath into the Crown Hotel. Plenty of assistance was at band, the car wa> righted, and the injured men removed to the Shamrock Hotel. The following is the list of the injured :—Andrew Thomson (Thomson, Strang and Co., drapers) cut and bruised ; John Strang, bruised, cut about the face ; Wm. Stewart or Steward, bruised about legs ; Thos. Harvey, laborer, cut and bruised ; Rosamond Johnson, slightly bruised; ”mPearce, bruised and cut about the hea , Reekie, badly bruised, long time insensiole , Speers, post-office clerk, bruised, cut, and severely shaken ; T. Macintosh, bruised and shaken ; Peter Hannah, very little hurt ; John Conway, bruised ; T. Garrett, skull dreadfully fractur-d (this case is considered hopeless) ; Hislop, cut aud bruised. The three men who jumped off fared uorst. The car is greatly smashed about. The sufferers were at once attended by Drs. Brown, Ferguson, Dezouche, Burrows, and MacDonald. All but Garrett are doing well.