The New Zealand Times MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1926. THE DOBSON TRAGEDY

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12622, 6 December 1926, Page 6

The New Zealand Times MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1926. THE DOBSON TRAGEDY

When Von Haast discovered coal in the Grey Valley—during his exploration in the early 'sixties-—he predicted. His prophecy saw cities rising out of the forests, mines sinking deep beneath their roots, everything, in short, pertaining to a prosperous mining region, producing coal of the first class, with one exception—he made no mention of the incidental accidents in the subterranean depths. All things of his prediction came in due course, and with them, unhappily, came the accidents of his overlooking. The last of these accidents has just occurred at the Dobson mine in the Grey Valley. The Dominion shudders. Deep sympathy for the victims and the bereaved floods the country between our seas. In this we are caught, and we offer from our heart the sincerest condolence.

The darkness of the event is lightened by the heroism of the rescuers, who have proved true to the splendid mining traditions of glorious bravery and ptompt application of skill to the work of rescue. It is something to the good also that the disaster came in the hour of the mine’s smallest working, minimising the loss of valuable lives. Had the explosion occurred in an hour of full working it would have swept out of life many more than the nine victims of its fury. The cause of the disaster it is at present hnoossible, for lack of information, to discuss. The directors of the mining company concerned are at a loss, and no word has come from the responsible officers, on whom the Minister for Mines declares he urged, on the opening of this mine, the vital need for taking all possible precautions, whether contained in the regulations or suggested by experience. We must, of course, take it that the officers have duly obeyed the Minister’s urging. The inquest may throw some light on the cause, and the official inquiry which is to be made may throw more. All that can be said is that, in the interest of future safety, we hope this information may be abundant and clear. The public, while these investigations are pending, can well consider how it may do its part of the work entailed by this great disaster. There is some palliation in the fact that, in the sixty years of coal mining in New Zealand, it is only the third great disaster. The two that preceded it were the Kaitangata and the Brunner disasters, each of them considerably more serious, in the matter of casualties, than this one. The public’s part in the matter is to avert, by liberal subscription of funds, the rum with which the unfortunates bereaved by the disaster are threatened. * We have no doubt that the public is as ready to do this their part as the miners of the Grey Valley were to rush to the work of rescue. In the Kaitangata case the subscription was. so good that when, in the course of time, all claims upon the fund were satisfied, a substantial sum remained over. This was made, very properly, the nucleus of a fund for relief in similar cases. That money—we speak under correction—was utilised as an auxiliary in the Brunner case, for which the public also subscribed handsomely. The publication of the exact position of these funds, showing whether anything is or is not available in the present Dobson case, would be a useful guide for the public, which is ready to do its duty of succour to the utmost for the bereaved of the Dobson disaster.