SECONDS FROM DEATH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20786, 3 August 1929, Page 30

SECONDS FROM DEATH.

A DIVER’S BRAVERY. 4

YARRA RIVER SENSATION.

In the middle of the’Yarra within 15 leet of a charge of high explosive, five men m a boat which had become jammed ? ad \ v !£ y ,? a f. row eso . a P e fro ® death the Melbourne Argtis of July 9) With the burning fuse rapidly approaching the charge, the men had lost hope of escaping death or serious injury when the ? r wbo , bad laid the charge courage--7 ? bGlow ' and groping through the muddy water, cut the fuse when only mches of it remained to burn. Subsequent testa showed that if the diver had delayed his action for 25 seconds the men u ould have been blown to pieces. The diver was John E. Johnstone, of AthelpanTs , Iva r hoc - Tbe other occu°f th . e J? oa t were Joseph Cooney 1 «^ eri w n) ' Fr T eder,ck G - Stevens (pump kev- ' S nt^-ir (“Powder mom )> and William Crofte. Mfrv B s h n^f 0P n rati . ons in u the Yarra below lary sheet, Burnley, where an old quarrv river be had fl h° o oded -° orm f aD island in the mer had been going on for several weeks. Mr Johnstone and his helpers laid a charge consisting of 100 plugs of blasting fLf tln f un d er a rocky shelf in about 10 water, and attached to it a 20 watc/^anrl specially , ma de to burn under encaJ; f i d c ° ra P osed of a gun power’train d «. a Jf tron ß tarrG d fabric. As board Ilad , b6en hauled on ooara the powder monkey" lighted the Iw “ifV 4 in , to the water. Knowing that they had only 12 minutes in whicli 300 Wf p aC( I,, of safety ( not ] css than ni Ct - £rorn , the explosion), the men pulled vigorously on the rope by which sW° a l WaS attached to a post 0 n the S' Progress towards the shore of th» flooded quarry, 130 feet away was nna R b y sl ? w *. and af ter arduous pulla stand^Tf ral T^ 5 the b °“t came to ’ r a “f* the united strength of the five men failed to move it. g „ Suddenly Mr Johnstone saw that the ; sl ?°K e huobles ‘ from the burning fuse nstead of rising straight up through the boat 1 * ! raili ,” g ” back the SS e f r r h . t d he b .f“ that nS round a c bolt in the ked and • bata beav T wharfing plank was- firmly jammed against the bottom of the boat making it immovable. The charge was still underneath the boat, having been dragged with it about 20 feet. g • ‘wo courses open—to go down f, nd PJ* tbe f «» o«t or to cut the boat i!ee, dislodge the heavy wharfing plank, and strive to reach a place of safety in the inadequate time left—Mr Johnstone realised that the first course was the onlv by which he and his companions could be saved from death. Donning his neimet; and weights, which occupied still more time, he descended into the water, knowing that he was not many seconds from a dreadful death. Thl water was muddy, and in the blackness it was only with difficulty that he found the fuse. Running his hands along it until the sting ot.the hot tar showed that he had reached the burning portion, he slashed at it with Ins knife. Then, having cut the fuse, he picked up the whole 101 b charge and was hauled up into the boat in a state of collapse. The space between the burnt portion of the fuse where the knife had shorn through and the detonators measured eight inches. Tests made on the. following day showed that the fire would have covered this space in 25 seconds. Within an hour and a-half of their escape Mr Johnstone, and his three companions relaid the charge and fired it successfully. The column of water and rock fragments rose 150 feet into the air.