CASUALTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3098, 30 July 1913, Page 59

CASUALTIES.

William Armstrong, aged 38, married, died in Taihajpe hospital on July 21 iron) the effects ot wounds in the abdomen caused by a wire strainer slipping while he was fencing at Hihitahi on Thursday. A verdict of “Accidental death - ’ was returned at an inquest held to-day. An inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of William Champion was held on July 21 before Mr F. Y. Frazer (coroner) and a jury of six. Champion, who was a railway fireman, fell off the AucklandHamilton train on the afternoon of July 21. Archibald Monds, the driver of the train on which the accident occurred, said that the last ho saw of deceased before the accident was just after leaving Remuera. Just before the bridge was reached witness noticed deceased pick up a chisel from his own side of the cab. Witness saw no more of deceased, and missed him about 200 yards past the bridge. The only suggestion he could offer as to the cause of the accident was that deceased must have overbalanced and fallen off the engine when going to his own side of the cab from the fool box. A verdict was returned that death was due to fracture of the skull and shock sustained by deceased accidentally falling off a train and striking his head against the peg of a semaphore wire, and that no blame was attachable to anyone. Two cases of supposed suicide wore reported at Wellington on July 24. The first was that of a man named J. G. Bay, a Victorian, and the second that of Mabel Ada Hanhan, who was recently married. Slio had been suffering from melancholia. At Lyttelton on July 24, when a six-ton fly-wheel was being placed in position at the pumping station, in Exeter street, the tackle holding it broke. The wheel fell on James Rogers, breaking both his thighs and injuring him internally. Rogers, who died two days later, was a married man, aged 42 years. Andrew Kerr, aged 14 years, was drowned in the river at Huntly. He was playing on a springboard, and lost his balance. He was unable to swim. William Massey was terribly injured on Jnly 24 by an explosion followed by fire in the Soltair Company’s works in Aucklanl. He was conveyed to the hospital, where he died this morning. Soltair is a reading material. When the explosion, occurred boiling tar overflowed, and two tanks containing inflammable material caught fire. Massey was thrown to the floor and lay unconscious amidst the blazing mass. Another employee (Avery), who had a narrow escape, with two others, made a fruitless attempt to rescue Massey. The fire brigade was summoned, and got the fire under control. Massey was then dragged out. He was covered with black liquid, and terribly burned. Examination at the hospital showed evidence of a fractured skull. There was no hope of his recovery from the first. Massey, who was married, was 28 years of age. Late on July 24 Ida Lena Heath Bradley, single, aged 23, residing at Linwood, was admitted to the Christchurch Hospital suffering from injuries incurred in a collision with a taxi-cab while riding a bicycle in company with her mother. The girl died in the institution. At the inquest next day the mother stated that the girl was riding in the middle of the tramlines. Witness herself was on her wrong side of the road. There was a lamp s” each bicycle. Witness heard the taxi-cab coming behind, and got off her bicycle at a lamp-post to allow it to go past. The taxi-cab was running on the tramlines, and seemed to be going fairly fast. Witness heard a crash, as if the taxi had run into something, and when she went across the road she found her daughter lying on the ground. Medical evidence was given, and the inquest was adjourned. Hector Campbell, a jockey in the employ of Mr Ayres, died in the Wellington Hospital on Thursday morning as the result of injuries received at Trentham on the 19th July (says the Evening Post). He was holding a horse, when it threw up its head, knocking Campbell on to the ground and trampling on his chest and forehead. Campbell was removed to the hospital, suffering from .severe injuries. An inquest will probably he held this morning. A married woman named Corneille, aged 37 years, a Belgian, is supposed to have thrown herself off the Hamilton railway bridge into the Waikato River on July 25. The distance is 100 ft. She had boon ill for a long time. She denied her body nourishment, believing that starvation would cure her. News was received by the police on the 27th that the dead body of George Broderick Corner, a chemist, belonging to Wellington, was found on the beach at Little Raikaia on the 26th July. The deceased had ia-en out shooting with a pea rflo, and apparently Ids death was accidental. Miss Mary Ann Fletcher, aged 70. residing at Ifevonport, Auckland, left her hoarding-house for a walk on the 2-6th. As she had not returned at 10.30 p.m. a search was made, and her dead body was found on the beach at Stanley Bay. Her clothes were wet, and there was a bruise over one eye. There were other indications of drowning. She had evidently removed her rings from her fingers before she went out, for these were found packed neatly in her rooms with her wearing apparel. An inquest was held on the 28th. Dr H. P. Bennett, who had previously attended the deceased in a long illness, said that when lie saw the body on the beach the indications showed that death had resulted up to 12 hours previously. The body had not been long in the water. The clothing was very little disturbed, indicating that there had been no struggle, and there were no ordinary signs of death by drowning. There was a wound in the corner of the right eye, sustained probably in a forward fall on a hard object. The wound on the eye was dearly the result of a fall and not of a blow. Death would have followed on the fracture of the skull before drowning. Other evidence showed that the deceased had had a recurrence of her previous illness. When ill she was apt become depressed. There

was no particular reason why she should have been at or anywhere near the spot where the body wag found. A verdict was recorded to the effect that death was due to a fracture of the skull, but there was no evidence to show how the injury was sustained or how the body got into the water. Arthur William Low, a storeman in thfl employ of Shortts, Limited, dropped dead at work in that firm’s auction room, Wellington, on the 28th. The deceased was about 60 years of age. It is believed that death was duo to heart disease. In a Rugby senior football match, placed at Blenheim, H. Hodson fell while tackling an opposing player, and was rendered unconscious. Ho was removed to the hospital. where he was found t-o bo suffering from concussion of the spine. The death of William Brown, a native of Orepuki, and about 57 years of age, occurred under tragic circumstances on, Saturday morning Isays the Southland Times). The deceased was working at lakahi, where ho was engaged in road-making. In the course of Ins work he had t-o remove some stumps by moana of dynamite. About 7.40 a.m. a farmer named Cutcail who lived in the vicinity of where the deceased was working, heard an explosion. He went to see what had taken place, and ho found Brown lying dead. His body and face were terribly mutilated, and his clothes wore on fire. He had apparently been blown some 20ft. It seems that the accident happened through the heating of the dynamite over a fire to make it soft. The deceased leaves a widow and family ox eight, most of whom are grown up. In a football match between Ownka and Clutha, at Balclutha on Saturday, Jas. Borthwick, a member of the Clutha team and a married man, had his right leg broken between the knee and ankle, through being accidentally kicked by an opponent. The sufferer was conveyed to his homo at R-osebank. where he was attended to by Drs Stenhouse and Brugh. The Lyttelton Times states that a man named Walter Mallinson, 45 years of age, a resident of Lyttelton, died at the Christchurch Hospital on Sunday evening. MalImson, who was employed as barman in one of the hotels in Lyttelton, cut the palm of his hand on a broken bottle about three weeks ago. He was subsequently admitted to the hospital suffering from blood-poisoning.