CASUALTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3100, 13 August 1913, Page 29

CASUALTIES.

John Parker, aged 69 years, who was married last month, was found dead in the Makaraka Railway Station, Poverty Bay, on the sth inst.

A man named Claude Burson, who was working on a farm near Kaiapoi, was caught in a circular saw on the sth. His right leg was mangled and torn, and his left ankle was fractured. A jockey named W. Woods, attached to James Munn’s training stables, met witli a serious accident the racecourse. Woods had been exercising the horse Waipureku, and was riding back to the scraping sheds, when the horse staggered and/ dropped dead, rolling heavily on his rider. Woods was seriously injured, and he was removed in an ambulance to the Napier Hospital, where an examination disclosed serious injuries to the spine. Charles Clanson and William Hindley, both married men, were drowned in Auckland Harbour on the 6th from the tug Young Bunaree. Both men were seen in the stern of the boat locked in one another’s arms and apparently skylarking. A little later Clanson was seen struggling in the water, and was picked up by a launch, hut was found to be dead. The police dragged the harbour for the other man’s body, hut so far it has not been recovered. Mrs Dick, the wife of Mr James Dick, a well-known and very highly-respected settler in the Ngaturi district, was found drowned in the Tiraumea River early on the 6th. She had not been in good health lately, and passed a restless night. Mr Dick proceeded about 0.30 a.m. to get her some stimulant, but he discovered shortly afterwards that his wife had disappeared. With a neighbour he made a search, but could find no trace of Mrs Dick. The search was renewed with the assistance of the neighbours at daybreak, and the body was found caught in a willow tree in a water hole about seven chains from the river bank. News reached Carterton on the 6th that a Maori named Peti Kawana had dropped dead at Gladstone on the sth. He was aged agout 30, and was quite well and attended a tangi on the day he died. He became ill at 11 p.m., and died before a doctor arrived.

Horace Parker, 16 years of age, residing at Mount Eden, while travelling on the top of a double-deck car, loaned over the railing. He struck the centrepole, and was rendered unconscious. He was removed to the Auckland Hospital. His spine was broken and his skull fractured.

An extraordinary fatality occurred on the 6tli. Late in the afternoon a miner named Coon, while working in the Keep-It-Dark Mine, was somewhat injured through a. fall of stone. First-aid was rendered by Mr John M'Lcan, junior, timberman at the surface, who shortly afterwards reeled and fell. He was taken home, where he died on the 6th. Deceased belongs to an old and respected Reefton family. Coon is doing well. Another miner named Miller had his leg crushed at the Energetic Mine. The body of a man about 65 years of age was found floating in Wellington Harbour near the Queen’s wharf on the 6th. A pension certificate, bearing the name of John Bentley, was found in one of the pockets. David MacPherson Browne, aged 35 years, who was employed as a waiter on the Rotorua express dining car, wag found dead in the yard of his lodging-house at Ponsonby by a milkman on the 9th hist. Deceased was seen to his gate by a friend late last night. The cause of death ;a believed to have been heart disease. A fata] collision occurred at Te Aroha on the 9th on the traffic bridge. A Maori was riding at a fast pace across the bridge when he collided with a vehicle which wag going in the opposite direction. The shaft struck the Native on the left thigh, causing a compound fracture, and the man was thrown from his horse, receiving further injuries. 'Ho lost a considerable quantity of blood, and died shortly after admission to the hospital. The shaft of the vehicle was broken through the force of the impact. The drowning of a seaman named Charies Clauson, who fell off the tugboat Young Binigaree at Auckland on the sth, was further inquired into by Mr E. 0. CutEen on the 9th. Rosetta M. E. M. Devaney, wife of the caretaker on the Union Company’s hulk No. 1, said that on Wed-

nesday afternoon she was watching the Alexander Craig being towed up the harbour by the \oung Bungaree. Witness had a clear view of the hulk, but she could not distinguish anyone on board the tug* When the tug was about 500 or 600 yards away from hulk No. 1 witness saw a splash in the water and two feet in the air. Then she saw two men struggling in the water. One man sank, and the other was picked up. William Thompson, engine-driver on hulk No. 1, deposed to hearing someone on the Alexander Craig call out “Man overboard!” Witness and Chris Olsen went to the rescue in a launch, and Clauson was picked up. There was no sign of any other man. Clauson was taken straight to the Queen street wharf, and every effort was made to restore Clauson, a doctor being secured when the wharf was reached. Witness was of opinion that the man was dead when picked up. The coroner found that the cause of death was drowning, but that there was no evidence to show how he fell into the water.

W. G. Simpson,. who was engaged in shunting operations at Mangawmta, narrowly escaped death at the railway station. It appears that he w r as jammed between the side of the goods shed and one of the trucks. His dangerous position was promptly noticed, but not before he was severely crushed. Unless any unfavourable symptoms appear Mr Simpson will bo about again in a couple of weeks. A Native girl, Ite Wairoa, was burnt to death at the Rangiriri settlement, Auckland. An inquest was held and a verdict of accidental death was returned.

The body of the boy, Andrew Kerr, who fell into the Waikato River 10 days ago, was receovered on the 10th inet.

At an inquest into the death of lira Corneille, who jumped from the Hamilton Railway Bridge into the Waikato River a fortnight ago, a verdict was returned that deceased committed suicide while temporarily insane.

Joseph Brown, employed by the Hawke’s Bay Motor Company, was killed at Ruakituri Valley through falling over a precipice into the river, a drop of 30ft. Brown wag conveying passengers to a station in the valley. The road was found to be impassable, go he took the horses out of the buggy and drove them over the bad portion of the road. In running to head the horses he was bumped over the cliff. On the 11th, while driving in his motor car into Outram, Dr Moody discovered a

man lying unconscious on the road about half a mile outside the township. On making an examination of the man Dr Moody found that he was suffering from a fractured skull. The man had, to all appearances, been thrown from a horse. He was placed in the motor car and brought into the Dunedin Hospital by Dr Moody, arriving there about 9 p.m., where it was found that he was badly hurt, and an operation was found necessary. An account found in his pocket boro the name of ‘‘Cook,” and his Christian name wax later ascertained to bo James.