SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17567, 18 June 1925, Page 9

SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE.

INQUIRY INTO MELBOURNE BUILDING COLLAPSE. “ STRUCTURAL DEFECTS AND BAD CONCRETE.” Dy Telegraph.—Fress Assn.—Copyright.— Aus. and XZ. Cable Assn. (Received June 18, 11.50 a.m.) MELBOURNE, June IS. Allegations that the steel ligatures were too far apart and that men encaged in lime-washing theJteams were paid lid a square yard for filling up apparent cracks in concrete were made by the Crown at the inquiry into the collapse of the British Tobacco Trust building. As the material was too wet for them to work, the action of the brush sometimes brought away a large portion of the beams. There was no wall beam "-dor *f jit was part of the design, and the walls of the light-well were only four inches wide. The other walls were six inches. They Mere designed to be six inches throughout. Engineering experts considered that this structural defect, combined with the ■weakness of the concrete, was responsible for the collapse. The hearing was adjourned. At the inquest touching the deaths of four men, killed by the collapse of the Tobacco Company’s building, the Crown called evidence to show that the sand used contained impurities and that the method of mixing the concrete was wrong, in that it had 12 per cent of water, resulting in the concrete being ■weakened by 40 per cent. It was also contended that the steel reinforcements were badly placed in some of the concrete columns, and that others had insufficient rods in them.