Killed by a Sky-Rocket.

Waipawa Mail, Volume X, Issue 2014, 28 July 1887, Page 2

Killed by a Sky-Rocket.

A peculiar and fatal accident occurred (says the Notohra Colonist) just as the Jubilee demonstration at Coolanjratta Estate was about to terminate. A ship’s rocket was affixed to a fence and ignited but it proved defective, and instead of rising perpendicularly, it must have taken a horizontal course. No one noticed the rocket issue from its socket, but a lad named Thomas Duncomhe, a jocket, was picked up insensible a few yards away. A large hole was found in his head just over the left temple, from which much blood was flowing. lie was conveyed to comfortable quarters, and medical assistance was sent for. The case, however, was hopeless, and the poor lad expired early next morning. The rocket was one of the kind used as a distress signal, capable of ascending a height of 2000 feet before exploding. Thus the force with which it struck the unfortunate lad must have been tremendous. Particles of his skull were adhering to his clothes, and a portion his brains was protruding. A magisterial inquiry was held before Mr L. W. A. Macarthur, when a verdict of accidental death was recorded.