C.—2.

The following is a table showing the number of quarries under the Stone-quarries Act, also the number of persons ordinarily employed thereat, and the annual output and value of crude stone during 1936 : —

There were twenty-one fewer men employed than during the previous year, but an increase in the value of the stone produced of £53,587. Quarry Accidents. The following is a summary of serious accidents during 1936 at quarries under the Stone-quarries Act: —

There were no fatalities at any of the South Island quarries during 1936. An account follows of the four fatal accidents which occurred during the year at North Island quarries : — On 24th August, Thos. C. Oates, employed at a crushing-plant belonging to the Te Kawa Quarry near Te Awamutu, was run over by a railway truck which was being lowered down the line by another workman. The deceased had stepped backward to get out of the way of the advancing truck, but he stumbled and fell in front of it. He suffered fractures of both legs, as well as other extensive injuries, and he died two hours and a half after the accident. On Ist September George Lipanovich was fatally injured by a fall of loose clay at Amner's Lime Quarry, Napier. The face was only 11 ft. in height, and Lipanovich, who had been feeding the clay on to an elevator, was driven by the fall on to the buckets of the elevator. He suffered severe body injuries, from which he died the same day. On 15th December a young man, Alex. W. E. Lyle, was killed instantly at the National Timber Co.'s rhyolite quarry at Ngongotaha. From the nature of his injuries it appeared that a premature explosion had occurred while he was placing the gelignite in the shot-hole. After having " bulled " a shot-hole 13 ft. deep at the Matatoki Quarry on 21st December, a kerosenet,infnl of water was poured down the hole and it was left while the workmen had their midday meal. On resuming work Ivan Lendrich and the quarry-manager, P. E. Hinton, placed safety ropes around their waists and, with a supply of explosives, descended to the bench below which the shot-hole had been drilled. Lendrich was tamping the " Lithyte," which was being handed to him by Hinton, and, when about 12 lb. of it has been placed in the hole, a plug stuck about 4 ft. from the bottom. Lendrich pressed on to it with the wooden tamping-rod when the charge, or a portion of it, exploded, killing Lendrich instantly. At the inquest the evidence given led the Coroner to add to his verdict a rider that the required clearance between the.plugs of explosives and the side of the shot-hole should be maintained to the bottom of the shot-hole.

2G

§ T3 Output of Stone. % II ~īs ī I. s 7~ a d .s ° oc s a> . h Provincial Name and Address of o| h SJ *g ® ! <» g « g District Government Inspector of *g o>> g o° i g <5> District. Stoue-quarries. | -g ggā ™ «3 ■ § sa sā Sg as a-» mS «§ .s a lis P s?2 §s ss 2a Sly ' Sa ? § iw is iso I» is joj r I 3 £; £; c/2 co W t-3 i-J w P* Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. £ Auckland .. R. H. Schoen, Mines 237 1,076 559,321 5,000 14,159 92,296 165,675 .. 33,700 159,958 Dept., Huntly E. J. Scoble, Mines 20 122 78,230 .. 1,460 .. 21,475 Dept., Waihi (Hauraki Mining District only) Hawke's Bay R. H. Sohoen, Mines 32 97 42,127 .. .. 27,006 .. .. .. 10,708 Dept., Huntly Taranaki .. Ditto .. .. 11 56 13,041 .. .. 4,148 .. .. .. 1,856 Wellington.. „ .. ..34 153 86,362 9,852 4,639 9,326 .. .. 13,000 33,979 Nelson .. ] Q. w. Lowes, Mines 21 127 23,722 7,450 .. 7,796 38,298 .. 33,939 15,887 Westland Dept., Reefton Marloorough J L Canterbury.. | T . McMillan, Mines 38 350 139,067 26,777 2,560 176,483 37,044 .. .. 98,998 aXnd"; Dept., Dunedin Totals, 1936 .. 393 1,981 941,870 49,079 22,818 317,055 241,017 .. 80,639 342,861 Totals, 1935 .. 358 2,002 985,446 70,357 26,166 288,559 182,944 .. 55,920 289,274

_ __ Number of Accidents. Number of Sufferers. Cause. : ~ ; ~ Fatal. Serious. Killed. injiiredf Haulage .. .. . • • • • • • • • • 1 • • 1 Machinery .. • • • • • • • • • • * * • * • * * Explosives .. .. •• •• •• •• 2 1 2 1 Falls of ground .. .. .. .. •. • • • • 1 • • * Miscellaneous .. .. .. . • • • • • 1 • • 1 Totals .. .. .. •• .. 4 2 4 2