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REPORT.

To His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Michael Myers, Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Chief Justice of the Dominion of New Zealand, and Administrator of the Government of the Dominion of New Zealand. May it please Your Excellency,— We, the undersigned Commissioners appointed by Royal Commission dated 19th day of December, .1940, and issued under Letters Patent dated 11th May, 1917, and under the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, to inquire into and report upon the colliery explosion which occurred in Kaye's Mine on the 6th day of November, 1940, desire humbly to submit to Your Excellency our report. The Commission formally commenced its sittings at the Court House, Greymouth, on Thursday, 23rd January, 1941, after which an inspection of the Kaye's Mine was made by the Commission, in company with counsel representing the parties, and officials of the Mines Department. The hearing of the evidence was commenced on 24th January, 1941, and concluded on 28th January, 1941, Eleven witnesses were examined and copies of their evidence are attached. The proceedings were open to the public, and reports were published in newspapers. The parties represented before the Commission were : —■ (1) The Mines Department (represented by Mr. E. A. Kitchingham, Greymouth): (2) Mr. Adam Boote, jun., and the Kaye estate (represented by Mr. J. W. Hannan, Greymouth) : (3) The widow of Alexander Mcintosh (represented by Mr. E. B. E. Taylor, Greymouth): (4) The United Mine Workers' Union of New Zealand, and the relatives of Frederick Llewellyn Williams and Lindo Colpo (represented by Mr. W. D. Taylor, Greymouth): (5) The Co-operative Employees' Union, Runanga (represented by Mr. D. Barnes, Runanga): (6) Mr. G. Duggan appeared in his official capacity as Chief Inspector of Coal-mines. Mr. E. A. Kitchingham conducted the examination-in-chief. Kaye's Mine is one of a number of small collieries situated on the State Coal Reserve in the Grey District, approximately ten miles from the Town of Greymouth. These mines are always referred to as co-operative coal-mines, and this is a convenient, although not strictly accurate, designation. In nearly all cases they are operated under lease from the State coal-mines by working miners who form themselves into partnerships commonly referred to as " co-op. parties." When this system of mining operation on the State Coal Reserve was inaugurated, approximately twenty years ago, the parties were more truly co-operative than they are to-day. At present there appear to be about as many wage-workers employed by the parties as there are partners. In March, 1935, Kaye and party acquired a lease of the mine which is the subject of this report. At that time the partners were John W. Kaye, Charles Kaye, and Adam Boote (jun.), and they traded under the style of " Kaye and Party." Subsequently, at a time and for a reason which were not disclosed to us, Charles Kaye retired from the party, and John W. Kaye and Adam Boote carried on the partnership until the date of the explosion, 6th November, 1940, when Kaye lost his life, leaving Boote the sole survivor of the party. The area covered by the lease issued in 1935 consisted of 10 acres situated on the south bank of the Ten-mile Creek, approximately one mile from the main Greyinouth-Westport highway. Connecting the mine with the main road is a tram-line, which is used to convey coal from this and several similar small pits. A plan of the mine and of the workings is attached hereto as Exhibit "A." The total output of the mine to the 31st December, 1939, as given in the Mines Statement for that year, was 16,099 tons. It will be seen from the plan that the coal-seam is bounded on the east and on the west by fault-lines approximately 5 chains apart. It is recorded in the report of the Inspector of Mines, dated 2nd October, 1940, that the main dip, which was the principal development heading, had reached the southern boundary of the lease, but arrangements had been made for the lease of another area adjoining this boundary. The east, south, and west boundaries of the area are not shown on the plan. The northern boundary is the escarpment in which the outcrop occurs and from which the development workings were commenced. The coal-seam has an average thickness of 10 ft. and is of good quality. The total coal contained in the lease was approximately 120,000 tons, the greater part of which still remains to be extracted. There are no unusual difficulties attached to the working of this colliery. The physical conditions underground are quite favourable for cheap and safe mining. The roof conditions are good. The grade of the seam although steep, is not unduly so ; little water is encountered, and until gas was discovered in August, 1938, the mine was worked with naked lights. A fan of a capacity of 5,000 to 6,000 cubic feet of air per minute was installed and should have been sufficient to have kept the mine safe even after gas had been first discovered if proper methods had been used to direct the air current.

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