Godfrey Kemp, 1838-12/11/1873. "reading of his own death"

A shocking accident occurred in Rattray street a little after five o’clock yesterday afternoon. Godfrey Kemp, a waiter employed at Court’s hotel, was engaged in cleaning a window on the second storey, and relaxing by some means his hold, fell a distance of forty-five feet, on his side, on to the macadamised yard, which serves as a right-of-way between the hotel and Messrs Flexman and Curran’s premises adjoining. He was at once picked up and conveyed to the Hospital, where his injuries were found to be of a very serious nature — a compound fracture of the right arm below the elbow, the member being literally smashed to a pulp, face and extremities badly hurt, and a severe shock to the system.   -Evening Star, 7/11/1873.

We have been requested to state that the paragraph in this morning’s Daily Times, announcing the death of Godfrey Kemp, who fell from a third-storey window at Court’s hotel on Thursday, is incorrect, the fact being that the man is not only alive, but strange to say, considering the nature of his accident, in a fair way towards recovery.   -Evening Star, 10/11/1873.

The Rattray street accident has had a fatal termination after all, the unfortunate man Godfrey Kemp having died at the Hospital at eight o’clock this morning. An inquest was held before the City Coroner this forenoon, when Dr Yates deposed that death was caused by the deceased having received a compound fracture of the arm below the elbow, from which mortification set in two days since. The doctor was also of opinion that Kemp had received some internal injury. The jury returned a verdict of “Accidentally Killed,” to which was added the following rider: — “The jury, after hearing the evidence, learn that a most unsafe way of cleaning upper windows obtains in this town, they are therefore of opinion that a bye-law should be passed rendering it compulsory that all householders should use or cause to be used an apparatus specially made.”   -Evening Star, 12/11/1873.

FUNERAL NOTICE. 

THE Friends of the late Mr Godfrey Kemp are respectfully requested to follow his remains to the Northern Cemetery. The funeral will leave my residence, George street, at 3 p.m. To-morrow. 

Robt. Lambert, Undertaker, George street.  -Evening Star, 13/11/1873.

The poor fellow who fell from an upper storey window of the Otago Hotel a few days since, and whose death was erroneously reported the day before yesterday, died in the Hospital this morning, mortification of the injured arm having set in two days since. At the inquest which was held to day, Dr. Yates, the Resident Surgeon of. the Hospital, stated that deceased had also received some internal injury. The jury, in giving a verdict of "Accidental Death," added a rider to the effect that they considered it necessary that a bye-law should be passed rendering it compulsory on householders to use some apparatus specially made for the purpose of cleaning window at a height from the ground, instead of the most dangerous practice which at present prevails. To any of your readers who remember the Otago Hotel, where the accident under notice occurred, the wonder will be that Godfrey Kemp ever spoke after the frightful shock he must have received after falling from such a height.  -Tuapeka Times, 15/11/1873.

The Guardian of a late date has the following: — “We have been requested to contradict a report published by our contemporary yesterday morning, that the man Godfrey Kemp, who had been injured by a fall from the upper story of Court’s Otago Hotel, had died the previous evening. On reading the report friends went to the Hospital to look after the the funeral, but found an essential ingredient wanting, the man, instead of being dead, being engaged reading of his own death.”  -Cromwell Argus, 18/11/1873.

Northern Cemetery, Dunedin.