CHAIN HILLS FATALITY.
THE INQUEST.
VERDICT OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH.
The District Coroner (Mr C. C. Graham) held an inquiry at the Dunedin Hospital yesterday afternoon into the circumstances touching the death of Harry Smith, who died as the result of a blasting accident in the Chain Hills tunnel on Friday evening. Senior-sergeant King represented the police, Mr J. F. M. Fraser appeared on behalf of the department, and Mr C. J. Payne on behalf of the relatives of the deceased. There were also present Messrs Green and Thomson (Department of Mines) and Mr John Wood (Railway Department). The first witness was James J. Owen, a miner employed in the Chain Hills tunnel, who appeared with his head bound up, the result of a fall of timber which occurred since the accident. He had been working with deceased on the night of the accident. Deceased was placing the gelignite plugs in position in the hole, and Gardiner was using the tamping rod. He was pushing a plug into place when the explosion occurred. The gelignite was in the usual cartridge, which was to be ignited by a cap and fuse. The deceased had the cap and fuse hanging on his arm. The fuse was not attached to the charge, and witness could not account in any way for the explosion. The first thing he saw after the explosion took place was Stanley Simons, one of the men, staggering towards the schute. Witness caught him and put him to one side. The schute was about 7ft from the blast. He then rushed round and got hold of the deceased who was lying huddled up, partly on his face. He showed no signs of consciousness, and they carried him on to the scaffolding. His injuries were principally on the jaw and forehead. The deceased was kept there until the stretcher came, when they carried him from the tunnel to the changing room. A wire was sent to have the express stopped, and deceased, along with the other injured men, was taken in to the Hospital. The accident occurred a few moments before 6 p.m.
To Mr Fraser: They were using the copper tamping rod provided for the purpose.
To Mr Payne: The boring was being done 23 chains inside the tunnel. Gardiner was doing the boring with a machine. Deceased's duty was to hold a bag over the drill hole to keep the dust from their faces. Douglass, the permanent ganger, was ill, and Gardiner was acting in his place. He had been so acting for five days. Joyce, the permanent machine man, was also off work ill. When both Joyce and Douglass were away Gardiner acted as ganger, but he had to work with the rest of the men. One could not be too careful in using the gelignite cartridge, and only a thoroughly experienced person should be allowed to use it. A man must have a certificate before he could be allowed to charge a bore with gelignite.
To Mr Fraser: Gardiner was always a careful man, and he used every possible care on the night in question.
To Mr Thomson: The hole was on a slight incline, almost horizontal. It was rough, and the plug evidently did not go to the bottom of the hole when it was put in. The tamping pad was applied gently to the cartridge, and at that moment the explosion occurred. The gelignite was always more dangerous when frozen, and they had instructions to warm it in a special pan for the purpose when it, was frozen.
Herbert Warner Gosling, machinist, employed at the tunnel, said that he was about a chain further in from where the accident occurred. He had occasion to see Gardiner, and he had just got back to the heading when he heard the explosion. He heard something like a groan, and he and his mate ran out and saw the deceased, Gardiner, and Owen (the last witness). Deceased was propped up on the stage. Witness went and telephoned for a doctor and brought a stretcher to carry the deceased out. When he came out after the explosion he saw the fuse which deceased had had, with the cap attached. Both were unused.
Dr Stewart, resident house surgeon at the Hospital, said that the deceased Smith was admitted to the Hospital at 7.20 p.m. on the 9th inst. He was quite dead, but warm. There were several deep lacerations on the head down to the skull. His right collarbone 'was fractured. The cause of death was severe concussion of the brain.
Charles Robert Gardiner, miner, also employed at the Chain Hills tunnel, said that he himself, the deceased, and some others were completing a blasting hole in the tunnel. Witness was acting ganger, and deceased was placing the gelignite cartridge in the bore for him to press home with the ordinary copper tamping rod used for the purpose. The first cartridge was a little tight, but he got it to the bottom. The second cartridge seemed to go down all right on being gently pressed with the tamping rod. Just as he felt that he had got it home the explosion occurred. Where the tamping rod went to he did not know. He was lifted right off his feet and thrown back two or three yards, his arms being badly injured. The lights went out with the explosion, and when they came on again he noticed the deceased lying on the ground. Witness had had a good deal of experience in tunnels on the Midland railway, the Otira tunnel, and other places as well, and held a certificate for using gelignite. He used the utmost care on the evening of the accident, and had there been any carelessness on anyone's part he was sure to have noticed it. He could form no idea of the cause of the explosion. The gelignite was kept in a warm place, and had no chance of being frozen.
To Mr Payne: There was no occasion to examine the cartridges. To his knowledge they were not examined at all. Douglass and Joyce being away, he took both their places. They were thus working one man short. This was all the evidence.
The Coroner said that there seemed to he no evidence of want of care on the part of anyone. He found: "the cause of death was concussion of the brain caused by the premature explosion of a blast, there being no blame attachable to anyone." -Otago Daily Times, 13/5/1913.
Harry was single and lived with his mother in Caversham.
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