ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES
David Gillies, engineer at the Walton Park coal mine, fell down the shaft this morning while going to repair the pump. There is very little hope of him being found alive, as there is supposed to be 20ft of water in the shaft. -Evening Star, 18/10/1897.
DEATHS
Gillies. — On the 18th October (accidentally killed at the Walton Park Coal Mine.), David, the beloved husband of Lucy E. Gillies; aged 59 years. Deeply regretted. -Otago Witness, 21/10/1897.
THE FATALITY AT THE WALTON PARK MINE.
An inquest touching the death of David Gillies engineer at the Walton Park coal mine, which took place at the mine on October 18, was held by Mr Coroner Carew and a jury of six (of whom Mr William Geddes was chosen foreman) at the Green Island Hotel yesterday.
Mr Hodgkins appeared for the owners of the mine, Mr Hanlon for the relatives of the deceased, while Mr John Hayes (inspector of mines) was also present.
David Marshall, coal miner, residing at Green Island, said that he was deputy-manager at the Walton Park coal mine. Deceased was engineer and enginedriver in the mine, and had acted in that capacity for some 22 years. On the 18th October the water was rising in the mine owing to the pump leaking. The manager (Mr Kenyon) had ordered witness and deceased to go down the mine and mend the leak in the pump. Witness told deceased that the leak was three or four feet below the manhole. Deceased said that the leak would be "halfshaft" then. Witness asked him how he knew, and he replied that he knew every foot of the shaft, having been down there several times. Between 8 and 9 in the morning they went down. Deceased said he would not put on a suit of oilskins, as he was a god bit stouter than when he went down last, and they would only trouble him. Witness told him to go first, and he would follow, but deceased said it was no use his (witness) going down, but that he would go down first and see what the nature of the leak was, then they would go down and repair it. Witness therefore stood at the shaft till he went down and came up again. He explained the nature of the leak. He had no light the first time he went down. Deceased made no complaint of the shaft nor the air in it. All he said was that there was too much water dripping, and that they would require oilskins the next time they went down. Deceased was down the shaft about a quarter of an hour. After making preparations to repair the leak, deceased went down first. They were conversing on the way down, and witness told him not to look up, or dust might get in his eyes. They had pretty nearly arrived at the spot, and deceased called out to lower down a spanner. Almost immediately after, witness heard a heavy sigh and a splash in the water. Witness called out to de ceased, saying "Davy, are you all right?" He got no reply, and he went on going down, calling out deceased's name several times, but he could neither see him nor get an answer from him. Witness went as far as the leak, and then cried out that deceased had fallen down the shaft. Witness could find nothing wrong with the "buntons." Witness carried an open light — a miner's light. Deceased had no light, as he would not take one. The light witness had burned freely, and he could find nothing wrong with the air in the shaft. When witness cried out that deceased had fallen. Mr Kenyon, the manager, came down, and, taking witness's lamp, went down 30 or 40 feet below the leak. Witness followed him, and told him it was no use his going farther, as he was sure deceased had fallen in the water. The water had risen in the shaft about 20ft above the well. Kenyon and witness then went to the top and started preparations to get the body.
The Coronor: Why did you not go to the top of the water when you were down?
Witness: It was no use, as I was quite sure deceased had fallen in.
The Coroner: The body might have been floating on top.
Witness said that did not occur to him. (Continuing:) Half an hour after coming up they went down to the water again. He and Kenyon had each a light which burned clearly. They could see the surface of the water clearly. The air was quite good. David Hunter, the other man who attended to the engine, could not lower them down as he did not know how to work the engine, and they had to send to Mornington for another engine-man named Alexander Clark. He arrived and lowered Mr Kenyon. When the latter came back about half an hour after he reported that he had found the body. Witness and another man named James Pollock then went down. They pulled at a rope fastened to the grapnel irons till the body appeared. They cut one of the buntons and brought the body into the main shaft, whence it was brought to the surface. There was a wound on the back of the head, and one of the elbows was grazed, while one arm was broken above the elbow. There was no appearance of life in the body. Dr Will was present. The body had been in the water for about four or five hours. Mr James Pollock was the previous manager, acting in that capacity up to the 4th of the month. He had been manager for five or six years.
To the Inspector: It was part of deceased's duty to look after the pumps, and therefore witness took it for granted that he knew the pump well. Witness could only account for the accident by deceased, losing his hold or footing. The lights burned on the surface of the water quite clearly.
To Constable O'Sullivan: The buntons varied in their distance apart. In some planes they were 15in apart, in others 6in or 7in. The big difference was only at the manhole, while at the other places the buntons were evenly apart. Witness could not say if it were from above or below the manhole that deceased fell. It was at the manhole witness thought.
To Mr Hanlon: The object of the manhole was to get access to the pipes. There was nothing between the winding department and the pumping department except the buntons. There was no earth. The buntons were in the form of a ladder. There was 22ft of water. The depth of the shaft was 175 ft 6in. The distance from the top to the leak was 88ft 6in. Witness was down to the top of the water on Saturday afternoon. He did not suffer when he came out of the shaft on Monday. It was not correct that Mr Kenyon was prostrated after he came up. He was a bit put out and excited. Witness did not know if the doctor was sent for Mr Kenyon, or did anything for him. All the tools deceased had was a spanner tied round his neck. The only way to get down was by the buntons. The engine could not be utilised to lower them because it was not in repair. It was in order to expedite matters that deceased was sent down on the buntons. He was not sent down, but volunteered to go down. It was his duty to mend the pipe. When he went down Mr Keuyon was at the top of the. shaft. Mr Kenyon, who gave instructions that the work wag to be done on that morning, knew that the only way the repairs could be effected that morning was by going down the buntons. Witness never saw a man go down the buntons in coal mines secured by a rope tied under the arms. Witness had seen men descend by the buntons alone in other mines, but he did not know if it were usual.
The Inspector: Was it not in canes of emergency that you saw men go down thus in other mines? —Witness: Yes.
But not usually? — No.
His Worship: Would ordinary miners consider it dangerous to go down by the buntons? — Witness: Well, some miners would not care for it if they were not used to the work.
It is a case of practise? — Yes.
John Kenyon, manager of the Walton Park mine, said that he had acted in that capacity since the 13th inst., having started on the Wednesday before the accident. On the morning of the 18th he gave instructions to Marshall to have the pipes mended. Gillies came to witness and said, "I'll go down. I have been down regularly, I know every inch of the shaft." Witness said, "All right." Witness had never been down at that time. Deceased went down and returned in 10 or 15 minutes with a piece of gutta percha to mend the leak in the pipe. He gave instructions to have the gutta percha sent down in a bucket when it had been softened in hot water, and then he went down again. Marshall went down with him, and witness stood at the top of the shaft. Witness heard Marshall afterwards crying out to Gillies, and almost immediately after he cried out to witness that Gillies was down the shaft. Witness went down immediately till he could see the surface of the water, but could see no signs of Gillies. He came up to the top, but told Marshall he was not satisfied, and he went down again, but he could see nothing. Subsequently when he was lowered by the engine he found the body with grappling irons. The body was about 7ft below the water, and was apparently caught by something. He brought it to the surface and made it fast. When he went to the top Marshall told him to take a spell, and he and Mr Pollock went down. Witness felt a little sick when he came up, and the doctor gave him some sodawater and he started vomiting. Witness often had that experience before.
To the Inspector: The mine had recently changed hands, and the shaft was full of water. Owing to a breakdown on Sunday the winding gear was totally wrecked, and therefore the leak could not be mended from the cages It was perfectly safe to go down the buntons. Witness had never previously gone down, and he found no difficulty. Witness was not suffering from the effects of fire-damp, for if there had been any, with the lamp he carried, there would have been an explosion. If there had been black damp the lamp he carried would have gone out. The Walton Park mine he knew was subject to black damp. The water in the shaft would have sealed back any black damp there may have been in the workings. He did not think, therefore, that deceased had been overpowered by any damp.
To Constable O'Sullivan: The fall of deceased would have cleared the damp, if any existed, to a certain extent.
To Mr Hanlon: Witness gave the instructions to have the pump mended to Mr Marshall, and Gillies volunteered to go down. Witness thought it was quite safe to let him go, in order to allow deceased to have his hands free to work, a rope had been previously lowered down the shaft. There was a bosun's loop at the end for him to sit in if he wished, and the rope was tied at the top. Witness did not take the precaution before he went down to see if there were any gas there. He had been down the winding shaft every day previously and never noticed any gas. Witness was subject to sickness, owing to an experience he underwent in another mine, and his sickness on this occasion was not due to gas. When he got home he went to bed, and as he had a pain in his chest he sent for the doctor.
To Mr Hodgkins: The rope was alongside deceased when he fell.
John Hayes, acting inspector of mines, said he visited the Walton Park mine on September 29 last and at the time of the accident. On the former occasion he went down both winding apartments within a few feet of the surface of the water. He previously lowered a light, and found it quite safe to go down. There was no gas of any description. He visited the mine two days after the accident. He went down the buntons below the man hole and saw no signs of damp. The ventilation was good. The buntons were substantial and fit for the purpose. There was no difficulty for any ordinarily active man to go up or down them. Witness thought that deceased lost his footing inadvertently at the man hole. The colliery changed hands a few days before, and the owners decided to clear the shaft of water. The winding gear had been wrecked before the accident, and it would take weeks before it could be repaired.
To Mr Hanlon: The buntons at Walton Park were, better than in most mines, they went right to the bottom of the shaft, and a man who fell into the water, and received no injury or was not overcome with gas would be able to at once grasp the buntons and save himself. Deceased had, however, fallen 67ft and the probabilities are that he would sink a considerable distance, and when rising at an angle, as was generally the case, would catch on some impediment, and so he drowned.
James Pollock said he was acting-manager at the mine for three years and a-half before Mr Kenyon. Witness only knew deceased to go down the shaft 7ft or 18ft to the landing board. Witness had never asked him to go down. When witness went down to search for the body on Monday he smelt a little damp. Deceased was an active man of about 13st He was a bit nervous and excitable at times. If anything went wrong he got nervous.
To the Inspector: There was a lantern let down the shaft with a line, and it burned not badly when the body was being got out. After Mr Kenyon and Mr Marshall came up water was pumped down the shaft for from 15 to 20 minutes. Witness directed the water from the landing stage by knocking the side of the box out.
The Inspector: The object was to keep the ventilation good, having got it good?
Mr Hanlon: Counsel for the mine?
The Inspector: No; I only want to get the truth.
Mr Hanlon: The witness said that he knocked the side of the box out and let the water flow.
The Inspector: Oh, I did not notice that remark.
Witness (continuing) said: Marshall and Kenyon went down after the accident, and remained four or five minutes. When Mr Kenyon was coming up first he (witness) passed him and wont down further than he did. Mr Kenyon seemed excited and exhausted.
To Mr Hodgkins: Witness was superintending the repair of the boiler at the time of the accident but he was not connected with the mine in any way. Witness was one of the lessees of the mine, and part of his duty was to repair the boiler when he gave up his lease of the mine. Kenyon was down the shaft when witness arrived after the accident, but he could hear Marshall crying out to him.
Alexander Clark, engineer, also gave evidence. He said Gillies knew the shaft perfectly well, as he was present when it was being sunk.
William McNeill, miner, and Constable O'Sullivan also gave evidence.
The Jury, after some deliberation, returned a verdict that "Deceased met his death by accidentally falling down the shaft." -Otago Daily Times, 27/10/1897.
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