Fatal Gun Accident.
Press Association. Dunedin, Dec. 9.
A very sad and painful fatal accident occurred yesterday at Abbotsford, five or six miles from Dunedin. Four lads left town this morning on a rabbit shooting excursion. Amongst them was William Street, aged fifteen years, son of the Mayor-elect. In the afternoon a number of gentlemen visited, by invitation, the Saddle Hill Company's quartz mine, where new machinery was being started. This is in the neighbourhood of Abbotsford. Amongst these gentlemen was Mr Street, who had arranged to meet his son at the mine. The lads all arrived at the mine in due course, and whilst in one of the buildings one of them, named Hawkes, accidentally discharged his gun, shooting young Street in the head and killing him almost instantaneously. Mr Street was informed of the occurrence, and a very painful scene ensued. The accident threw a gloom over the festivities at the time, and has been the subject of much sympathy in the city. -Manawatu Times, 10/12/1883.
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL (excerpt)
By an unspeakably sad accident we have lost William Edward Street, who was a pupil of the school for four years, and whose memory is dear to all that knew him. -Evening Star, 18/12/1883.
FATAL GUN ACCIDENT.
A very melancholy accident occurred at Saddle Hill on Saturday, Dec. 8, in the immediate vicinity of the goldmine, which was at the time being inspected by a large excursion party. The unfortunate victim was William Street, a lad aged between 14 and 15, the son of Mr W. P. Street, the Mayor-elect of Dunedin. The particulars of the sad occurrence will best be gleaned from the evidence given at the inquest reported below.
An inquiry into the death of William Edward Street was held at the residence of Mr W. P. Street, Duke street, on Monday, the 10th ult., before Dr Hocken and a jury of 12. The principal evidence was that of Henry Baron, a lad living with his parents at Roslyn, who said that he, the deceased, John Hawkes, and James Thomson went out to Saddle Hill on Saturday morning to shoot rabbits. Witness had a single-barrelled, and Hawkes a double-barrelled gun. They inspected the mining works, went up the hill for a few hours, and shot some birds, and at about 1 o'clock returned to a hut near the battery and had lunch. Witness let deceased have one or two shots with his gun, and he also let Thomson have one. After lunch in Mr Hawkes' cottage, they went round the mine again until the train arrived from Dunedin. When the train arrived, Hawkes took some money up to the hut for his father, in order to look after it, and the other three boys, after visiting some other parts of the mine, joined him there. Hawkes then locked the door, as witness told him that his father (Mr Hawkes) had been angry at seeing him talking to a strange boy at the door a few minutes before. Inside the hut, Hawkes began to tell them about a former occasion on which he had been left the in charge of money, and had quitted the place for a few minutes. On that occasion Mr Fitchett had complained of it, and said that anyone might have come through the window and taken the money. Witness thereupon took up the bag in fun, and said, "I am going to collar the money." Hawkes then took up his gun from the corner, and brought one of the barrels to either half or full cock, and was going to present it at the window. Ho said, "Suppose anyone were to come in at the window and try to take it now." Witness' shoulder was near the window, and thinking it might be dangerous, he jumped off his seat to within about a yard of young Street. He said to Hawkes, " You had better put down the hammer, or there will be an accident with that gun." Hawkes then brought the gun down in a half-circle to lower the hammer, not noticing that by doing so it covered Street. Hawkes was only looking at the lock of the gun, and his forefinger somehow slipped off the hammer, and the charge went into Street's head. The gun was loaded with either No. 2 or No. 1 shot, just before the accident. Street was laughing fit witness for jumping away, and said, "How frightened you are of a gun, Harry." Almost immediately the charge exploded, and witness saw the side of his head blown away. He went upwards for one moment, and then his knees gave way, and he fell, throwing up one arm over his head. Hawkes ran back across the room and put down the gun, and witness said, "You had better unlock the door and run to your father." He tried to do so, but was so nervous and shivering that he could not put the key into the keyhole, and Thomson did it. Dr Coughtrey and Dr Fletcher came together, and witness asked the former if Street was alive, saying he had seen him move. Dr Coughtrey said no, he was dead. Hawkes seemed very horrified after the accident, and said something about killing his cousin.
The Coroner: There was some amount of carelessness, I suppose?
Witness: Well, he was not looking towards Street at the time, and did not know the gun was covering him.
John Hawkes, aged 10, confirmed the evidence of the last witness as to what preceded the accident. He had put the gun at half-cock, and was trying to put the hammer down when the trigger slipped from under his thumb. Witness had practised a good deal with a rifle, and had been out rabbit-shooting three times before.
The Jury at once brought in a verdict of "Accidental death," but debated amongst themselves for some time as to the advisability of adding a rider with regard to the use of firearms by young children. The ages mentioned during the discussion were, however, very much below that of any of the lads concerned in this affair. Eventually a rider was added to the effect that care should be exercised in allowing young boys out with firearms. -Otago Daily Times, 4/1/1884.
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