INQUEST.
An inquest was held at the St. Kilda Hotel, to-day, before the City Coroner, and a jury of twelve, of whom Mr J, P. Jones was chosen foreman, on the body of Alexander Williamson, who was killed on the reclamation works on Saturday.
The Coroner said that this was an inquiry into the death of Alexander Williamson, a Harbor Board employe, who was killed, he believed accidentally, on Saturday last. There was nothing special for him to comment on; it would be for the jury to say whether proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents to the employes.
James Williamson stated that the deceased, Alexander Williamson, was his son. His age at the time of his death was seventeen. He was a native of the Shetland Islands, and a Presbyterian.
James Morrison said; I am an enginedriver in the employ of the Harbor Board. About ten o’clock on. Saturday morning last I was shunting loaded waggons past my engine at Jetty street. I had just brought them from the Maitland street works, After uncoupling as usual I went forward about 20ft with the engine, and the deceased put on the coupling rope to the foremost truck. This was done to enable the waggons to travel along one line and the engine another, and to give the waggons an impetus. Before coming to the points I slacked off to allow the deceased to uncouple the rope, which he did, following up the engine with it in his hand. There were nine waggons, five of which ran by the deceased, but the wheel of the sixth I saw strike him as he was lying on the rail. I could not say what caused him to fall, as I did not see him until the waggon went over him. As soon as I saw what happened I went up, and I think death must have been instantaneous. The method of working the trucks with a rope I consider quite safe.
John Johnson, foreman of the Maitland street works, said: I was standing on the main line about twenty yards distant from where the accident occurred. The last time I saw the deceased he had unhooked the rope to follow up the engine, and was about halfway between where the engine was standing and the junction of the lines s that would be about 15ft from the points. I went to shift the points, and whilst so engaged I heard a cry which I think came from the engine-driver, I looked up and saw the deceased lying with his head on the waggon rails. The only way in which I can account for the accident is that the deceased was standing too near to the waggons, one of which struck him on the shoulder and sent him forward. There was no necessity for him to stand so near the waggons, as there is plenty of room away from the rails. The deceased had been with me for the last two years, employed at similar work. There were some sleepers on the engine, but I do not think they in any way caused his death.
Mark Webb, waterman, said: About ten o’clock on Saturday last I was standing on the reclamation works near to where some shunting was going on. The engine passed me and shortly afterwards I heard a cry. I looked up and saw the deceased lying close to the wheels of the last truck. After seeing the deceased attended to I went up and examined the spot where the accident happened. On the back of the engine were placed a number of sleepers, one of which projected about six inches beyond the side of the engine. Some of the sleepers were slewed round, and one of the small pegs in the rear part of the engine had been cut clean off by the rail swinging round. On one of the rails I found a number of blood spots, and towards the end there was more blood than on any other part. From these observations I came to the conclusion that the fifth waggon, the side of which projects farther than the rest, had caught the rails in passing and thus slewed them round, and that the deceased had been struck by the sleeper with the marks of blood on it. I consider that it is a dangerous practice to put sleepers on the engine.
James Morrison recalled said that he was aware that the sleepers were found slewed round after the accident, but he could not say whether any of them struck the accused. They had often put the sleepers across the engine in the same manner previously, but orders had been given that no more were to be put on as they damaged the smoke-box by catching against the posts at Anderson’s Bay.
John Johnson, recalled, stated that for his own part he could not see how death could have been caused by the rails across the engine. If they had been projecting beyond the engine 6in they would have struck against the posts at Anderson’s Bay, because there was only 3in between the engine and the posts. Again, as the deceased was found lying, the rail must have been knocked off the engine to strike him at all.
The Coroner, in summing up, said that it might be fairly concluded that death was caused by the sleeper striking the deceased, although there might be a very good reason for Mr Johnson’s conclusion, viz , that if the sleepers did project more than 8in they would have been knocked off as they passed through the gateway.
The jury then returned a verdict of “Accidental death,” adding a rider to the effect that they were of opinion that sleepers should not be carried across an engine, but that they should in future he stowed in a safe position upon the trucks. -Evening Star, 26/7/1880.
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