Old Biscuit Tin Crammed With Notes

Chronicle (Levin), 14 November 1949, Page 3

Old Biscuit Tin Crammed With Notes

GREYMOUTH, Nov. 12. - A battered biscuit tin crammed with more than £1300 in notes was a surprise find in an old mine baeh at Dobson following'>the death this week of the occupant, a 6f-year-old miner known in the Gf ey distriet as Wiiliam Smith. This was not all, for distributed in hiding plaees in other parts of the hut : were tins of silver and copper and mqre rolls of notes. 'Mr "Smith',' left nd' will nor as far as is known has he any relatives in New Zealand. Inquiries have disclosed that his name was Wiiliam Mutton, which he changed to Smith after coming from Australia to Dobson 40 years ago. In the event of the police and the Public Trust inquiries failing to find any relatives the money will become the property of the Government. Though 64 yaars of age the deceased worked as a shiftman in the Dobson Mine until two weeks before his death. He lived in seclusion in a small bach where a seareh after death revealed no cooking facilities beyond an open flre. The only kitehen utensils were two broken plates, an old .eup and a battered knife, fork and spoon. Apart from one good suit the deceased had little elothing, but 40 tattered pairs of working socks were found. Though the £1300 was _ carefully packed away in the biscuit tin in rolls of £100 each the tin was left in a conspieuous plaee on top of a cupboard even after "Mr Smith" had accepted an invitation to stay at a local hotel when he beeame ill a week or so ago. The baeh was by no means "burglar proof." The windows were "barrieaded" with old coats.