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Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 258, 8 September 1874, Page 3

A very serious accident occurred on Friday morning, the 28th ult., at the Deborah Bay tunnel, through an explosion of dynamite, by which James Renshaw, the foreman of the shift, was killed, and two others pretty severely injured. We take the following in relation to the affair from the Daily Times :~The foreman of the shift, James Renshaw, a first-class workman and a most careful and reliable man,' went away to obtain some charges of dynamite, and Mr M'Kenzie (the contractor) not being in the way, he proceeded to prepare it himself. As he was in a hurry, he was guilty of making too much haste, for, instead of first boiling the water, then patting in the false bottom and dynamite after the billy had been taken off the fire, he placed the false bottom with the dynamite in it into the cold water, and then proceeded to boil the water. All this took place in the smithy just outside; the catting. Besides Renshaw, there were present Alexander Simpson, the blacksmith, and John Simms, a miner engaged on the works. From what we can gather of the lamentable occurrence, Renshaw held the billy over, the. fire, and worked the bellows, whilst Simms and Simpson were standing on one side. Therawere about 12ozs. of dynamite in the billy. Suddenly there was an awfnl explosion that blew the smithy to pieces, killed Renshaw dead, and seriously injured Simpson and Simms. The men who weta working in the cutting rushed to the scene, and found Renshaw dead, horribly mangled, with his bowels protruding, and head shattered ; whilst the other men were stretched upon ..the. ground—rone of them (Simpson) beingcohered with flesh wounds, caused by the whirl - wind of missiles which were set. in motion by the explosions Simms' was, not so much hurt,, his prawipal wound beiagin the togi