HOW DID IT HAPPEN?

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1457, 4 June 1912, Page 7

HOW DID IT HAPPEN?

THE QUARRY EXPLOSION. EVIDENCE OF RISKY HABIT. MENTIONED AT INQUEST. Mr/ Riddell, S.M., held ail inquest yesterday concerning tho death of John Neville, who was killed in 0110 of the explosions at the Koliatu Quarry on Saturday. •Mi'. P. E. 'Ward represented insurance .company interests, Mr. J. fj. Holdsworth the Kohatu Quarry Company, and ,SeniorSergeant Darby tlio police. Percy Smith, stableman to the Quarry Company, stated that, at ten minutes to ten 011 .Saturday morning, Neville had been talking to" liim in tlio stable. Deceased had then gono into' his office to sweep it out, and about ten minutes Inter he (Smith) heard a loud explosion, lie also heard N'evillo call out: "Paddy!" "Paddy" was a name by which lie was known. When lie rushed into tho office lie found Neville's body lying across a barrel. Tho explosion had set (ire to the office. Neville was a careful man, and, as far a* witness knew, understood explosives. About three-quarters of an hour later a second explosion-had occurred, and this had blown the office aud tho stable to atoms. No\explosives had been used that day, nor for two months previously. In the course of his evidence, David Crossley, of Karori, stated tliat, after -the first explosion, and Ijeforo tho second explosion, he had gono, to the stable to release any lunges which might be there, but had found the stable empty. Dapgerous Habit. In describing the condition of the body when he saw it after the accident, Constable Mullooly deposed that, besides terrible injuries to tile head, the face had been burned with powder, and tho clothes on the left side had 'been much burned. Joseph' Godfrey Holdsworth, manager of tho quarry, also gave evidence.- Ho said that Neville, who had been in the company's employment for about three years, was practical and careful. Senior-Sergeant Darby: Can. you account for tho explosion? Mr. Holdsworth: Only bv surmise. On Friday I met him in a tramcar and told him that some special stone might be wanted. He was finishing his work on the Saturday to go away for a holiday, and he said that if necessary ho would go to the quarry on Monday and fire a lioio which had been drilled already. In my opinion ho. was getting the detonators and fuse together ready for Monday morning. I'ot a considerable time after he went to the quarry, without my knowledge, he was in the habit of (while fixing the detonators to the fuse) catching the detonators with his teeth. That is, I believe, a common practice among them. Sergeant Darby: Did you ever see him do it. Witness: Once. ' The coroner: You warned'him? Witness: I warned him. The coroner: And so far as you knew he didn't act' in a similar way again. 'Witness:' No. Witness: lie may have got the detonators which were in tho box, and by some accident they may have all gone off. If any quantity of detonators went off at one time it would probably account for the walls blowing out and the roof coming off. . The Cause not Disclosed. Neville's parents, conHmiPcl the witness, resided in Victoria, of which State it is believed Neville was a native.. He was to have been married on Tuesday (to-day). Mr. Ward: What quantity of explosives was in the store? Witness: I cannot tell you. It is a long time since any were got. Mr.' Ward: Was there 1 cwt.? Witness.- No. Mr. Ward: Was there 501b.? Witness: I should think more. Mr. Ward: You have some by-laws to comply with, haven't you? Witness: No. Mr. Ward: Are yon outside tho city boundary? Witness: We aro in "Greater Wellington." . Mr. Ward: Was deceased in sole charge of these explosives? Witness: They were absolutely in his charge. The coroner: The evidence points to the fact that deceased was a practical, innn and one well used to explosives; and he had been in charge of a quarry as foreman for a considerable time. He knew the danger attached to the use of explosives. Unfortunately, lie met his death by an explosion, and there is no direct evidence to show how it occurred. One can only say that it was accidental. The verdict will be that deceased died at Wellington on .Tune 30 from injuries produced by an accidental explosion at tho quarry.