FATAL GUN ACCIDENT.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1128, 14 December 1883, Page 3

FATAL GUN ACCIDENT.

(Daily Times.) A very melancholy accident occurred at Saddle Hill on Saturday afternoon, the 9:,h inst., 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, tbe son of Mr W. P. •Street, the Mayor-elect of Dunedin. The particulars of the sad occurrence are as fol lows :—Four boys—the deceased. John Hawkes, James Thomson, and J. Baronleft Dunedin at about 9 o’clock on Saturday morning for a day’s rabbit-shooting • and after pursuing their amusement for some hours they repaired to the mine, where Mr Hawkes, the father of one of the lads, and mine manager to the Saddle Hill Company, has a small wooden cottage. Here they had lunch. A little after three o’clock the visitors, who were wandering about the claim, were startled by hearing a shot, and the cause was quickly communicated by the frightened lads, who rushed out ot Mr Hawkes’ cottage. It appears that there were two guns among the four, and that Hawkes, after he and his companions had lunched, was holding one of the weapons—a double-barrelled one—loaded in both barrels. He is said to have been holding it close to his hip, and it was pointing in the direction of the boy Baron. Hawkes said: “ Now it is cocked. Suppose, now, anyone wore to try and take this away.” Baron was alarmed, and s.-ii:, “ Don’t play the fo.d with the gun ; there might be an accident,” ; and he moved quickly out of tbe way. Something was then saidas to the gun being cocked, and Hawkes proceeded to let the hammers down, not apparently knowing that the weapon then covered Street. During the operation he either pulled the trigger too soon or the hammer slippe I from his fingers, for one barrel exploded, and the charge absolutely blew out the brains of young Street, who was standing at the time not more than a yard or so from him. The poor boy’s skull was frightfully shattered, and death was, of course, instantaneous. A circumstance that renders the occurrence, if possible, more sad, is that young Hawkes and Street were cousins.

A number of the visitors in the locality of course immediately hastened to the spot, and the scene was inexpressibly painful owing to the father (Mr W. P. Street) being one of the excursion party. Several gentlemen present used every effort to keep the sad spectacle from him, but without success. Drs. Coughtrey and Fergusson were also present, but their services were, unfortunately, of no avail. The body was conveyed to Dunedin by the special train that biought the visiting party. At the inquest held on Monday, a verdict of accidental death was returned.