SYDENHAM DISASTER. The Royal Visitors.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 47, 25 February 1901, Page 3

SYDENHAM DISASTER.

The Royal Visitors.

FURTHER DETAILS. GRAPHIC NARRATIVE BY AN EYE-AVITNESS. Sydney, Feb. 19. A graphic account of the Sydenham railway disaster is given by a resident of Mairickville, who was among the first three or four persons on the scene. He was standing at the time on the side of the line almost abreast of the accident’ between the Chinamen’s gardens and the sewer.

“ I was startled by a banging noise,” he observed, “ and looked quickly round. The first thing I noticed was that the engine with one of the cars was detached from the rest of the train. The next moment I saw the engine turn over as she left the rails. The other part of the train travelled nearly a hundred yards further on. The engine struck the home signal, and then turned over on the right side. Then she hit again and turned over the other way, and swerved on to the road. The’ car attached next to the engine was smashed to pieces. The second carriage was derailed near the bridge, and the remainder following came to a dead stop, partly, I should say, as the result of the action of the AVestinghouse brake, and partly on account of the second car falling across the line after being derailed. “ One of the railway firemen and myself went on to the engine and put the fire out. Orders were issued not to allow anybody to touch the levers. Putting the fire out probably saved an explosion, as all the water was running out, and the steam was escaping wholesale. AVhen the flying gang arrived I was not wanted. The lines, as you see, are terribly twisted.

“ Directly after the accident I ran across the rails with another man, a friend of mine. AVe weie soon joined by Inspector Stanwix, who was early on the scene, and we all helped to gather up the killed and injured, and place' them in carts. There were several persons in the train known to me personally. One was Harry Merton, who lives at Hurstville. He escaped uninjured. Another was Leslie Stephens, a lad whom I know very well. Ho was hurt in the back, and cut all over the face, and bruised badly. He was in the first car. Next I saw three injured men. They were terribly bruised, with their eyes bursting. Another man’s head was nearly off. Fireman King was killed outright, apparently in the overturn of the engine. The driver, named Doyle, had his back injured and his ankle broken, so far as I could ascertain. There were others fearfully knocked about. They were all sent away in carts to tho hospital. “ The cab of the engine was broken off, the dome battered to pieces, and generally she is reduced to the appearance of a six-wheeled tank engine. Only for her going into the gutter, where the ground is soft, it seems to mo she must have run into two houses adjoining. “The passengers who were hurt conducted themselves bravely : there was no screaming, though some of them were groaning in their agony. The guard got off the train, and when I saw him he appeared dumbfounded. One man I knew told mo it was the same with the passengers generally. The thing happened so suddenly that nobody seemed tr have any idea of what was the matter.” AVONDER THAT ALL AVERE NOT

KILLED. “ The only wonder is that the whole of the people in all of the seven or so oars wore not killed or wounded,” remarked a cripple named Edward Flowers, who lives quite close to the seeno of the terrible catastrophe, and saw it all. Flowers was sitting in his kitchen, and looking out of the window observed the “ through ” from Sydney coming along past the Sydenham station on towards Tempe. She tore along at a terrific speed, and as she came round a slight bend some yards or so from .where he was he was horrified to see her jump off the rails, and come crashing on at a frightful rate almost parallel with the line and towards Flowers’ residence, which abuts on to Bridge street, this little thoroughfare impigning on to the rails at right angles. Flower’ heart was in his mouth, and, dumbfounded, ho was afraid lest the derailed locomotive might take a slight turn again, and smash into the house. The engine, however, kept a fairly straight course for some time, gradually working away from the rails towards the edge of the embankment, which goes down a dozen or so feet. AVhen the engine reached the end of the embankment she turned violently over two or three times. She jolted the first of the carriage with her, and the tremendous wrench that sfi.3 gave the cars caused the couplings to part, which was so far fortunate, as otherwise the whole of the pas-senger-laden carriages would have been telescoped and split into matchwood. After turning over, the engine descended with an awful thud into Bridge-street, sweeping away a tall signal pole some 2ft. in diameter. Flowers believes that it was the collision with the signal pole which directly killed one of the two men on tho engine. One of the cars which came off with tho engine parted company when she began to roll over, and it crashed into the posts and railings of the crossings from Bridge-streets, leading into some Chinamen’s gardens, which are on the righthand side of the line. Flowers says that he could give no idea of tho awful scene which he beheld, as after recovering from the shock, and calling out “ My God; the train has left the line,” he hobbled out to his front door. Right in front of the house was the hugo form of tho engine, from which the hissing steam was issuing angrily in clouds. It seemed as if the boiler would burst at any moment, and for some time the people who happened to be on the scene were afraid to approach near her. The engine had dashed down into the street close to two little children who had a miraculous escape, but they were covered with dirt and the moisture which exuded from the engine. Further along the embankment was the second-class smoker, completely wrecked, the sight of the collection of corpses and maimed bodies underneath it being a sickening one. AVhen the engine and front car went off to their destruction, the remaining carriages by a miracle kept on the rails, and tho grade just here being slightly uphill, they' all came to a standstill about 50yds further along.

OUT POURED - THE AFFRIGHTED . PASSENGERS.

When the train stopped, out poured the affrighted passengers in hundreds, and it was only then that they realised the awful thing that had happened and the marvellous escape that they all had had. Instantly they set to work to render assistance to the injured, whoso groans and cries were heartrending, but the fierce hissing of the engine spread general alarm round, and before much relief was rendered measures had to be taken to draw the blazing fire from her. This was effected after some delay by a fireman, and then the passengers, or those of them who had sufficiently recovered from the shock, together with the people of the neighborhood, ventured on to the scene of horror and death. Flowers saw one young fellow who was riding on the footboard of the “ smoker,” which was adjacent to the engine. He was simply sent flying down the grassy embankment, and jumped on to his feet little the worse for the experience which had proved so calamitous to many of his fellow-passengers.

MR WALES’ GRATITUDE. “ Now it’s all over I can only thank God that I was not mangled to pieces.” This was how Mr Joseph Wales expressed himself in a voice choked with emotion after a heavy hour and a-half’s work in rendering assistance to the injured. And, fortunately, he was able to lend valuable aid, being a certificated ambulance man, and a sergeant-major of the Army Medical Corps. It almost seemed as if Providence in a “ mysterious way ” had brought in conjunction the calamity and the expert aid so urgently needed. Mr Wales is employed in the Locomotive Department, ;and is a resident of Premier street, Marrickville. To give his experiences in his own" wordsl was a passenger by the five minutes'to six train. The trainmade good time)' and all went well until we passed Sydenham. When a few hundred yards past the station tho train gave a big jolt, and there was' rumbling sensation foi-‘about "half a minute. I was in the third car, a second-class smoker. We had no time to think what

had happened, when wo were startled to see the engine passing back towards us on the left-hand side. Flames broke, out of the engine, and .entered the third and fourth carriages. The first two cars both came to grief; the. first was completely wrecked, while the: second was much damaged and thrown off the line. “ As soon as I alighted from the carriage, quite unhurt, the air was filled with the groans and screams of the injured and those buried in the debris. I felt quite dazed for a moment, and said to myself, ‘ pull yourself together, Joe, keep your wits about you, there is work to be done.’ ”

And “ Joe,” who is a stalwart, athletic man, every inch 6ft, did pull himself together, and many of the poor sufferers will remember him gratefully for the way in which he did the work to be done.”

WILL ING' HANDS AT WORK. “Many willing hands were soon at work, and as quick as possible we released all those who wore alive and pinned to the ground. In one or two cases it could be seen at once that the victims were past all human aid. I turned my attention to those who were alive, and used every effort to alleviate their sufferings, One of the first things done was to give water and stimulants to those who were pinned. In one case I used parts of the broken carriages as splints to bind up a broken thigh. It was a hurried job, but served the purpose. Many minor injuries were attended to. Some of the people were so seriously injured that they did not admit of being overhauled. One man expired while I was attending to him. “ As soon as Sub-Inspector Stanwix appeared on the scene I appealed to him to get conveyances to take the injured to the hospitals. He soon had a number of vehicles of all descriptions at hand, and the injured were removed as speedily as possible. This done, we centred our attention on the dead, and removed the bodies to the morgue. “ Great difficulty was experienced in getting a portion of one body out. A piece of the car had to be chopped away, and other parts had to be lifted with crowbars. So badly managed was the body that it was necessary to put the remains in a bag. The fireman I picked up quite dead.”

A PATHETIC INCIDENT. Mr Wales had a pathetic incident to relate anent one little fellow who was extricated. “ Ilis first cry was ‘ For God’s sake, wipe the dirt out of my mouth.’ It seemed to bo literally filled with blue metal.”

PROGRAMME APPROVED.

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright Sydney, Feb. 23.

Lord Hopetoun has sanctioned the programme of the Duke of York’s stay in Melbourne. The chief events are the landing at St. Hilda and procession of the streets on May 6th, opening of Parliament on the 9th, review on the 10th, visit to Ballarat, where he will lay the foundation of a monument to the soldiers fallen in South Africa, on the 13th, and a shooting expedition up country on the 16th. The intervening days will be devoted to various social and public functions.

All invitations to the celebrations are being forwarded by Mr Barton as the Federal Premier, on behalf of the Victorian Government.

THE SUITE. London, Fcb/22. The Duke of York’s suite includes the following:— Lady Mary Lygon, sister of Lord Hopetoun Lady Catherine Gray-Coke Mrs Derek Keppel Prince Alexander of Teck Commander Bryan Godfrey Faussett Viscount Crichton Duke of Roxburgh Dr Manby, Surgeon Apothecary to the Duke of York’s Household Chevalier Demartino, marine painter to the late Queen Major Hon. Derek Keppel Lieutenant Sir Chas. Oust. §§The last two are equerries. Mr John Anderson, of the Colonial Office, is the Duke of York’s private secretary in official matters. The Duke and Duchess of York land at Newfoundland, on October 21st, and stay there three days. Mr John Anderson, who accompanies the Duke and Duchess of York, has been made Commander of St. Michael and St. George.