ALARMING TRAMWAY ACCIDENT.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2233, 25 April 1881, Page 3

ALARMING TRAMWAY ACCIDENT.

[PBBBB ASSOCIATION TBLBQEAM.] DUNEDIN, April 24,

An Occident of a most alarming character resulting in the injury of twelve persons, o'M of whom is almost certain to die, ocaurred al half-past XI last night, on the Roslyn tramway. Roslyn is a suburb situated on the hills above Dunedin, and the tramway started about four months ago. It is worked by an endless wire rope, to which the carriages are attached by grippers. The carriages are provided with a break supposed to be powerful enough to bring them to a standstill whenever applied. Last night the last car started up Rattray street for Roslyn, and proceeded some six hundred yards up-hill, the gradient being about 1 in 16, when something went wrong with the gear. The general statement is that the man in charge of the break put it off instead of on, and before he could rectify the mistake the carriage commenced to run down hill, attaining such speed as it rushed down the incline that all efforts to stop it by means of the break were futile. Three men, named Garrett, Speirs, and Stewart, jumped off, but the rest wore unable to get out of the oar, which reached tho terminus of the lino at a fearful rate of speed and tore through the heavy woodwork and throe feet of metal road and turned over on its side. At one moment it appeared probable that it would dash across the footpath into tho Grown Hotel. Plenty of assistance was at hand, and the car was righted and the injured men removed to the Shamrock Hotel. The following is the list of those injured : Andrew Thomson (Thomson, Strang and Co., drapers), cut and bruised ; John Strang, bruised and cut about the face ; William Stewart, bruised about the logs; Thomas Harvey, laborer, out and bruised; Rosamond Johnson, slightly bruised; Wm, Pearce, bruised and out about the head ; Leckie, badly bruised and for a long time insensible ; Spears, post-office clerk, bruised and cut, severely shaken ; T. Macintosh, bruised and shaken; Peter Hannah, very little hurt; John Conway, bruised; T. Garret, skull dreadfully fractured (case considered hopeless); Hislop, cut and bruised. The three men who jumped off fared tho worst. The oar was greatly smashed about. The sufferers were at once attended by Drs. Brown, Ferguson, Da Zouohe, Burrows and Macdonald. All but Garrett are doing well.