THE THAMES.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 13, Issue 695, 28 June 1869, Page 3

THE THAMES.

FEAEFUL STORM AND HIGH TIDES. FATAL LANDSLIP ON THE WAIOTAHI. THREE PERSONS BURIED ALIVE. THE BODIES RECOVERED. (Prom the Thames Advertiser, June 21.) We have just been visited by the heaviest storm of rain that has occurred this winter. Rain began to fall at a very early hour on Saturday morning, and continued pouring heavily till last night. Besides the landslip at Moanatairi, which caused the calamity, the particulars of which we give elsewhere, several others occurred at different parts of the district. On the Waiotahi, the Break o' Day battery (Messrs. Johnston and Du Moulin's), was considerably damaged by a quantity of earth slipping. The retorthouse and manager's room were driven in, and a part of the battery-house. No injury had been done to the battery itself, and the accident, we are glad to say, will not stop the crushing operations. The retort-house can be put into working order in a few days. At Tookey's tramway, several landslips of small extent have taken place, and at one place a tree had fallen across it. No serious damage has, however, been done. We have not heard that any accident has occurred to the embankments or other works connected with the new tramway in the Moanatairi, or at any of the other creeks. Uwing to the tides not having been so high as at the last rainfall, there was not so much inconvenience experienced at Grahamstown as on that occasion. We anticipate that all the lands about Ohinemuri must have been flooded, and probably loss will have been caused at the sawing stations on the peninsula by logs having been floated out to sea.

One of the most disastrous accidents we have had occasion to report since the opening of this gold-field, occurred yesterday morning at about half-past twelve o'clock, causing, we are sorry to say, the death of three persons—a man, woman, ami child. The accident occurred at a time when unfortunately very little assistance could be procured, although in this instance the most effectual and speedy aid would not probably have saved life. The cottage which was the scene of the unfortunate occurrence, was situated on a rather exposed position, en the ridge of Canadian Gruliy, Moanatairi, within about a hundred yards of the Victoria battery, near the junction of the roads leading Irom the Junction Hotel and Victoria battery to the Eureka claim, the Bendigo claim, and the entrance to Canadian Cully. The cottage or whare was situated on the Gold en Terrace claim, and was occupied by a man named Cordon and his wife and child, and a mate of his, named John M'Leod, tho last three of whom were the unfortu nate victims of the accident. It appears that about 12.30 a.m., while it was rainin» heavily, Cordon, who was the only person awake at the time, heard some noise, and put on part of his clothes for the purpose of going out to ascertain the cause. As the moon was in the sky, he was able to see that the mass of ground above the house was beginning to give way. Cordon rushed to the door to awake those in the house, but was unfortunately too late, being met by the whole back portion of the building, which had been crushed in by the weight of earth, together with part of the kauri tree, which fell on the house. The unfortunate man, seeing the destruction with which his wife and child were overwhelmed, rushed for assistance to the houses near. A number of men in a few minutes were at work, and the bodies of the inmates were soon recovered. Information was aLo sent to the police at Grahamstown, and constable M'Williams and two of the men under his charge, together with Dr. Lewis, at once proceeded to the spot. It was found that nothing could be done to restore animation to any of the sufferers. It was evident, when the bodies were exhumed, that death must have been instantaneous, and must have been cause by suffocation. The features in all the three had not undergone the slightest alteration, the expression being quite calrc, as if they had not even been awoke by the noise. Of course the features are blackened in such u manner as would have been caused by suffocation, but there no further marks on the faces of any of the sufferers. It appears, however, that M'Leod sustained severe inju'i-'s to his chest by the fall of the tree to which we have beforo alluded, although in all probability he never felt it. The woman also was injured, but the child appears not to have been crushed or bruised in any way. A piece of the wall paper was found on its face, as if it had fallen off the wall at the time of the occurrence. The bodies when taken out wero at once conveyed to the house of a relation, which was situated close by, and afterwards were taken to the Junction Hotel, near the Victoria Battery. A great many persons who visited the scene of the accident yesterday were of opinion that if an ordinary amount of caution had been used the accident might have been escaped, but in our opinion the -site o n which tho cottage was si tuated was apparently as seiure as a great many others which whole families are at present occupying on the ranges. The slip appears to have been caused by a crack created by the dry weather, which the water of Saturday's rain worked into and carried off the bed-rock, bringing with it the roots of a heavy kauri tree. An inquest was held at the Junction Hotel, Grahamstown, on the 21st instant, and the bodies sent up to Auckland by the John Penn for intermont.