AN INQUEST

Hokitika Guardian, 19 August 1930, Page 1

AN INQUEST

THE GOLDEN TRAGEDY

GREYMOUTH, August 19,

An inquest was held yesterday by Coroner Meldrum on Richard Comerford, who was killed at the Cobden on Thursday, August 14. Sergeant Smyth conducted the case for the Police, Mr AY. J. Joyce represented the relatives of the deceased, Mr F. A. Kitchingham represented the Harbour Board and Mr E. J. Scoble, the Mines Department.

Lengthy evidence was given including that of John Joseph Lenihan, manager of the Quarry, stated that he was present when the deceased met his death. The latter, with Rawcliff, Williams and Cairnev, were preparing heavy stones for haulage to the bottom. At 2.45 p.m. Rawcliffe fired three shots. When they were being discharged.' Cnirney, and -Williams stood on a ledge, and deceased and Rawcliffe were about feet behind the shots, and .'stood near the “rib” of the quarry. This appeared to be quite a safe place, but the shots loosened more country thnn was expected, and the debris, in travelling to the bottom caught deceased, and buried him, his body being recovered some time later. A\ ltness did not see the. actual incident. When shots of any size were being fired, the. men took shelter, and witness stopped traffic on the road, and warned the- adjacent, residents. H .he thought that one of the men had not taken -adequate shelter, witness wpuld tell him to go to some other place. He did not see the shelter deceased and Rawcliffe had taken, from his position below. That day the men had worked, cleaning the muck and debris from around a stone, 80 to 100 tons in weight. After this was done, the men placed a sling around the stone and attached a rope leading from it. to a 15 ton crane. Three separate pulls were given ai the stone, by the crane, without success. Witness then told Rawcliff and Oomerford to find a crevice, at the toe of the stone. They found three and witness decided to put some gelignite in. The three crevices were prepared, twenty-five small plugs being put in one. twenty in another and fourteen in another. The shots were discharged by Rawcliff., who had witess’s authority to do so. Witness inspected the quarry every morning before work was started. He was with the,other men who were working on the face. Comerford as a good quarrymnn, and nil excellent worker.

To Mr Kitehingham :He hsul been manager of the quarry for five year*, and had actually heon in charge of quarries for sixteen years, and also had worked in a quarry at Cape Foulwind. The vertical wall of the quarry went up a great height. The width of the ledge where Williams and Ga-ir-ney wore standing, would he about twenty feet. Where deceased was standing, was three feet away from the ledge, and Kawcliff was about Bft. away. Witness was on the floor of the quarry. All the usual precautions had been takes, and he did not dream that the accident would o'-cur. Both , deceased and IlawclifE were sensible men, and it was purely an accident, that Comer ford was killed., as the shots took more away than was anticipated . At the conclusion of the evidence the Coroner returned the following verdict:—That deceased came to his death at Cohden Quarry, on August 14, from suffocation and bodily inquiries, caused by an unexpected fall of a mass of debris, following a- firing of three shots, in a stone at the foot of the slope of the quarry. The usual precautions for the safety of the men appear to have been taken by the manager of the quarry before the shot was fired, and deceased, and Raweliff, who had prepared the shots appear to have taken a position, in what they bqlieved was a safe place.