THE QUARRY FATALITY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5022, 3 September 1926, Page 2

THE QUARRY FATALITY.

PARTICULARS AT THE INQUEST.

VERDICT OF ACCIDENTAL DE.VTH.

A coronial inquiry into the circumstances of the accident at the Paeroa metal quarry on Tuesday morning, result!.iy in the death ot Samuel Thomas. Silcock, was held at the Courthouse, Paeroa, on Wednesday afternoon, before Mr F. E. Flatt district coroner. M r E. Edwards watched the proceedings on behalf of the relatives, Mr M. Paul represented the Mines Department, and Senici-Ser-geant D. A. Maclean conducted the inquiry.

The following jury were impanelled: B. Gwilliam (foreman). VA Me ufiav. E. S. Masters, W. Burning, L. A. Niven, and Thomas Grant. Frederick W. A. Douglas, carpenter, Te Arolia’ stated that he had seen the body that morning and had identified it as that of Jeei.nued whe was a married man, aged about 46 yeais, quarry foreman, residing at Paeroa. Gilbert T. Smit a medical practitioner, Pa.eroa, said that at about 10 a.m. on Tuesday he was called to an accident at the metal quarry. He found the deceased had been seriously injured. A partial examination was made which disclosed i fracture of the thigh bone, fractured pelvis, se.vere crushing of the genital organs, injuries to the shou’der, and giushed right foot. His condition gave every indication of severe internal injuries. In his opinion death would have, resulted from shock following the accident. From the outset the case was a hopeless one, and he was suipriseo to learn that deceased hud reached the hospital alive.

In answer tot the police witness s>a,id that it was impossible to do anything for the deceased, under the. circumstances, and it was desirable that he should be got into hospital as quickly as, possible.

The, inquiry was then adjourned while the jury visited the quarry.

On resuming, Harry Arthur Julian, part lessee of the quarry a.t Paeroa, stated that deceased had been employed as, foreman. Witness, said that he did not hold a quarry manager’s certificate, but was aware that deceased hejd one and wa.s an old, experienced quarryman. Witness said that although not actually in the pit when the accident occurred he was .not far away. He reached the, scene within a few minutes of the. crash and assisted in the work of extricating the man. It was the duty of deceased to see that the quarry was. safe to work. The quarry was examined every day by the deceased to ascertain its- safety. Prior to the accident the.pi; had been cleaned out o'f boulders and metal that had been blasted out three weeks ago. The loose meta) nad.beeh cleared oait past the rock which had caused the accident. The debris that wasnow in the pit had since come down from the top.- The rock that caused the accident was situated on the right-hand side of the face. He saw the facing, and was in the pit shortly before the accident. There wa; no indication tha,t that rock, or any other part, was likely to fall. In his opinion the fall had been caused by rain getting down behind the rock-face, through clay reams, ca tsi tr, it to slip. The face had been examined since the, accident, and the piece that had slipped had been surrounded by solid rock and he would say that the site was quite, safe. It was impossible to foresee that the slip was likely to occur where it had.

To Mr Paul witness said that he was quite sure deceased made’d regular inspection, and to the best of his belief it was made da.ily. Deceased had be.en working as foreman for him for about six months, and was a thoroughly capable and reliable man. There had been several unexpected falls of stone previously which had been due. to wet weather. There had never been any compliijnts from the employees that the quarry was-unsafe to work. Boulders had never fallen from the top of the quarry during the clearing of strippings. The. clay in the face now exposed was not visible when clearing had been done previously. Deceased was a competent and reliable man in every respect. The; weight of the rock that fell on deceased would be about 12 to 15cwt. To the foreman of the jury witness said that the sloping shelf which now appeared did not show up before the slip. The height of the slip would be from Bft to 9ft from the floor of the quarry.

To Mr Edwards witness said that he was actually the boss, and the men Would work where hq instructed them to It was by his instructions that the work was. being carried out in the pit, subject to the approval of deceased. The employees were covered by insurance.

Tb the coroner witness that the men had never been pushed at their jobs or asked or expected to take any risks. Safety first had always been the keynote of carrying out the work.

To Mr Paul witness said that when previous falls had occurred they had frequently come down during the night, or when the men were, not working. If there was an indication of a fall showing during the day it was cleared by explosives-. Explosives for firing were generally used during the luncheon hour, or after knock-off time at night. Care was taken to ensure that employees- were always well outside the danger zone when shots were fire.d. Deceased had been "working for wages, and thei'e w'as ho inducement to push the work or take undue risks.

John J. G. Patterson, quarry worker. Paeroa, said that he was working with deceased when the accident occurred. He detailed the slipping of the rock. When falling the stone was about three, tons in Weight. It struck the wheel of a dray, broke the axle, and then broke into three pieces, one of which struck and pinned the deceased. It took six men, with the aid of a timber jack and cilow-bars, to remove the stone from the body of the deceased. There. w.as, nothing at all to indicate tha.t the face was dangerous, or that a slip was likely. He did not see how the accident cohld have been avoided. To Mr Paul witness s-aid he had hot the least suspicion that the; face was

unsafe. He considered the deceased was a very careful and capable quar-

ryman. Frederick J. Richards, labourer, who was working with deceased when the accident oiccurred, corroborated the evidence of the previous- witness. To Mr Paul witness said that he was quite satisfied with the inspections that were made for the safety of the employees. There was plenty of room on the fa.ee for deceased to' have escaped had he seen the slip coming.

1 J. R. Cootes, labourer, who was working near deceased at the time of the accident, gave similar evidence. This concluded the evidence, and after a brief retirement the jury returned the verdict that deceased died from shock following injuries received in the Paeroa quarry and caused by a fall of stone on August 31, 1926, the circumstances being unforeseen, and no blame being attachable to anyone. Tn thanking the jury the. coroner said that he fully agreed with the verdict returned.