THAMES RAILWAY FATALITY.
MAN AND WOMAN KILLED. Walter Miller and a Maori woman named Piri Hire te Pere were caught by the late train from Te Aroha to Thames on Saturday night and mangled to death on the line near Kauaeranga bridge. Both parties lived at Totara, two miles from Thames, and it is assumed that they were using the railway bridge as a short cut.
When the train arrived at Grahamstown station, thenight driver (Fisher) examined the engine, and was astonished to see a man's hat above the cow-catcher. Making a close examination, he was horrified to find the framework spattered with blood, while hair and portions of flesh were adhering to other parts of the front portion of the engine. He at once reported the matter to the stationmaster.
In the meantime Charles Gibbons and McArthney, of Kopu, who were walking along the line, discovered the mutilated body of the woman on the railway bridge. Gibbons and McArthney returned to the Thames, and informed Constable Beddek to the occurrence. The officer communicated with headquarters, but by this time the search for the body had commenced. Examination of the locality showed that the couple had either accomplished the crossing of the bridge in safety, or had almost reached the other side of the river, for Miller's body was found almost on the edge of the bank. Whether the woman had been struck after she had crossed, and her body dragged along the sleepers, or whether she had not actually crossed when she was met by the engine, no one can say. The former is the most feasible supposition. It is not thought that Miller would have crossed first and allowed the woman to lag behind. At the inquest no fresh evidence was adduced, except that a parcel was found on the bridge above where the man's body was discovered. From there a blood-stained track led to where the woman's body was found on the railway line showing that the man was struck down, and killed, instantly, his body being hurled into the river, and that the woman's body was carried by the train for some distance.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19120110.2.22
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 429, 10 January 1912, Page 5
Word count
Tapeke kupu
357THAMES RAILWAY FATALITY. King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 429, 10 January 1912, Page 5
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Waitomo Investments is the copyright owner for the King Country Chronicle. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Waitomo Investments. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.