TERRIBLE COLLIERY EXPLOSION IN OTAGO.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5586, 22 February 1879, Page 3

TERRIBLE COLLIERY EXPLOSION IN OTAGO.

BaU’LUTHA, Friday. Between 8 and 0 o’clock this morning the gas in the Kaitangata Coal Company’s mine exploded. A boy named Edward Dunn, at the time of the explosion, was entering the drive with his horse, and they were blown about fifty yards clear of the pit mouth. The boy was killed instantly, and there are thirty-six men inside the pit, none of whom have yet been reached, although every effort is being made to get at them. Immediately upon the explosion, Mr. Griffin, the station master despatched an engine for Dr. Smyth, who reached the scene of the accident within 15 minutes. Great excitement prevails. Seven bodies have been recovered from the mine. No hope is entertained of any being alive. All efforts are being used to obtain the remaining men. Those engaged in the drive are suffering from foul air and exhaustion, and when brought out are in a semi delirious state. The bodies of Thomas Black, Geo. Jarvie, Thomas Trcw, and Caleb Beardsmore have been recovered. All arc buried with the exception of Black. Since 1.20 no bodies have been recovered, owiug'to the foul air existing in the drive. Robt. Hogg, Mayor of Balclutha, telegraphed at 1.20, and offered to send the Corporation workmen, if necessary. They were not required. The bodies of D. Lockhart, D. Buchanan, Jno. Thomas Molloy, John Molloy, senr., Jas. Beardsmore, senr., William Winney, 11 Hull, Joseph Beardsmore, Joseph Moltou, Hall (brother of B. Hall), Barney McGee, Jno. Gaining, and Win. Hodge have been recovered.

1 p.m.—One more dead body has been got out. The rescuers are working hard, but experience great difficulty from firedamp. Several of them have been canied out senseless. The bodies are being conveyed_ to Jenkins’ new hotel by Constable Warring. 3.22 p.m.—Ten men have now been taken out of the pit. There were 33 in the mine, and there is hardly any hope of the others being found alive.

Several of the men in the mine arrived by the Wellington on Monday, and started work yesterday. About twenty of the missing miners are married, A number of the men engaged in driving for the bodies have been taken ill from suffocation and exhaustion, and when brought out of the mine appear in a semidelirious state for about twenty minutes. Great difficulty was experienced at first to get those engaged in the drive to work on shifts. Some of them persistently continued until they were completely exhausted, but now they are working systematically. A special train left Dunedin for Kaitangata at four o’clock, and in passing through the Green Island Coal district picked up twenty-three miners, who willingly responded to an appeal to proceed to Kaitangata to assist to disentomb those shut up in the pit. Later.—Thirty-one bodies have been recovered. Three are still inside ; it is expactsd they will be got to-night. Fire damp is bad still. The rescuers are carried out iusensibla at times. FULLER PARTICULARS. At Kaitangata, at about 9 o’clock, a dull, long report was heard by those working at the place where the coal is loaded outside. The men were working some 250 feet away, fortunately. The first tiling they saw was a cloud of dust, which came cut of the mines at the mouth of the bay. Edward Duun, who is supposed to have been outside the entrance of the mine, was blown a distance of about 150 ft. lie lived for about five miuutes, but was never sensible. The horse was blown nearly the same distance, and though still alive, is of course seriously injured. Mr. William Barn was the first to run to the township for hands, but the people having heard the report met him on the road. Nearly everyone in the township was at the mine’s mouth iu a few minutes. Men, women, and children were all gathered at the mine’s mouth, and the scene was some■thing awful. The air was filled with lamentations of women. It was also found the air was :so had that no entrance could be effected. Those who went in took Davy’s safety lamps, hut as these were becoming extinguished the rescuers had to return. The first four who went in were Mr. Wm. Shore, manager of the adjoining miuo, Johu Shore, Michael Henncssy, and James Muir. The party got in ns far as the first point, when the main tunnel was choked with smoke, and they could not get any farther. They got the body of the boy Charles McDonald, of Green Island, who was found nearly two hundred yards from the mine mouth. They had to como back in order to get their lamps. This corpse was found in the main drive. As he and the boy who was killed outside were the only two who received any fractures, it is supposed that he was down some distance. The following is the roll of the dead Sami. Coulter; leaves five children—one boy of 13 able to work ; girl, in Dunedin, about 12; all the rest are young. He is an .aged man, and arrived lately from Scotland in ‘the ship Taranaki. David Buoliauau, about 27, leaves a wife and two young children ; is son-in-law of Coulter’s, and is a new arrival. William Watsou, about 40, levves his father-in-law, who is a very old man, and four children, the eldest of whom is about nine years. James Spiers leaves eight children, the oldest ten years and the youngest four months. Andrew Jarvie, an elderly man, leaves eight children and three grown up girls at service. Spiers, Jarvie, and Arch. Hodge, the lastnamed of whom is deputy manager, are still iu the mine. Arch. Hodge is unmarried. His ■brother, A. Hodge, general manager, aged about 35, single man, is among the dead. Ohas. ;Smith, between 35 and 40, leaves a wife and ■five children, all young and unable to work. ■Barney McGee, married man, about 40, 'wife and three children, unable to work. •John Gage, wife and three of family, all young ■children. George Jarvie, wife and two young ■children. Several of the dead men’s wives ■have not only young children but are also near ‘their confinement. Wm. Wheuney, a young 'man, leaves a wife and two children. James Beardsmore, large family, five of whom are ■•grown up and unmarried, and three of whom are Tittle children. Joaesh Beardsmore, brother of last man, acting foreman of mine, leaves wife and grown-up daughter and two sons. Edward Beardsmore, youug married man,son of Jamrs Beardsmore, leaves wife and two children. Caleb Beardsmore, son-in-law of James Beardsmore, leaves wife and three young children, James Beardsmore, jun,, son of James Beardsmore, already mentioned, young man, unmarried. One old man and a boy, a son of Jos. Beardsmore, and ths only one grown up of the families now remaining alive. The old man is the late Caleb Beardmore’s father. In all five bread-winners of the Beardsmore family are among the dead. Jas. Molloy, an elderly man, and his sons John, aged 18, and Edward, aged .16. Mrs. Molloy, who is a woman about 60, has thus lost husband and sons, and has not a relative here. James Cruston leaves a wife and three children. He was a youug man about 25. Clark, late nf Green Island, was roadman in the mino. His wife, sons, and daughters came up by the afternoon train. John Ferguson leaves a wife 'and five young children, the eldest about seven years of age. Charles Macdonald, son of Johu Macdonald, pony driver, aged about 14. Edward Duun, son of George Dmm, a hawker, who is well known in up-country districts, was a boy of about 15 years. Williau Wilson, late of Green Island, and nephew of the Sampson’s, of ■Green Island, leaves a wife and four children, all young. William Hay, a young man, unmarried, who has no relatives iu Kaitangata, but has a sister and brother in the colony ; bis married sister, Mrs Hardie, is the wife of .a baker, of Green Island. John McMillan '■Was a young married man; he leaves a wife and four children, the eldest of whom is about six years; Mrs, McMillan’s only relative in the colony is a brother at Green Island, who came to Kaitangata this evening. Thomas Frew, middle-aged man; he leaves a wife and five children residing in Dunedin; two of them are grown daughters, who, I bear, are working iu a factory there. Thomas Black, elderly single man, of about 40 years, no relatives in district, —he once had lease of coal quarry at Levels. Two Welshmen, newly arrived from Homo, whose names I cannot ascertain. Daniel Lockhart, a young man, unmarried, brother-in-law to Hunter, another workman iu the mine. Hunter was to have been at work to-day, but overslept himself, and did not go to the mine till after the explosion. The last of the list of fatalities is Joseph Moulton, who leaves a wife and child. In all there are thirty-four dead, and of all the strong men, nearly everyone of whom was in his prime, who went into the* mine this morniug, not one remains alive to tell how the accident occurred. It was sight sad as anyone could see, and enough to affect the most insensible, to see the dead men brought out one by one from the mine and placed on stretchers ■which had been hurriedly knocked together, covered with sacks, and then put on the railway bj whichthey were conveyed to theßridge Hotel. This is a new building on the site of one that •was lately burnt, and is as yet unfinished and

unoccupied. In the commercial room and parlour of that house, while I write at nine o'clock, some thirty-one men who were in their strength this morning are now stiff in death. Of this number hardly one has the ghastly appearance we usually associate with death. The two young fellows who had the horses were battered about the head, having been blown some distance. All the rest, with the brown dust of the coal still on their faces and clothes, were as calm as if they lay in sleep. Alfred Dnnn, brother of the deceased boy, and sou of the hawker, was blown a good distance from outside the tunnel without being hurt. The flight of sticks and stones at the time of the explosion was tremendous, and a thick green smoke like a London fog hung like a pall over the tunnel mouth for about ten minutes. It was this smoke, more than the noise of the report, which attracted general attention. The air was very calm at the time the machinery stopped, and a rush was made for the pit. Four who went in first soon found from the indications of their safety lamps that it would he suffocation to go in further, aud had to return ; they got about 150yds.being about as far as the air shaft. Regarding the mine, which 1 have been through on a former occasion, it may bo mentioned that it is entered by a main drive or tunnel. The workings riso as they penetrate the hill, so that while the mine can be worked advantageously as regards the putting out of coal and facilities of drainage, the fall, which carries out water and aids haulage of coal, causes foul air to accumulate in the upper end of the mine. The ventilation has to travel all round the mine and come back to the air shaft, which is situate at a point about 150 yards from the mouth of the mine. The workings extend back about 500 yards from the entrance, and 350 yards from the air shaft. One of the horses was completely singed. The greater part of the miners were killed to all appearances by the explosion itself. They had escaped the firedamp, and were raakingfor the mouth of mine, when they were overpowered by the after-damp, as the miners call the foul atmosphere which remains after an explosion. Borne of them must have run from one to two hundred yards before they fell. At one point thirteen bodies were found in one heap. Regarding the cause of the explosion, there is nothing yet known stronger than surmise. It is thought that the origin of the explosion can bo pretty definitely fixed when the place in which Arch. Hodge’s body is lying has been ascertained. The men worked with naked bodies. They all carried the usual small collier’s lamp upon the peak of their cans. The gas lias lately been increasing a good deal in the mine. There was a slight explosion last night in the mine when the men were employed on the night shift. The matter was reported in due course this morning to the foreman, who considered that the mine was in good working order. He was one of the Beardsmores, and paid for his error iff judgment with his life and the lives of nearly all his relatives. There have been several other small explosions of firedamp lately, hut these were liable to happen at almost any time, and no fear of general danger was apprehended, so far as they were concerned. This explosion is of course the first colliery explosion on an extensive scale in New Zealand. The present surmise among those who know best was that Archibald Hodge was in the waste workings in the highest part of the mine, where the fault is, when the explosion occurred. It is surmised that Mr. Hodge was making an inspection, and that his light caused the explosion. Where his body will be found will determine that. The greater number of the men were found about 300 yards in front of the mouth. The explorers have gone through all the workings, but could not get into the hack draught drive when I left the mouth of the mine at about uine o’clock. The Greeu Island men were in the mine driving fre-h air into that part of the mine. Air was first got into the workings about three o'clock, aud it took half an hour after that to drive out the foul atmosphere before the rescuers could make any progress in exploring. The men worked hard, peraeveringly, and continuously, with energy, from the time of the explosion to get the foul air turned out, but owing to what is called the brathee aud the air stopping having been blown out, they could not do much for some time, although numerous tradesmen in the town and men not miners working in the locality boldly entered into the mine, and assisted the few miners. The want of skilled men was greatly felt; but few miners remained alive in Kaitangata after this dreadful occurrence, the day shift being the main shift, only four or five men working at night. Tlio men who deserve honorable mention for their perilous task of bringing out the dead bodies are Messrs. Knowles, W. Atcheson, G. Hunter, W. Love, jun., Daniel Taylor, W. Bain, and some others whose names I cannot in this confusion ascertain. The adjoining works also supplied volunteers, notably Mr. W. Shore, (who is the manager), James Wilson, James McLellan, John Shore, Thomas Rowley, Robert Bennie, and Richard Morton. The kindness of the people to their neighbors in distress is really tender. In some of the private houses beds were made up on floors and in every available part for poor women aud children who could not pass their husbaudless and fatherless houses. Numbers of the volunteers in the mine were carried out fainting during the day. Though it is hard to make distinctions, special praise deserves to be given to Mr. Shore, of Shore’s pit, who was in the mine nearly all day, coming out only four times. Some of those brougiit out were a little delirious. I have just found out that Hall is the name of the two men whose names I could not previously ascertain. They have wives aud large families, and had only just arrived, they were English, not Welsh. I have not counted up the number of children left fatherless, but am just told they number about 100. I have to give my thanks to Mrs. Wm. Shore, who helped me very greatly to get particulars of the number of children in families, and Mrs. Owens, wife of the local telegraphist, who kindly gave me the use of her room for writing out my notes, also Mr. Henry MoColl, of Wangaloa, who helped me in my searches. The last time I saw many of the strong, stalwart fellows, now stiff, was when the Morning Herald was introduced at Kaitangata, and I well remember their generous and hearty sympathy with the staff of that paper, there being scarcely a miner who did not take it.