DUNEDIN.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3844, 25 April 1881, Page 2

DUNEDIN.

Sunday.

Another Serious Tramway , ■■, Accident. . '

An accident of a most alarming character, resulting in the injury of twelve persons, one of whom is almost certain to die,occurred at half-past eleven o'clock last night on Eoslyn the tramway. Eoslyn is a suburb situated on the hill above Dunedin, and the tramway was started about four months ago. It is worked by an endless wire rope, to which carriages are attached by gripper carriages, which are provided with breaks supposed to be powerful enough to bring carriages to a standstill whenever applied. List night, the last car started up Eattray street for Roslyn, and proceeded some six hundred yards up a gradient of about 1 in 16, when something went wrong with the gear. The general statement is that a man in charge of a break put it off instead of on, and, before he could rectify his mistake the carriage commenced to ruu down the hill, attaining such a speed as it rushed down the incline, that all efforts to stop it by means of the break were futile. Three men, Garriet, Spiers, and Stewart jumped off, the rest were unable to get out of the car, which reached the terminus at a fearful rate of speed, and broke through the heavy woodwork and three feet of metal road, and turned over on its side. At one moment ifc appeared probable it would dash across the footpath into the Crown Hotel. Plenty of assistance was at hand, and the car was righted and the injured men removed to the Shamrock Hotel. The following is the list :—Andrew Thompson (Thompson, Strange, and Co., drapers), cut and bruised ; John Strange, bruised and cut about face; Wm. Stewart, or Steward, bruised about the legs ; Thomas Harvey, 1 labourer, cut and bruised; Hosamond Johnson, slightly bruised ; Wm. Pearce, bruised and cut about the head ; Leckie, badly bruised —he was a long time insensible ; Pears, Post Office clerk, bruised, cut, and severely shaken ; Z. Mclntosh, bruised and shaken ; P. Hanna, very little hurt; J. Conway, bruised ; J. Garrett, skull dreadfully fractured —this case is considered hopeless; Hislop, cut and bruised. The three men who jumped off fared the worst. The car is greatly smashed about. The sufferers were at once attended by Drs Brown, Fergusson, Dezouche, Burrows, and McDonald. All but Garrett are doing well. Latek —This day. All the sufferers by the tram accident are progressing favourably. Garrett partially recovered consciousness, and the doctors think there is a possibility of his recovery. It was reported over the town that he had died, and in one of the churches a funeral sermon was preached.

(FJiOM A COBBESPONDENT.) Cosomandel, This day.