The Late Fatal Accident.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4733, 8 March 1884, Page 2

The Late Fatal Accident.

The man George Hill, whose body was found at the mouth of the Tararu Creek yesterday afternoon, was a shingle splitter. UroTa the statement* mad© by his son and 'two others, for no one saw him swept I away, it appears that he must hare been trying to remote his shingles, which were I close to the creek bed, out of the reach of ' the torrent, and while thus engaged could not hare noticed a mass of wood, which was observed by the other witnesses, com" ing dowu the creek. This must have swept him away, for after it passed no sign of him could be found. COEONEB'S INQUEST. An inquest was held at Tonkin's Hotel, Tararu, at 11 o'clock this morning, before J. Kilgour, Esq., (Coroner), and the following jury :—D. E. Gellion (Chairman), G. Bone, W. Tregoweth, W. J. Claxton, C. Curtis, junr., M. Maroney, D. Barty, J. Doran, H. Thompson, J. G. Creigh, G. Symington, W. Mitchell, T. God kin, and W.Dunn.

After the jury had reviewed the body, evidence was heard as follows : —

(3-eorge Hill, son of* the deceased, deposed—He and his father went to work yesterday at the head of the Tararu tramway. They were working together; about 12 o'clock witness left his father and went to get his dinner. When witness left, his father was sawing billets, about 8 or 9 feet from the creek, and so far as he knew, there was no reason for his going nearer the creek. Witness was away about a quarter of an hour; when he returned the creek was considerably swollen, and was running strongly over the place where his father was working when he left. Wot seeing his father, witness and another boy searched'for him for two hours, and then came to tho conclusion that he had been swept away. He identified the body as that of his father.

John Mahe'r deposed that yesterday afternoon between three and four o'clock he saw an object in the water at the month of the creek, about a hundred yards from the beach. v He first took it for a sheep, but seeing a man's head and hand, he knew it was a human body and walked out and dragged it ashore. The body was much mutilated. The only clothing on the body was one b,oot. Word was conveyed to, the police, who soon arrived, and took charge of the body, which he identified as that of Qoprge Hill.

The police staN that }t wafe iuteu<M

to call a witness named Farley, but owing to the bridges having carried away, he could not attend. His evidence would be merely corroborative. Without retiring the jury returned a verdict of " Accidental drowning."