Gympie Mining Accidents – 1800s – Part 4

Whilst mine safety would have been at the forefront of most Gympie Mine Manager’s minds, there were many accidents in and around the mine shafts and quite a few proved to be fatal.  Each death was thoroughly investigated and the newspapers of the day published (sometimes in very graphic and detailed reports) the findings of the inquiries and these reports will be featured in a series of Blog posts with this one being Part 3.  You will find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

The miners are remembered on a Memorial on the Zig Zag Path in Gympie and the names featured in Part 2 are:  James ANGLIM; William WHITETHREAD; Thomas WRIGHT;  John MAHONEY; Thomas D’ARCY; William OUTRED; Daniel ROBERTSON; Frederick O’NEILL;

Fatal Mine Accidents Gympie 

ANGLIM, James (reported as Anglum)
Reports:
An accident, which has unfortunately; proved fatal, occurred on Friday night at the No. 6 South Monkland. As far as we can at present ascertain, the facts of the case are as follow :- A miner named Anglum had been engaged driving the shift in working on the 335 feet level ; another miner Con Dee, had fired a shot at a level about 30 feet above, and while the smoke was clearing away went to the lower workings. As soon as the smoke cleared away Dee and Anglum visited the upper workings, and. a portion of the roof of the drive falling on Anglum, occasioned the acccident, which was not at first considered of a very serious nature. An enquiry will be held to-day.
LOCAL AND GENERAL
Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 – 1919) Wednesday 4 April 1877
It seems that it was not considered necessary to hold a magisterial enquiry on Wednesday respecting the unfortunate accident which happened in the claim of the Glanmire and Monkland Co. on Friday, and which terminated fatally, the deceased Anglum having been perfectly conscious after the accident and it appearing by his own statement that no calpable blame was attributed to anyone.
LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.
Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 – 1919) Saturday 7 April 1877
We learn that a few friends who revere the memory of the miner Anglum who died recently from injuries received in claim No. 6 Monkland have collected the necessary funds to erect a headstone and set of iron railings over his grave.
LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.
Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 – 1919) Saturday 14 April 1877
Name: ANGLUM / Anglim, James
Mine: No. 6 South Monkland
Occupation: Miner
Born: 1840 Drangan County Tipperary Ireland
Died: 03/04/1877 Gympie Queensland

William WHITETHREAD
Another Fatal Mining Accident at Gympie.
A rumour was current in town yesterday morning (says the Gympie Times of last Saturday) that a miner named John O’Learv had come by his death through falling down a shaft on the Eastern Glanmire reef. On making inquiries we found that the report was incorrect in most of the particulars, the victim in the case being a man named William Whitethread, working in the Queenslander claim, situate some two and a-half miles on the Noosa road, of which claim John O’Leary is manager. It appears that after a few buckets of water had been bailed out of the shaft with the windlass, and some thrown down to disperse the bad air, the deceased was allowed to descend the shaft yesterday morning about 8 o’clock, although as the manager states he did not consider the air safe for anyone to do so, as a candle would not burn some distance from the bottom. Whitethread reached the bottom safely, a depth of about 110ft., and, probably finding the air very bad, began to ascend the ladders, breathing heavily all the time. When between 40ft. and 50ft. up he was overcome by the poisonous gas, and seen to fall backwards from the ladder. A very long interval elapsed ere assistance could be rendered to the unfortunate man, owing to the inadequate means of ventilation provided, the shaft being neither timbered nor centred. But in the meantime Dr. Ryan was sent for, and he arrived at the shaft a long time before the body was brought to the surface. Some bruises were sustained by the fall, but these were not of a serious character, the doctor describing the cause of death to be from inhaling the fumes of carbonic acid gas. The case is one which calls for the strictest inquiry, as there seems to have been culpable negligence in not having proper appliances for providing fresh air below for sustaining life. Deceased was a fine able-bodied man of extraordinary muscular development, and about 26 years of age; he has no friends or relatives on the field, and it is not known whether the poor fellow was a married or single man. He arrived about seven weeks since from New Zealand, of which colony he is said to have been a native.
Another Fatal Mining Accident at Gymple.
Warwick Argus (Qld. : 1879 – 1901) Saturday 11 February 1882

WRIGHT Thomas
Gympie.
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT)
One of those sad occurrences with which the mining mind becomes, alas too familiar, happened at the Phoenix Company’s Mine to-day. Thomas Wright, the pit-man, with his mate, were down feeding the pumps with water, with the object of inducing suction, and in some way, not yet made clear. Wright was caught, by an ascending cage, and. jammed to death in the shaft. His mate is understood not to be able to say how, exactly, the accident happened, there being some object impeding his vision between himself and Wright, which hid the latter from view, and it is rumored that he must have placed himself in a situation where he ought not to have been. How far the evidence in the inquiry, which is to be held on Monday, will bear out this statement remains to be seen. The miners in the claim seem satisfied that there is no blame attachable to the mine-owners or to the management The nearest solution of the matter is, that to avoid some water which would have fallen on him. Wright did not go on to a platform provided for persons attending to the pump, but remained in a part of the shaft where he was afterwards caught by the cage, as previously stated. Death was instantaneous. The deceased leaves a wife and four sons, the eldest 14 years of age, and the youngest four. He was a steady man and much respected.
Gympie.
Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947) Tuesday 24 September 1878

John MAHONEY
John Mahoney, an old and well-known resident on the field, had the misfortune to meet with a serious accident yesterday afternoon. While engaged in a drive at the 300 feet level in the 2 and 3 South Smithfield, in which mine he has been employed for some years, a scale of ground fell suddenly from one of the walls and struck him with such force as, besides crushing him severely about the body, to cause a fracture of his left leg, and also of his collar-bone. On being taken to the surface Dr. Small attended to the sufferer’s injuries, and ordered his removal to the hospital, where, on enquiry last night, we learnt he was doing as well as could be expected. It is imagined that Mahoney may possibly have at the same time sustained some internal injuries, but if so, it is considered unlikely that their nature will be ascertained for another day or two.
LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.
Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 – 1919) Tuesday 18 November 1884
John Mahoney, the miner who was hurt by a fall of rock in No. 2 and 3 Smithfield some short time back, succumbed to his injuries yesterday. His funeral takes place this afternoon, and will no doubt be largely attended, as he was respected by those who knew him.
GYMPIE. December 6.
Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947) Monday 8 December 1884

D’ARCY, Thomas
FATAL ACCIDENT AT GYMPIE.
We {Times, October 31st) have the unpleasant duty of recording another fatal accident in connection with No. 6 South Monkland. From what we can hear, Thomas D’Arcy and his mate, Y. Nicholls, were employed in stoping south at the 440 feet. level, and on Monday afternoon after firing a shot, a few minutes before the time for leaving work, went in to examine the face. D’Arcy’s mate began to work out the shot, whilst he himself remained standing at his side looking on and talking. Nicholls had been only a few minutes engaged when a piece of rock of two or three hundredweight fell from the hanging-wall directly upon poor D’Arcy, who it is needless to say was at once crushed underneath it. The alarm was immediately given, and the manager quickly had the injured man conveyed to the surface. When the poor fellow was examined his injuries were found to be more serious than at first anticipated. Besides a large wound in the head, it was discovered that his back was so seriously, injured that it was impossible for him to live. He was taken home, but, though remaining conscious to the last, expired about half-past eight in the evening, or three and a half hours after the accident. It may be remarked. that about two hours before this sad event occurred the manager had taken the trouble to examine the ground above where D’Arcy and his mate were working, and had given instructions to another miner to prepare hitches for putting in props for greater security, but neither he nor any of the men had any idea that danger was imminent. The deceased was a brother to Mr. Michael D’Arcy, a shareholder in the claim, and was much esteemed on the field generally.
FATAL ACCIDENT AT GYMPIE.
The Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 – 1934) Saturday 10 November 1877
Name: D’ARCY, Thomas
Mine: No. 6 South Monkland
Occupation: Miner
Born: 03/09/1850 Clare Ireland
Parents: Patrick D’Arcy & Johanna O’Donoghue
Arrival: unknown pre January 1863
Died: 29/10/1877 Gympie Queensland

William OUTRED
A MAGISTERAL inquiry was held yesterday at the Police Court into the cause of the accident which led to the death of William Outred, the contractor engaged in sinking the western shaft on the Lucknow Extended claim. Several witnesses were examined, including Richard O’Loughlan, mate of the deceased, Thomas Quinn. the lad who attended at the windlass, and Pritchard, the manager of the mine. The examination was conducted by Sergeant Walsh, but Mr. Fryar, Inspector of Mines, who was present in the Court, put some pertinent questions to some of the witnesses with reference to the manner in which the mine was conducted, and also on some technical matters connected with the mine; From the whole drift of the evidence it would appear that sufficient care had not been taken by the contractor in the conduct of operations, and there was not the requisite appliance or convenience for landing a heavy bucket on the brace, especially when one person only, and that person a boy, was engaged at the work. The evidence of the boy Thomas Quinn was to the effect that he landed the bucket containing a quantity of blunt steel with his right hand holding on to the windlass handle with his left, that he then took a portion of the drills out of the bucket and threw them over the heap towards the smithy, and while he was in the act of doing so the bucket tilted over and fell back into the shaft, and becoming detached from the hook fell to the bottom. Outred himself, while lying on his deathbed, is said to have acknowledged that he alone was to blame for the accident and its deplorable consequence, but Mr. Fryar, in his cross-examination of witnesses, endeavored to show that it devolved upon a manager of a mine to see that work in the mine was being carried on in a proper manner whether it was being done by a wages man or a contractor, and also that there were the necessary safeguards against the occurrence of accidents.
GYMPIE. March 11.
Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947) Wednesday 12 March 1884
Name: OUTRED, William Giles/Gyles
Mine: Lucknow Extended
Occupation: Contractor. Miner
Born: 07/1843 Milton, Gravesend, Kent, Eng.
Parents: John William Outred & Sarah Sophia nee Smither
Married: Elizabeth Foster (1845-1918) 24/10/1863 Brisbane Qld
Died: 03/03/1884 Gympie Qld

Daniel ROBERTSON
It is with great regret that we have to announce the death of the miner Daniel Robertson from the effects of the poisonous fumes caused by the combustion of dynamite which lately occurred in the Aurelia Company’s mine. Robertson’s apparent progress towards convalescence was most encouraging, so much so, that on Saturday and Sunday last he ventured to freely move about. On Monday, however, he relapsed and sank gradually during the night and at about noon yesterday breathed his last. His medical attendant (Dr. Ryan) considers the poor fellow’s conduct in moving about on Saturday and Sunday most injudicious, and ascribes, in fact, the fatal result of his illness to it. Robertson, we believe, had some friends at or near Ballarat and last week wrote them to say that he would soon be able to resume work. The noxious vapours which deceased inhaled are evidently a deadly slow poison, for it is a fortnight since the combustion took place. Napier, we are sorry to say, has also had a relapse, and late last night his condition was most precarious.
LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.
Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 – 1919) Wednesday 19 December 1877
After the death of young West, who was the first to succumb to the poison from the dynamite, it was generally anticipated that, as the other sufferers were progressing so favorably towards recovery, the worst was over, but on Monday last Robinson and Napier showed evident symptoms of a relapse, and a rumor was circulated that their lives were despaired of.
More Fatal Mining Accidents at Gympie. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] December 22.
The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 – 1939) Saturday 29 December 1877

Frederick O’NEILL
GYMPIE,
Fatal Accident. – A melancholy accident occurred during the forenoon of yesterday at the claim of the Glanmire and Monkland Company whereby a minor named Frederick O’Neill lost his life. O’Neill and another miner, named James Finnigan were working for the contractor (James Connors) in the Monkland or deep shaft, engaged drilling a hole, when a bucket suddenly fell from the 314 feet level and struck deceased on the crown of the head; inflicting a frightful gash and fracturing the skull. At the 314 feet level, which is about 60 feet from the bottom of the shaft, there is a drive in east to the reef; it seems that the bucket on being lowered opposite to the mouth of this drive was pulled in by a youth named Maxwell who proceeded to fill it, the Black rope, sufficiently long to reach to the bottom, being uncoiled down the shaft in the meantime. Maxwell states, we believe, that he had emptied one shovelful of dirt into the bucket and was about obtaining a second when the bucket capsized and fell as mentioned, the weight of the slack rope probably being the cause. Finnigan was not injured in any way. Deceased was taken to the surface as quickly as possible and Dr. Kennedy was sent for, but medical aid was unavailing, death taking place soon after the doctor’s arrival. The unfortunate man had been working in the shaft for only a week, having only recently come to Gympie from the Palmer. He has relatives residing in New Zealand, we hear. This is the third fatal accident that has to be recorded from this mine, and people are beginning to wonder whether there is some fatality connected with it, or whether these fatal occurrences are attributable to some avoidable cause. A Magisterial enquiry is to be held on Thursday, when it is to be hoped there will be a most searching investigation.
GYMPIE.
The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 – 1947) Saturday 6 June 1874

 These stories were compiled by Conny Visini and they appeared previously on our Facebook page.

Sources:  Trove; GFHS Record Collection;