12 
Fatal accidents. Dealing first with the fatal accidents of the year under review, it will he 
seen (vide Statement No. 1) that the two first victims owed their deaths to that 
most prolific source of danger to the miner — falls of earth. In the first case 
(that of a Chinese named Sun Gip), the victim and his mate (who escaped) were 
alone to blame, they having neglected the necessary precautions; but in the second 
case, that of an unmarried man named Thomas Worthington, the accident by which 
he lost his life was one of those against which human foresight can apparently make 
no provision. But while perfect immunity from accidents is not attainable, either in 
gold-mining or in any other pursuit, it is a lamentable fact, often commented upon, 
that the miner, whose occupation is one of the most hazardous, is, beyond all com¬ 
parison, the least careful in plying his avocation. Every Annual Report of the 
Department has furnished melancholy proof of this, and the present one is no excep¬ 
tion to the rule, no less than 49 of the accidents herein recorded being entirely 
attributable to recklessness or neglect on the part of the sufferers themselves. 
mis of earth. Falls of earth and rock underground and on the surface were the immediate 
causes of 21 deaths, or 51 *22 per cent, of the whole. At least seven of these fatalities 
were traceable to neglect. In one case (accident No. 21) the most ordinary precautions 
were omitted to be taken, and the verdict at the magisterial inquiry into the cause of 
the death of the victim was that “ deceased met his death by gross carelessness whilst 
following his avocation as a miner.” In another case (accident No. 104) two miners 
had w oiked in an old shaft for some time, but, finding no gold, they resolved to 
abandon it. One of them, however, was unwilling to allow the slabs which supported 
the sides of the shaft to remain, and he struck them several times with his pick with 
a view of removing them, when the bottom of the shaft caved in, completely smother¬ 
ing the unfortunate man, whose body was not recovered for two days. 
^down shafts. Six deaths occurred through falls of men down shafts, three of which were the 
result of carelessness. In one instance (accident No. 24) the victim was knowingly 
acting in direct opposition to a rule of the mine when he met his death. This rule 
required that the men should ascend the shaft by means of the ladders provided 
for the purpose ; but instead of doing so, three miners (of whom the deceased was 
one) got on the edge of a bucket for the purpose of being raised to the surface. 
W hen about 20 feet from the bottom, it is supposed that the deceased fainted, lost his 
hold, and fell down the shaft. The two survivors were prosecuted and fined. In 
anothei case (accident h*o. 52) death resulted through the carelessness of some 
unknown person other than the deceased. This person, who, it is to be regretted, 
could not be identified, acted in direct contravention to rule 7, section 8 of the Act, in 
not replacing a bar which he had temporarily removed from the entrance to the . 
shaft. 
Tills of materials 
down shafts 
and winzes. 
Only one death from a fall of material down a winze occurred last year. 
The accident referred to (number 83 on list) was the result of indiscretion on the 
part of the deceased, who incautiously ascended a winze without conveying any 
intimation to the trucker. The latter, unaware of the presence of any person hi the 
winze, tipped a load of quartz into it, causing the instant death of the unfortunate 
victim. 
•cage accidents. Out °f eleven cage accidents which occurred last year, only one resulted 
fatally. In 1883 ten deaths occurred through this cause, and six in 1882. The death 
which occurred last year—that of a miner named Thomas Roberts—was caused by a 
