Morning shift at Martha No 2
Sam Paul, chamberman, responsible for the movement of miners and material in mine cages, had gone down with the men of Waihī’s Martha mine day shift on November 12, 1901.
Sam managed the No 2 shaft between levels 6 and 7. On reaching No 6 level he took hold of the signal rope. As he gave the last ring to send the cage up with the men going off shift, he heard the terrible noise of a billy rattling, then a heavy thud. Seconds later a miner named Delaney, cutting a fuse in No 7 level, heard something falling down the shaft. He took a step away, and at the same time felt a blow on the back of his leg from a man’s boot heel.
Sam Paul shouted “man gone down the shaft!” Joseph Rollands scoffed in disbelief, commenting that Sam Paul was mad. But it was all too true – the men in No 7 level whistled, indicating that a man was lying at the bottom of the shaft, having fallen a distance of 110 feet.
The man was 36-year-old Irishman Jeremiah ‘Jerry’ Sullivan from Kihikihi where he lived with his wife, Emily, and their three-year-old child. He was brought up to the surface and Dr Grattan Guinness called. Death had been almost instantaneous.
The accident was inexplicable. The bar in front of the shaft was down and no one had seen Jerry lift it. In fact no one had seen him after he left the cage, except Sam who only saw him turn in the direction of the compartment. The usual lights were burning and the men were busy lighting their candles. It was surmised that Jerry got out on the wrong side of the cage, turned round, lifted the bar and deliberately walked into space thinking that the cage was there to walk over. Perhaps not seeing very well, just coming from the glaring sunlight, he had miscalculated the distance, and mistook the shaft for the gangway entrance.
At the inquest William Black, night shift chamberman swore that he had put the bar down across the shaft entrance. He had previously put bars in their proper position after men left them up by mistake. It was suggested gates, in the place of bars, would be a better protection against similar accidents. Sub-Mining Inspector Ryan stated gates got in the way when taking timber down the shaft, but admitted they would be safer than bars. If the suggestion to light chambers by electricity was enforced, it would be a heavy cost to the mining company. The jury found that Jerry was accidentally killed by falling down the shaft and added the rider that the chambers were insufficiently lighted.
Jerry had hard luck lately, breaking an arm, which incapacitated him for many weeks. He was just getting on his feet again. Accompanied by his widow, child, sister, nephew, and brother-in-law, he was taken to Rangiaowhia where he was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery.
Morning shift at Martha No 2: Miners descending shaft in cage, December 1900
