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Story: Coal and coal mining

Deaths from mining at Denniston, 1869–1906

Date Mine Name Age Cause
3 February 1869 Mōkihinui ? Bismarck ? Coal barge capsized on Mōkihinui River. Reached bank then stepped into deep hole.
15 December 1881 Banbury William Hewitt 32 15 cwt of coal fell on head. Not noticed as missing for several hours.
15 August 1883 Banbury Daniel Wouldes 10 Riding truck up incline. Fell out. Leg cut off. Found dead several hours later.
12 February 1884 Banbury Joseph Brown 35 Local tradesman. Killed on incline. Truck he was in hit by runaway truck.
2 June 1884 Banbury Thomas Henderson 54 Experienced miner wedging down coal, hit by fall of stone from false roof.
14 July 1884 Koronui John McCormack 66 Walking down incline between tracks. Hit by truck.
15 November 1887 Coalbrookdale Edward Jones 34 Fall of wedge-shaped piece of coal while he was cutting bottoms.
19 January 1889 Coalbrookdale Charles Lovel Ribey 29 Hit by truck on incline in broad daylight. 'A moment of absent-mindedness.'
24 June 1889 Coalbrookdale Benjamin Thomas 38 Suicide by hanging in an old bord (tunnel).
5 November 1889 Coalbrookdale Alexander Brown 6 Child trespassing on screens. Crushed by railway truck.
1 November 1890 Banbury Thomas Duncan 12 Accidental fall of stone while drilling.
4 December 1890 Coalbrookdale Alexander Tait 33 Fell over retaining wall at Middle Brake.
10 July 1891 Ironbridge Henry Jones 26 Truck lowering chain broke while he was near. 'Should have been standing clear.'
1 May 1893 Coalbrookdale John Pollock 32 Fall of stone while cutting roof.
18 May 1893 Coalbrookdale Mark Dixon 62 Fall of prop and stone. With dying breath he 'blamed no-one' for the accident.
3 July 1893 Coalbrookdale Alex Hunter 29 Hit by runaway truck. Fiery horse bolted but 'lots of room to have stood clear.'
10 January 1894 Coalbrookdale William Hedley 46 Fall of timber loosened by shot. Too smoky to see danger.
12 May 1894 Ironbridge Robert Gibson 24 Fall of coal.
15 May 1894 Coalbrookdale Silvio Martini 14 Truck ran back over him when chip broke.
17 June 1895 Cardiff Mine James Bain 21 Fall of coal while clearing loose coal.
13 April 1895 Coalbrookdale James Johnston 59 Fall of coal caused by sprag slipping.
18 December 1897 Lily Smith Burnett’s Face 3½ Fell onto steam pipe at engine shed.
8 February 1898 Coalbrookdale Alexander Nichol 30 Blasting powder he was carrying loose in tamping box exploded. 'Against rules.'
30 May 1901 Ironbridge William Hendry 47 Killed by fall of coal in ‘Big Pillars’ section.
26 January 1903 Coalbrookdale Robert Smith 29 Crushed between full race and stopblock after trail chain unhooked.
24 August 1903 Coalbrookdale E. McComb ? Killed while thawing dynamite.
1 March 1904 Coalbrookdale Albert Jefferman 27 Killed by coal fall at face – sprigging neglected.
12 January 1905 Brakehead John Champion 15 Run over by railway wagon.
27 July 1906 Coalbrookdale Alfred Archer 30 Killed by fall of stone.
24 October 1906 Ironbridge James Wilson 35 Fell over cliff while returning from work.

This list of mining-related deaths in the Denniston area records 29 fatalities in 25 years. The most frequent cause was the fall of rock or stone. Explosions that killed many miners made headlines, but mining was always a dangerous pursuit and there were also many individual fatalities.

Using this item

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Sources: Norman Crawshaw, The first wave. Westport: N. Crawshaw, 1999, p. 101; Len Richardson, The Denniston Miners’ Union. Westport: Denniston Miners’ Union Centennial Committee, 1984, p. 88

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How to cite this page

Alan Sherwood and Jock Phillips, Coal and coal mining – Mining accidents, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/table/7452/deaths-from-mining-at-denniston-1869-1906 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Alan Sherwood and Jock Phillips, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

Allen finlay
20 November 2010
Pray for them because they are in deep trouble. This is not like the Chiliean mine where there was no gas involved. There was an explosion which seems to have knocked out the ventilation system and the resultant build up .of gas is hampering the rescue efforts as the mine seems to be unsafe to allow entry of the rescue teams. Just pray!