Hillsborough, Inquest into the death of Joseph Moyle

The following document was supplied by Ronda Shambrook
29th June 1877
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PROCEEDINGS of INQUEST
held upon the body of
Joseph Moyle
At Hillsborough
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Received at the Crown Law Offices,
July 3rd 1877
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A.Mueller Coroner.

Memo
Yackandandah 29th June 1877
The inquest on Joseph Moyle of which depositions etc are attached was instituted by the Deputy Coroner at Yackandandah who in his professional capacity was called in to attend deceased but found him dead on his arrival at Hillsborough.
A.Mueller
Deputy Coroner.

PROCEEDINGS BEFORE CORONERS
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INQUISITION
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Colony of Victoria
to wit,
An inquisition for our sovereign Lady Queen Victoria, taken at The Reefer’s Arms Hotel Hillsborough in the colony of Victoria aforesaid, the 29th day of June A.D. 1877, in the forty-first year of the reign of our said Lady, the Queen, before me Augustus Mueller Gentleman, a District Coroner of our Lady the Queen for the said Colony, upon the view of the body of Joseph Moyle then and there lying dead, upon the oaths of:
Peter Devlin
Giovanni D’Alberti
Baynard Stone
Kenneth Cameron
Archibald Clingin
Bernard Contessa
James Paull
Thomas Andrew Michell
Edwin Knight
Walter Paull
William Mitchell
Good and lawful men of Hillsborough in the said Colony, who being duly sworn and charged to inquire upon the part of our Lady the Queen, when, where, how, and by what means the said Joseph Moyle came by his death, do say upon their oath – that on the night of Thursday the 28th day of June 1877 Joseph Moyle met with his death accidentally, whilst working in The Homeward Bound Company’s Claim, Hillsborough – by a board falling down the shaft and striking him.  

In witness whereof as well the aforesaid Coroner as the Jurors aforesaid, have to this Inquisition put their hands and seals, on the day and year, and at the place above mentioned.
Augustus Mueller
Peter Devlin
Giovanni Dalberti
Brainerd Stone
Kenneth Cameron X his mark Witness to mark E.D. Shoebridge
Patrick Grealy
Archibald Clingin
Bernard Contessa
James Paull X his mark Witness to mark E.D. Shoebridge
Thos Andw Michel
Edwin Knight
Walter Paull
William Mitchell

CORONER’S INQUEST
This Deponent, George Crawford, on his oath said, I am a miner, residing at Hillsborough and employed in the Homewardbound Company’s claim.  I was on the nightshift last night and at a few minute to eleven whilst working at a distance of about forty feet from the now deceased Joseph Moyle, I heard the rumbling of a board falling down the shaft.  I sang out to Moyle to look out and I saw him make a spring to get out of the shaft.  I was on the stoop above deceased.  Immediately after I saw deceased spring out of the way of the falling board I heard him groan and after making a turn fall out of the shaft into the stoop.  I immediately went down to the stoop to his assistance, one of the men, Hans McGowan, was already by his side when I came down and was holding him up in his arms.  Deceased was groaning heavily and appeared to be bleeding from his side, I spoke to him but all I could get out of him in reply was:  I can not breathe.  He also sang out for a drink and I went for some water.  After getting some more assistance we moved deceased to the bucket, and with another man, Frank Bartell, holding him, he was taken up to the surface and brought into the engine house.  Deceased only lasted for about ten minutes after being brought there.  I was present when Dr. Mueller arrived at about 3 o’clock and saw a large wound I the left side of deceased, which I heard the doctor state to have perforated into the left lung.

Taken and Sworn before me, the 28th day of June 1877 at Hillsborough.
A.Mueller

The Deponent, George Crawford continueth,
Since the accident to the deceased I have ascertained that the board alluded to was detached from the back part of the shaft near the surface and it appears to one most probable that the tank boiling the water struck and detached the board, though such an occurrence is a very rare one, never having happened before in the claim to the best of my recollections.  Beside the now deceased and my self there were only Hans McGowan and John Ralph under ground working the claim, when the accident happened.  The manager was absent.  Deceased was in his proper place when he was struck, his task being to fill the quartz into the bucket.  I passed the place from which the board was detached but it appeared alright at the time; this was on the night before the accident.
By foreman:  Everything appeared perfectly secure when I rode up the shaft in the bucket the night before.  I was the last but two of the men that rode down the shaft before the accident.
By Jury:  A board might be partly detached and loose without being observed by the men riding up and down the shaft.  I do not know when the manager last inspected the shaft.  I did not see him in the afternoon and on night of the accident.  I can not state positively when I last saw the manager down the claim, having been for two weeks on the nightshift.
By Police:  I consider the way the boards are nailed on in the shaft to be perfectly safe, it is, as far as I know, the usual way.

George Crawford X his mark.
Witness to mark A.Mueller

CORONER’S INQUEST
The deponent, Hans McGowan on his oath saith I am a miner residing at Hillsborough.  I work for wages in the Homeward Bound Company’s Claim.  I was last night on the nightshift with the now deceased Joseph Moyle and heard the noise mentioned by the previous witness of something falling down the shaft.  I was on the stoop along with George Crawford and John Ralph.  I saw deceased falling into the stoop after hearing the noise and at once went down to him.  I was the first to reach him, he was lying on his back on a heap of stones.  In the shaft there were some broken bits of boards and a long board of about 12 or 14 feet long.  These were the boards that had fallen down from higher up the shaft.  They were not there when I was in the shaft a few hours before.  I held up deceased on my knees and arms along with George Crawford whilst Ralph went for assistance.  I assisted in getting him up onto the gallery and have nothing more to add to the evidence of the previous witness as to the state deceased was in when we found him and his subsequent death in the engine house.
By Jury:  The bucket came down along with the boards, I heard only the one noise and would have heard the bucket if it had come down separately.  The bucket was attached properly to the rope, and it is most probable that the board, which came out of the shaft the tank is working in, in falling was caught by the bucket and came down with it.  I was on the day shift last week and recollect seeing the manager riding in the bucket, both up and down the shaft.
By Police:  I consider the shaft perfectly safe, if I did not I should not work in it.
By Jury:  I did not consider the manager drunk when I saw him in the shaft, I did not see him do anything that would made me suspect him to be under the influence of drink.
By Coroner:  I believe the manager to be addicted to drink occasionally.
The body now lying at the adjoining hut I identify as the body of Joseph Moyle.
Hance McGowan.
Taken and sworn before me, the 29th day of June, 1877 at Hillsborough.
A.Mueller, Coroner.

CORONER’S INQUEST
The deponent, John Ralph, on his oath, saith, I am a miner, residing at Hillsborough.  I was present last night when the accident describer by the previous witnesses occurred.  There is nothing in which I differ from them as to the way the accident occurred.  After seeing the now deceased fall, I went at once for assistance by the ladder.  I went for George Marshallsea, the engine driver, and Frank Bartell, living close to the claim.  With them I went down the shaft and assisted to get the deceased to the surface.  I was also present when he died.
By Jury:  I examined the shaft after the accident both last night and this morning and only discovered the place the board was missing from on the latter occasion.  The board had been fastened with nails to four inch rails in two places.  Boards fastened in that way, may be loose without its being detected by the man going up and down the shaft.  I do not know whether the shaft is regularly examined for loose boards, I can not say how often the manager examines the shafts.  I have not seen, but heard the manager in the shaft on Saturday last.
John Ralph X his mark.
Witness to mark:  A.Mueller
Taken and sworn before me on the 219th day of June 1877, at Hillsborough.
A.Mueller, Coroner.

CORONER’S INQUEST

This Deponent, George Marshallsea, on his oath saith I am an engine driver residing at Hillsborough.  I am employed by the Homeward Bound Company and was in the engine house at the claim last night driving the engine.  I did not feel any hitches such as occurs when the bucket catches in going up or down the shaft.  The first notification I had of anything being wrong was by John Ralph’s informing me of Joseph Moyle being hurt by some boards falling down the shaft.  At his request I went down the shaft to render assistance.  I found the men trying to lead the now deceased toward a ladder and assisted to get him into a gallery.  I then went up, put the bucket onto the north rope and saw him land in this bucket.  I then prepared a place in the engine house for deceased to be put on.  It was about 10 minutes to 12 when deceased was brought to the surface and 3 or 4 minutes to 12 when I saw him close his eyes and die.  Deceased groaned very heavily whilst underground but finally seemed not to suffer so much, only moving about uneasily.

George Marshallsea

Taken & sworn before me, the 29th day of June 1877 at Hillsborough.
A.Mueller, Coroner.

CORONER’S INQUEST

The deponent, John Blewett on his oath saith I am a miner, residing at Hillsborough.  I am underground manager and usually work on the day shift, being on the claim at night only when specially required.  I was both up and down the shaft on Wednesday last and thought that everything was right.  I have not been working yesterday and the day before on account of illness necessitating my spending part of the two days in bed.  Last week I spent a whole day with two men to look to and effect all repairs required in the shaft, we then fixed some boards, which were partly loose and also put some new ones in place of old ones, which had been rubbed rather thin.  I did not receive any intimation of the accd death to Joseph Moyle last night on account of its being known to the men that I was unwell.
By Jury:  I got up and down the shaft daily but only go once a week for the special purpose of examining the sliding boards.

John Blewett

Taken & sworn before me, the 29th day of June 1877, at Hillsborough.
A.Mueller, Coroner.