West Australian, Saturday 11 March 1950,
Henry George Frank SMITH
Age at Death32
Date Of Death10 March 1950 : Reg Murchison 12/1950
Place Of BirthNewtown, Sydney, New South Wales
OccupationMiner/Timberman
Spouse's NameEnid Hylda STENING (nee Roberta Enid LE CORNU)
ChildrenAnne and Robyn
The West Australian, Thu 30 Mar 1950
Cue Cemetery WA - Photo Find a Grave
Cue Cemetery WA - Photo Find a Grave
Name Of Mine On Which Last Employed
Big Bell GM, Cue, Western Australia
Diagnosis or cause of accident
Geraldton Guardian, Saturday 11 March 1950, page 5
Big Bell Fatalities - Two Men Fall Down Shaft INSTANT DEATH
Frank Smith (32) and Sydney Alfred Martin (36), both of Big Bell, were killed instantly when they fell several hundred feet to the bottom of a shaft at the Big Bell Gold Mine yesterday morning. The were employed as timbermen, and are reported to have been struck by the counterweight of the ascending cage and thus knocked down the shaft. Both victims in the accident were married men.
Place Of Burial
Cue and Day Dawn Cemetery, Western Australia. Roman Catholic Section: Sect A, block 18 and Lot 12
Submitted by
Eric Chamberlain - Volunteer
MSW
Married
District
Cue
Cause of Death
Mine Accidents
Father
Henry George SMITH
Mother
Caroline PERRY
Other Information
Also killed Sydney Alfred MARTIN.
http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/About-Us-Careers/AnnualReport_1950.pdf
These men were doing a repair job in the shaft and were struck by the descending counter weight. The cage had only travelled to the 800 level until the previous day, When it was adjusted to travel to the 1050 and these men gave the driver his marks. Apparently they overlooked the fact that the counterweight would travel past them.
Geraldton Guardian, Saturday 11 March 1950, page 5 Big Bell Fatalities Two Men Fall Down Shaft INSTANT DEATH
Frank Smith (32) and Sydney Alfred Martin (36), both of Big Bell, were killed instantly when they fell several hundred feet to the bottom of a shaft at the Big Bell Gold Mine yesterday morning. They were employed as timbermen, and are reported to have been struck by the counterweight of the ascending cage and thus knocked down the shaft. Both victims in the accident were married men.
ACCIDENTS. The year 1950 was unfortunately a particularly bad one so far as fatal accidents were concerned, particularly on gold mines, where 15 fatalities occurred, compared with 9 in the previous year. There were 18 fatal accidents in all, the rate being 2.33 per 1,000 men employed, which compares unfavorably with an average of 1.99 per 1,000 over the past 20 years. The total serious accidents, on the other hand, showed a definite decrease from 97.35 per 1,000 men employed in 1949 to 84.18 per 1,000 in 1950.
