Tragedy at the Iron Duke
The Iron Duke GM 1936
An unusual accident occurred in the Gold Mines of Kalgoorlie’s Iron Duke Mine in March 1936 — not only due to its unusual nature but also that it involved two women. Two men and two women were admitted to the St John of God hospital, Kalgoorlie, when a dam of water burst at the No. 12 level.
Ian Marshall (26), a draughtsman employed by the company, was showing three people around the mine: Douglas Temby (27), an engineer employed by the Goldfields Water Supply Department, his wife Heather Temby (27), and his sister Muriel Temby (36).
After inspecting a machine miner at No. 12 level, the bottom level of the mine, the party returned along the crosscut to the plat where Marshall rang for the cage to take them to the surface. They noticed that the bulkhead door to the dam, 40ft down on the opposite side of the shaft, was making a creaking sound.
The door was holding back up to 170,000 gallons water flowing into the level, of which the company was baling 30,000 gallons a day to the surface. The door, which was fixed into a concrete bulkhead, was six inches thick, made of oregon, reinforced by five tiers of angle-iron.
Marshall walked to the door to examine it. Then the dam burst.
“There was a terrible rush of water,” Douglas Temby told the inquiry, “and the lights went out straight away. I was just churned around by the force of the water, and when I came to my feet again, I did not know where I was.”
“I found my wife by my side and heard my sister calling out. The water was up to my chest then, and I guided my wife to an air pipe on the side of the drive.”
Harry Cook, a shift boss, heard a dull boom and felt a rush of air which extinguished his light. With the aid of matches, he groped his way and discovered Marshall, where the water had carried him some 400ft from the shaft, sitting in a foot of water. The Tembys were found in 3ft of water closer to the shaft, clutching an air pipe.
In response to Marshall’s signal, the platman had brought the cage down to the plat but found it under water. He returned to the surface an informed the underground manager who arranged a rescue party through the North Kalgurli Mine.
Ian Marshall had a fractured skull and leg, lacerations and shock, while Douglas Temby had fractured ribs, lung injuries and shock. Both were in critical condition. Heather Temby suffered lacerations and shock and Muriel Temby a broken collarbone and shock. Douglas Temby remained in critical condition for some time and it was eleven weeks before he could tell his story to the inquiry.
Ian Westerman Marshall died three days after the accident. Born in Fremantle,Western Australia, he was educated at Perth Modern School, the Perth Technical College and the Kalgoorlie School of Mines. He joined the Public Works Department in 1930 before joining Western Mining Corporation and then Gold Mines of Kalgoorlie. His parent’s youngest child and an only son, he is buried at Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth.
