Name Of Mine On Which Last Employed
Associated GM, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia

Place Of Burial
Boulder Cemetery, Western Australia

Submitted by
Eric Chamberlain and Ian Hodkinson (volunteers)

Cause of Death
Mine Accidents

Other Information
1902 'BOULDER.', The West Australian, 9 December, p. 7. Boulder. December 8. The inquest in connection with the death of William Yeates, who died last Saturday week, as the result of injuries that he sustained through a fall from a bridge at the Associated mine, was concluded at Boulder to-day. The jury re turned a verdict to the effect that the deceased met his death through the collapse of a bridge, which was over-loaded, and which was not in a condition of good repair at the time of the accident. 1902 'A TRUCKER'S DEATH.', Kalgoorlie Miner, 9 December, p. 2. ATTRIBUTED TO NEGLIGENCE. The inquest into the cause of the death of William Yeates, who died from the result of an accident sustain ed at the Associated mine on Novem- ber 28 was resumed at the Boulder Police Count yesterday before Mr. A. J. Evans (acting coroner), and Messrs. De Baun (foreman), Thomas Daly, and Thomas Edwards, jury. Sergeant Moore conducted the inquiry. Mr. W. Jones appeared for the re- latives of the deceased. Henry Yeates, brother of the de- ceased, gave evidence of identification. James Gilbert Napier, a trucker on the Associated, deposed that on November 28 he was working with the deceased, Richard Temby and Richard Leish- man. They were trucking from the cyanide vats across a bridge to a pass. Between 8.30 and 9 a.m., after running a "rake" of five trucks to the pass they ran the empties back. They were running five more to the pass when the accident happened. Witness and deceased were pushing behind; Leish man was on the back corner, and Tem- by was in the front ready to stop the trucks. The bridge broke away about the centre of the five trucks. Yeates fell with the trucks. He fell on top of one of them, and he was jammed by another. Yeates was conscious when released. He said he felt hurt inwardly. He was taken to the candle room. This was the first time witness had worked on the bridge. To Mr. Jones: The four of us were working for Mr. Fitzpatrick, the contractor for emptying the cyanide vats. Up to November 29 they had been working in another part of the mine. Han- chant, Fitzpatrick's partner, ordered us to go to work on the bridge. This morning was the first time I saw trucks run over the bridge, The accident happened on the bridge. The bridge was laid on trestles, but in the centre there was a heap of mullock. Some of the men from below had removed some of this mullock and tipped it down the pass. The loaded trucks would weigh about a ton each. There would be 15ft. to 20ft. between each trestle. Yeates was performing his ordinary duties as a trucker at the time of the accident, and in my opin- ion none of us were guilty of contribu- tory negligence. I believe the under ground manager was about the place that morning. To the jury: The trucks would weigh between 4 cwt. and 5 cwt. each. Richard Temby gave corroborative evidence. To Mr Jones: There was supposed to be a mullock support un der the bridge. I saw mullock there a week before the accident. The company's men removed the mullock and threw it down the pass. The mul- lock was a support. I did not see any support put in to replace the mullock. The trucks were about 4 cwt. empty, and a ton to 24 cwt. loaded. To the Inspector of Mines: The mullock came close up to the timber of the bridge. I cannot say the extent of the heap. When the accident occurred the trucks were over the centre support of the bridge on the shaft side. Dr. Bridgeford deposed that he ex- amined the deceased soon after the accident and twice during the day. Death was due to shock caused by in jury to the abdomen. William Hanchant, contractor on the Associated, deposed that on November 28 he started the men trucking out dirt to the pass. As they were going out with the second rake of trucks he saw the bridge collapse. Men started working on the bridge on the evening of the 27th. He did not examine the bridge till after the accident. The bridge had not been used for three or four months before the 27th inst. It was 16 or 17ft. high. The company took the mullock away from, under the legs. To Mr. Jones: My partner's name is Patrick James Fitzpatrick. We work under specifications (produced). We are only expected to keep the rails in repair. We have nothing to do with construction. There is no limit to the number of trucks we are allowed to ran on the bridge. If properly constructed the bridge should carry as many trucks as we could put on it. On the 27th the underground manager ordered us to truck to the pass across the bridge. To the Jury : We were never told not to put more than three loaded trucks on the line. The five trucks would be resting on the span between the two trestles. Stephen Bradley, engineer on the mine, deposed that this bridge was 14ft. high. A safe working load on the line was three loaded trucks. Each truck empty weighed 5 cwt. and 25 cwt. loaded. He had known of more than three trucks being run on the line. He had seen seven pulled out with a horse about four months ago. The line had not been used for the past three months. The cause of the accident was the overloading of the structure. To Mr. Jones: There is no notice up stating what number of trucks were to be run on the bridge. The span between the trestles was 28ft. A heap of mullock had accu- mulated round the legs. It was a support, but it was not taken into ac count when building the bridge. The mullock stiffened the legs. It was removed by the underground mana- ger. The structure had no latent defect. The timber was sound. The grain was 6 or 8ft. long. The line was not examined before resuming work on the 27th. After the accident I saw one old crack. It was not enough to endanger the structure with a safe working load. It was not ap- parent to an ordinary inspection. The company built the bridge and kept it in repair. It was the contractor's duty to report any defects in the bridge. The jury found that the deceased came to his death through the collapse of a bridge, the collapse being brought about by overloading and the bridge not being in proper repair at the time.