A death in the bush - Part I

By Ivan Tomas, Albertland Museum

An excerpt from Hill of the Seabird

While we take modern communications for granted with landlines, cell phones and so on, spare a thought for the early settlers and contractors who had no such facilities until the odd telegraph office or phone service came into being. In emergencies, life or death depended on help being sought quickly.

On the morning of 12 February, 1894, Johnnie Clarke and Joe Bowmar, both aged in their 20s, were working in the back area of Pukekororo Bush, north of Kaiwaka, on improvements to the entrance to the 300 yard chute used for sending logs down the slope. This task had taken the two mates two days of hard toil.

Billy Booth and another John Clarke (Uncle of Johnnie, but not much older) were crosscutting two big logs at a jam on the earth track at the bottom of the wooden chute. Billy, at 26 years, was the foreman of the gang of four. They intended being clear of the chute before Joe and Johnnie had completed their task above.

Well before mid-morning the latter pair had completed their work which included a more gentle bend on the chute approach and decided to have a test approach and entry. A large log – 25ft long x 3ft diameter and approximately 1800 super foot – was available behind them so with timber jacks they manoeuvred it into position at the chute entrance. Their recent work had made it much easier, too easy in fact, and it moved forward by itself a little, the nose dipped down, the tail came up, it beat them – it was away.

As they watched it speed away they called out the mandatory and customary ‘look out below’. They remembered that John and Billy were crosscutting a log well clear of the chute on a sidling. However, John’s prized saw had jammed on the third log and as they hesitated they heard the warning. “Let’s go”, yelled Billy but John wanted his saw. They reversed positions, freed the saw, dropped it and ran. The log hit Billy and as he lay on the ground John leaned over him. His last words were “Help me John”, then nothing. The pupils became dilated, the eyes staring and unseeing. A stretcher was made from a tent fly and some bags, and he was carried to an empty shanty.

Two men rode to the main bush camp – one stayed to find the carpenter while the other rode on to Thomas Coates at Mountain Home. On the way he spoke to Elizabeth Reddy and asked her for a blanket, explaining that she would not get it back. He continued on to John Curtis at the telegram office and left messages for W.B. Farrand, of Te Arai, and the parochial minister at Paparoa.
to be continued...