Everyone Got Busy

When "Hole 'E Fall

Down Along Bill"

By Lance H. Wilkinson, of Samarai

The digging out of nearly 100 miners at an iron-ore mine in Germany in October and November after a broken reservoir flooded the pit was a tremendous feat in the mining world, and deserved all the acclaim and recognition it re ceived. Reading of it reminded me of a similar feat, this one in a goldmine, in Papua, in the old days. f’PHOUGH not hailed as a master- A piece of mine engineering, it was probably hailed a lot louder by the bloke we dug out.

It also happened that he was the underground manager, and although union officials today may be inclined to leave a man of that category there for good, we thought a lot of him.

Three levels were involved—No 7, No. 8 and No. 9, the last being the top. There was about 80 ft slevation between each level.

No. 7 and No. 9 had surface outlets, but not No. 8.

I was working No. 8 and Roy Vicary (at present near the top in the P-NG Agriculture Department) was looking after No. 9.

Inspection

Bill Henley used to go through he whole mine every morning, generally finishing his inspection when he rest of us had gone home for linner.

I was just entering No. 7 after linner when a wild-eyed boy came •acing out of the adit exclaiming hat “hole ’e fall down along Bill”.

We didn’t call the underground nanager Mr. in those times).

I followed the boy in and up half i dozen ladders, and on entering No. > drive from the inside I located the all.

There was a hole about eight nches square, through which the ►oy had apparently crawled. Bill was ►n the inside.

Apparently there had been two

falls simultaneously about 15 ft apart. The outer one was com pletely blocked for what turned out to be about 20 ft.

Bill wasn’t injured, but he was a bit worried, as we had been having heavy rain for weeks and the water was rising round his legs.

The timber where he was, was holding pretty well, he said. But he’d still like to get out.

I thought he understated a lot of things, and asked him how the boy got through. He said he had had to give him a bit of a shove, and I thought that was another under statement.

We brought up all the available timber and got busy. Meanwhile, I sent a runner to Roy to let him know that it was not just an ordinary fall, but that Bill was inside. He started valiantly from his end.

As all miners know, picking up old ground is harder than digging new stuff, and old ground which been timbered is a proposition which can’t be hurried.

However, hurry we did, and after 2i hours of saws, chisels, toms and booms, we were able to extract Bill in one piece.

The water had reached his knees by that time, and it would have been a poor chance for him if the small escape hole had not been left.

Bill was not medically inspected as wp had no doctors. He was back that afternoon helping Roy and myself to clear the damage.