Obituaries Australia

Mr. Henry Plane, residing at 404 Beryl-street, was killed by a falling stone at the South Blocks mine this morning and Mr. Arthur Pratt, residing at 115 Kaolin-street, was admitted to the Hospital suffering severely from shock and internal injuries.

From information supplied to The Miner it appears that at about 8.45 a.m. to-day Plane went, with three other men forming no 8 party, to an open stope on the 600ft. level. About 10 shots had been fired by the afternoon shift at knock-off time, and two of the day shift men, named Price and Pratt, started barring down. After barring down for a time they tried to move a stone weighing about three tons, but were unable to do so. Mr. William Price, the shift boss, then came along, and the matter was reported to him. After trying the stone with two bars and failing to move it, the shift boss gave instructions to clean up and rig a bulk under the stone. Plane and a man named Demetrius Nicolette began cleaning up, and had worked for about 20 minutes when the stone came away without warning. Plane was buried under the fall and Pratt was knocked against the wall. Assistance was obtained and both men were taken to the surface, where Dr. Hains pronounced the life of Mr. Plane extinct and gave restoratives to Mr. Pratt.

The body of Plane was taken to the morgue and Pratt was admitted to Ward 1 of the Hospital.

It is said that the body of Mr. Plane was badly crushed and Mr. Pratt, in addition to internal injuries, was suffering severely from shock.

Mr. Plane was a married man, 34 years of age, and had a family of five young children. He had been mining for three years and was a member of the Workers' Industrial Union. He was a son of Envoy Plane, one of the most respected citizens of Broken Hill. The information of the accident was conveyed to the father by Adjutant Percy, who later in the day took him and his wife to the house of their daughter-in-law.

The matter was reported to Mr. R. C. Atkinson, coroner, who opened an inquest this afternoon, an adjournment being made to allow the jury to view the body and the scene of the accident.