William Seller et al
As part of the Chinese Historical Wrongs Legacy Initiative, we’ve digitized a small selection of inquests and inquiries from 1872 to 1934, found in series GR-0431. These were chosen to reflect the experiences of early Chinese immigrants to B.C. – their living and working conditions, and their unfortunate accidental or unusual deaths. They range from a woman working in a brothel in Barkerville who died of natural causes to three sawmill workers who died from malnutrition. Learn more.
*All transcriptions are provided by volunteers, and the accuracy of the transcriptions is not guaranteed. Please be sure to verify the information by viewing the image record, or visiting the BC Archives in person.
*Please note that archival source materials are original historical documents that have not been censored, reviewed or otherwise altered by the Royal BC Museum. Some materials may contain content that is racist, sexist or otherwise offensive. The Royal BC Museum is only the custodian of archival materials; the content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Royal BC Museum.
Current Page Transcription [edit] [history]
[Coroner]
INQUISITION
August 20, 1909 Canada Province of British Columbia
An Inquisition indented taken at office of Western Explosives Ltd, Tunstall Bay, Bowen Island, British Columbia, the seventeenth day of August in the eighth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord the King, before me, Thomas W. Jeff gentlemen, one of the Coroners for our Lord the King, for the Province aforesaid, upon the view of the bodies of William Sellers, Low Fook, Jong Young, Ah Yun & Quong Jung, then and there and within the jurisdiction of the said Coroner, lying dead, upon the oaths of
Gross Rae Simpson, Foreman George Merchant Walter McMorran Beattie Sydney Mollett Henry Lambert John Robson
Good and lawful men of British Columbia aforesaid, in the said Province, who being now here sworn and charged to inquire, on the part of our said Lord the King when, how, and after what manner, the said William Sellers, Low Fook, Jong Young, Ah Yun and Quong Jung, came by their death, do say upon their oath, that they came to their death by the accidental explosion of dynamite in the [?] Long House of the Western Explosives Ltd., at Tunstall Bay, Bowen Island, August 16th, 1909. The cause of the explosion is unknown to the jury.
BC Archives, GR-0431 Box 7 File 5 / BRITISH COLUMBIA. ATTORNEY GENERAL. / Inquisitions / inquests conducted by coroners in British Columbia. John Robson