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Wellington Coal Mine

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. 

BC Archives GR-0431

*Please note that archival source materials are original historical documents that have not been censored, reviewed or otherwise altered by the Royal BC Museum.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.

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Altho I did not go down the mine myself I constantly received reports both from Little & Dixion & knew how things were going on. I had been sick since January & had gone to San Francisco three weeks. before the acciedent happened, I had returned on the night of the fire my i[?]ss[?]ty had always been reprted to me. The fireman is suposed to go round evey face in the mine to see if there is any gass, before the men go down & it is his duty to prevent the men going down in the event of there being any danger. On the 15h inst. there was no gass in No. 10 level. A Chinaman was appointed at the Bell for the purpose of signalling. he under- -stood English. After the Curtain was put up Dixon went in to tell whether there was gass in the back, but made no report to me which it would have been his duty to have done in the event of his finding gass written on the Curtain in large letter were the words 'don't pass this fire" I am of opinion that the steps that were taken for the purpose of extinguishing the fire were proper right, with due regard to the safety of the men & the preservation of the property. Dixon had been fireman for a considerable period

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BC Archives GR-0431 BRITISH COLUMBIA. ATTORNEY GENERAL. Box 2 File 6 Inquisitions/inquests conducted by coroners in British Columbia

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