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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*Please note that archival source materials are original historical documents that have not been censored, reviewed or otherwise altered by the Royal BC Museum.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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7th Witness. William Home having been duly sworn states. I am a Miner and worked in the Heading called Homes heading, one Chinaman assisted me in mining & filling coal. I went down into the mine about half past 10 o'clock on Tuesday evening after hearing the fire bell. I went to where there were some other men & assisted to put out the fire where we considered it to be, after a time we discovered that the fire was not there but that the seat of it lay in Homes heading of course I did my utmost to extinguish it. I have had a fire there on two or three occasions but they never got such headway as on this occasion. I was in the mine all night from 10 o'clock on Wednesday night until 6 o.c. on Thursday morning, there was no fire all that time only smoke & steam. I saw no Chinamen or any other person in the level during the whole of that time. When I was leaving the mine at 6 o' C. A.M. I met a man named John Mackie in my heading & I told him that he could not do anything at present until he got a run of boxes down to fill away the stuff & set timbers, & that the place was

B. C. Archives GR-0431 British Columbia, Attorney General/ Box 2 File 6/ Inquisitions /Inquests conducted by coroners in British Columbia

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