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On 11th February, 1948, G. H. Filer, jun., trucker, Dobson State Colliery, sustained a fracture of the Tl2 vertebra* when he was caught between moving boxes and a prop whilst trucking in No. 2 Dip Section. On 2nd March, 1948, A. Rubbo, shiftman Wallsend State Colliery, sustained a fracture of the head of the radius, left arm, when he slipped and in falling struck his left arm on a sleeper. On 13th April, 1948, A. G. Cleghorn, trucker, Dobson State Colliery, sustained a fracture of right fibula when knocked off the trolly (through some foolish pranks of some of the workmen) which was conveying the men at knock-off. On 29th April, 1948, T. Gallon, shiftman, Strongman State Colliery, was working at the bottom of No. 2 Dip. After signalling for a race of empty skips to be pulled away, he found that one of the skips was off the road, and while lifting the box on to the rails it ran back the length of the coupling. His left heel caught behind a sleeper and the buffers of the skip broke both bones of his left leg midway between the knee and the ankle. On 19th May, 1948, Robert Blyth, jun., carpenter, Dobson State Colliery, was dressing some knotty timber slats in the power planer when the timber parted at a knot and his right thumb was caught in the planer head, resulting in the complete loss of the thumb. On 21st June, 1948, Vernon Johnson, miner, Charming Creek Colliery, suffered serious facial and eye injuries when a shot exploded prematurely whilst he and his mate, William Crawford, were still at the face of the stone-drive. CraAvford received minor injuries. On 19th August, 1948, W. Reid, trucker, Liverpool State Colliery, sustained compound fracture of right leg and broken bone in knee of left leg and fracture of left forearm when struck by a runaway truck on Smith's Jig, Top Level, Main Dip 4a. On 17th October, 1948, Robert Heslop, miner, Whareatea Mine, Denniston, was struck on the right leg and sustained fractured femur by a fall of coal from the rib side of his working-place. On 29th October, 1948, William Currie, rope-road worker, Denniston State Colliery, suffered fractured radius when he caught his left wrist between two boxes whilst working on the weighbridge. On 7th November, 1948, W. Middleton, tipper, Wallsend State Colliery, sustained a simple fracture of left arm when he slipped on a flat sheet. On 11th November, 1948, William Allen, bratticeman, Blackball State Colliery, suffered from electric shock. The electric cable fell on to shaft of pump, making the pump alive whilst Allen was in contact with it. On 24th November, 1948, James Mitchell, trucker, Burkes Creek State Mine, suffered fractured jaw when struck by a jig rope. On 13th December, 1948, Herbert Satherly, trucker and rope-runner,, Dobson State Colliery, sustained loss of finger, fractured collar-bone and ribs, and considerable bruising. He had apparently been riding on the front of the first box of a race of six boxes in No. 2 Dip and became caught by a low bar and was dragged over the top of the box. Dangerous Occurrences in Coal-mines (Regulation 81, Coal-mines Regulations 1939) Liverpool State Mine. —On 19th January, 1948, the examining deputy found an accumulation of gas in McNeil's place, No. 2 Bank, Morgan West Section. The cause was due to brattice being down on incline from which the place had been driven. The fall which caused the trouble was eventually cleared, brattice repaired, and place cleared on the backshift. On the following morning the deputy reported the place to be clear and in working-order. Wallsend State Mine. —On Bth February, 1948, an accumulation of some thousands of cubic feet CH 4 was found at top of old west headings. This was caused by a fairly heavy fall of roof, the airway being blocked. Clearance was eventually made over the fall, allowing full circulation of air, and all traces of gas were removed. Millerton State Mine. —On 11th February, 1948, an outbreak of fire occurred in Top Panel, Settlement Section (Old Dip Mine). The last recoverable pillar in this panel was being extracted by one pair of miners. Flames travelled rapidly due to pillar-extraction breaks to the surface, causing a natural draught, and it was necessary to employ all the men in the area to seal off with concrete blocks. Liverpool State Mine. —On Kith February, 1948, a- report of heating which had occurred in Kimbell W r est Dip Section was investigated, when it was found that the little dip area was being flooded with water. This area, as well as old workings to the rise on both sides of dip, were also sealed off, thus preventing any possible access of air. Asa result of this the heating was effectively dealt with and work resumed normalfy. Terrace Mine. —On 3rd March, 1948, a spontaneous heating which developed into a fire before being sealed off occurred in a rise heading. An inspection was made, and the heating was found to be coming from a fall on a jig. Stoppings were erected and the area sealed off. Terrace Mine. —On 26th April, 1948, the mine-manager reported that a stopping in a small section of the mine that had been sealed off a month previously owing to falls showed signs of a haze and slight smell. The stoppings, which were of the brattice and cement-wash type, were immediately repainted and the sides packed again.

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