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Prudence Goddard, daughter of Thomas Goddard (see page on Thomas Goddard) married Peter Stratton and had a number of children. One of her children, Thomas (b 1852) married Eliza Cook Tainsh. Eliza's brother John, aged 21, and her father John, aged 59, were struck and killed by lightning on 25 October 1885 near Ballarat.
A witness at the inquest stated - 'Near where the bodies were lying there was a large gum tree about 3 feet in diameter. It was the largest tree in the neighbourhood. The old man was lying on a slope from the tree about 4 feet from it, his head lying down the slope. His hands were in his coat pockets. He was on his left side and I did not observe any rents in the clothes nor marks on his body. The young man was close up against the same tree in a half sitting position with his legs doubled under him. His hat was about 4 feet away from his body and its crown was torn out. In the middle of the day about 1pm there had been a violent thunderstorm, the lightning being very vivid. The top of the tree had been struck by lightning and one large branch splintered in pieces. There were marks as if lightning had zigzagged down the bark of the trunk of the tree and there was a hole like a bullet hole newly made near where the young man’s head was.' Never stand under a tree in a lightning storm! This Tainsh family was no stranger to tragedy - William Tainsh, father of John Cook Tainsh and grandfather of John Cook Tainsh Jnr (above). Ballarat Star. November 1, 1867. Another dreadful mining accident occurred about ten o'clock on Wednesday night in one of the drives of the New Ballarat Freehold Company, which proved fatal to one unfortunate miner named William Tainsh, who has left a wife and large family to deplore his untimely end, and was nearly proving fatal to another. In this case it appears, the deceased with another miner named Edward Jones, went to work about four o'clock on Wednesday afternoon. They were working by themselves, taking down the timbers of a blocking-lift, and about ten o'clock Jones desired the deceased to take out all the tools and go out of the way until he knocked a prop out from under a set of timbers. The deceased did so and was standing at about the opening set when Jones knocked away the prop and immediately ran right out towards and past the deceased. He thought one set of timbers would only come down with the one prop, but five or six sets came down as far as the opening set. The men in consequence were both caught by the timbers at the opening set and as they were standing close together they were instantly covered with the falling debris. Before Jones was altogether covered over he spoke to the deceased twice, but without receiving any answer. Jones was struck down face downwards with a lath across his back, but his head was not covered over for more than five minutes, and it was his opinion that the cap-piece must have struck the deceased. Immediately after the accident the alarm was given and Jones was got out in about half an hour and was then brought on top, when it was found that he had only sustained some trifling injuries. The captain of the afternoon shift, George Scobie, was near by when the accident occurred, and hearing the crashing of the falling timbers and seeing the lights extinguished he made all haste in quest of assistance, which was soon at hand. Scobie reached Jones first, and found him wholly covered with sand, and when he was got clear he was able to speak. The deceased was found lying partly on his side and face, he had a considerable quantity of timber over him, which entangled his limbs. His head was freed in a few minutes, and it was supposed that he breathed twice, but when his body was got out in about two hours afterwards he was then quite dead. An inquest was held on the body of the deceased on Thursday at the Park hotel, detailed, as already described. The medical evidence of Mr. Surgeon Bunce set forth that there was a contusion on the right side of the deceased's chest of about six inches in length and two inches in breadth ; the left leg was broken, and there were fractures of the 10th, 11th and 12th dorsal vertebrae, with considerable displacement. In Mr. Bunce's opinion, death had been caused by suffocation, but he was like wise of opinion that if the deceased had not been suffocated death would have resulted from the very severe injuries described. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death. At the general meeting of the New Ballarat Freehold Company held on Thursday, the sum of one hundred and fifty pounds was voted to Mrs Tainsh and Mrs Jane, the widows of the miners killed in the company's mind. The division of the money was left in the hands of the directors. Mrs Jane has three children and Mrs Tainsh seven. |
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