Briseis Tin Mine Disaster 1929

Date: 4 Apr 1929
Location: Derby, Tasmania, Australia
Surnames/tags: Disasters Mining_Disasters Australia

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Disasters Project | Mining | Australia | Briseis Tin Mine Disaster 1929

Briseis Tin Mine Disaster, 1929

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Map Co-ordinates. 41° 08′ 55.93″ S and 147° 48′ 09.17″ E

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Summary

On the 4th of April 1929, torrential rains caused the Cascade Dam 4.8 km upstream of the Briseis Tin Mine to overflow and then burst, sending a massive wall of water that flooded the mine and low-lying parts of the adjacent mining town.^[1]

Situated alongside the Ringarooma River, the Briseis^[2] hydraulic tin mine was one of the richest and most profitable tin mines in the world, employing hundreds and exporting millions of tonnes of tin around the world. But days of torrential rain capped by a 125mm deluge falling in an hour and a half on the catchment of the nearby Cascade Dam, culminated at 4 pm with the failure of the dam wall and a 32-metre high wall of water surged down the valley, inundating the mine workings and engulfing several houses and other buildings in the town.^[3][4] Fourteen lives were lost.

Table 1: The Victims - Age, Marital Status, Occupation and Residence
(Underscored names have profiles; boldfaced names are connected to the Big Tree. )

The Victims	Age	Marital Status	Occupation	Residence
Stephen Daly Whiting	55	Married, 3 children	Miner	Derby
Anne Myrtle (Alexander) Whiting	39	Married, 3 children	Miner’s wife	Derby
Eric Raymond Whiting	2	Single	Miner’s child	Derby
Keith Patrick Whiting	10	Single	Miner’s child	Derby
Maxwell Whiting	12	Single	Miner’s child	Derby
William James Bracey	62	Married, 12 grown children	Horsemaster	Derby
Samuel "Jack" Brodley Cave	58	Married, 1 child	Horsemaster	Derby
Donald Alexander Richardson	42	Married, 5 children	Horsemaster	Derby
William Abraham Beamish	50	Married, 3 children	Mine Asst Manager	Derby
Phillip Leslie Denehey	48	Married	Miner	Derby
Archibald Jaffrey	19	Single	Mine Clerk	Derby
Gordon Good	28	Married, 2 children	Miner	Derby
Hector Michael McCormack	26	Married, 2 children	Miner	Derby
Nellie McWatters	5	Single	Miner’s child	Derby

As per customary practices, the State of Tasmania held a Court of Inquiry into the incident. Per the Advocate of Thursday 20 June 1929^[5]:

The jury, after an absence of 35 minutes, returned the following verdict: That the deaths were caused through drowning in a rush of water down the Cascade River and over the Briseis mine workings following the bursting of the Briseis Company’s dam; and that the bursting of the dam was the result of an abnormal and unprecedented volume of water, which might have been caused by a cloudburst, or by an extraordinary rainfall in the catchment. No blame was attachable to any one.

Research Notes

Bodies recovered by 20 June 1929:

• Samuel Brodley Cave, married
• Hector Michael M'Cormack (1903-1929), recovered 6 km from the mine, married to Myrtle, two children (Sarah and James)

Recovered later:

• Gordon Good, about 28, miner, married, one child (probably 1 September 1936)^[6]
• William Bracey, 62, miner, married, grown family (probably 5 September 1936)^[7]

In all, 27 Tasmanians lost their lives during flooding caused by the unprecedented heavy rains.

The two most lethal landslides in Australia were both debris flows, the Breisis Dam Disaster and the Thredbo, NSW landslide of 30 July 1997.^[8]

The Briseis Dam Disaster, Derby, northeast Tasmania happened on 4 April 1929 and killed 14 people. Rainfall of 450mm during the previous two days, followed by 125mm in the catchment in 1.5 hours, caused the rock-filled concrete Briseis Dam on the Cascade River to burst, releasing a wall of water six metres high. The water raced down the river gully, sweeping away a house and killing the family of five, as well as a five-year-old girl. It then cut a channel 30 metres deep and 64 metres wide through a low hill in its path. It demolished stables in its path, killing three people and 12 horses. The torrent was 180 metres wide and tree logs were deposited over 21 metres above normal river level. The width was evident from the gouged-out channel left behind, and the main road was obliterated. By cutting through the low hill, the river’s course was permanently changed to follow the channel gouged out by the torrent.

The wave of water at Derby was four metres high, however a rocky outcrop on its outskirts saved the town. The flood was diverted, striking a mining tailings hill about 60 metres high and carrying away half the hill, leaving a sand cliff. Three people lost their lives and several houses were swept away, including the Briseis Company’s powerhouse and offices. Two bridges on the Ringarooma River, one on each side of Derby, were destroyed and the Briseis tin mine was flooded. It did not resume operations for five years after the event. Many people were homeless, two cars were lost, the furniture in flooded houses was damaged, and the recreation ground outbuildings demolished. A total of six houses were destroyed at Derby, and fences were destroyed and houses flooded at nearby Branxholm. Fourteen people were killed in the 4.8km between the Briseis Dam and Derby. The torrent had carried thousands of tonnes of trees, rocks, gravel and boulders. A 10-tonne granite boulder was moved 3km.

Sources

1. ↑ "Lessons from the past: Breaking Briseis", Australian Mine Safety Journal, www.amsj.com.au, Mine Safety History, 30 May 2019, accessed 10 June 2023.
2. ↑ Named after Briseis, the Australian Thoroughbred filly who as a three-year-old won the 1876 Melbourne Cup by three lengths in record time.
3. ↑ “BRISEIS DISASTER – WALL OF WATER FIFTY FEET IN HEIGHT”, Advocate (Burnie, Tas.: 1890 - 1954), Wed 19 Jun 1929, Page 5.
4. ↑ Writer, Larry, 2011, "Australian Book of Disasters", Murdoch Books Australia, Australia, pages 51-59.
5. ↑ “BRISEIS DAM DISASTER – DEATH DUE TO ACCIDENTAL DROWNING”, trove, Advocate (Burnie, Tas.: 1890 - 1954), Thu 20 Jun 1929, Page 5.
6. ↑ "BODY IN MINE-THE BRISEIS DISCOVERY", The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.: 1860 - 1954), Tue 3 Sep 1935, Page 5.
7. ↑ "BODY OF ANOTHER BRISEIS VICTIM FOUND", Advocate (Burnie, Tas.: 1890 - 1954), Thu 5 Sep 1935, Page 2.
8. ↑ Michael-Leiba, M., 2013, “Impact of landslides in Australia to December 2011”, Australian Journal of Emergency Management, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 30-36.

• "COMPLETE STORY OF THE DERBY DISASTER-DEATH ROLL TOTALS FOURTEEN", North-Eastern Advertiser (Scottsdale, Tas.: 1909-1954), Mon 8 Apr 1929, Page 3.