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FOUR HORSES KILLED BY
LIGHTNING
Driver's Remarkable Escape In
Thunderstorm
FOUR horses working in a field were killed by lightning and
two girls in a house were thrown to the floor during a
terrific thunderstorm which swept through the Elderslie and
Broadmarsh district on Thursday afternoon. A man seated on
the cultivator to which the horses were attached had a remark-
able escape.
THE draught horses were the property of
Mr F Reynolds, of Elderslie, and
were being worked in a steel cultivator by
Ernest J. Duthoit an employee in a field
about a mile from the homestead. When
rain began about 4 30 p m , Duthoit de-
cided to take a short cut through the
ploughed field to the nearest gate.
As the horses were moving slowly
across the rough field, there was a
blinding flash of lightning over their
heads, and all four went down in a
heap.
The ploughman was hurled from the
seat of the cultivator only a few feet be-
hind the horses, and when he regained
his senses he was lying about four feet
behind the team.
"The whole paddock seemed to split in
front of me and the noise of the explos-
ion was indescribable " said Duthoit re-
lating the incident yesterday ' I believe
I owe my life to the fact that I was sit-
ting on a rubber cushion, and had my feet
on a wooden platform. "
He said that the lightning seemed to
strike one of the horses on the outside
of the team first, and the last he remem-
bered was seeing the team fall.
As soon as he realised that the horses
were dead Duthoit ran to Mr W Black-
well's residence He was exhausted and
complained of severe pains above his
hands Yesterday his wrists were still
sore.
Mrs G Davis, who lives about 1½ miles
from where the team was at work, saw
the lightning strike. She saw a sheet
of flame low on the ground, and although
she directed her husband's attention to
the incident at the time, it was not until
late at night that she discovered what
had happened.
Mr F Reynolds jun. said yesterday that
three of the horses had been bred on the
property, and were valued at more than
£150.
Family's Ordeal
Mr E P McShane and his family at
Broadmarsh, about eight miles from El-
derslie, had a terrifying experience dur-
ing the storm The family gathered at
the house when the rain began There
was a terrific crash alongside the radio
and the power point was blown into 50
pieces and scattered about the room.
Mr McShane's small daughter Mary
was lying on a bed in another room when
the lightning struck the house and she
was thrown on to the floor. Dust flew out
of the ceiling above the bed, and the
house seemed to sway.
Miss Joan McShane, who was turn-
ing a separator in the dairy a few yards
from the house, was thrown off her
feet and suffered bruises to one arm
and shock.
The electric lighting system and tele-
phone at the house were put out of order,
and in the stable where two horses were
sheltering from the rain an electric lamp
above the stalls exploded.
Mr. A. C. Wilby, the Derwent Valley
foreman of the Hydro-Electric Commis-
sion renewed 21 fuses on main lines dur-
ing Thursday night and yesterday morn-
ing in the districts of Elderslie Brighton
Tea Tree Richmond Cambridge, and
New Norfolk The hydro-electric sub-
station at Bridgewater also was out of
order for a short time on Thursday night
At Elderslie 249 pts of rain fell
between 4 30 p m on Thursday and 9am
yesterday The bulk of the ram fell be-
tween 5 pm and 8 p m on Thursday.
At Broadmarsh 142 pts were registered.
Steady rain set in at New Norfolk about
11 am yesterday, and there was heavy
rain on Thursday night.
Washout At Magra
The occupants of a house at Magra
were washed out and considerable dam-
age was done to property in the Back
River Valley during the height of a
severe storm on Thursday evening.
Magra is within a few miles of Elders-
lie in a direct line across a range of hills,
and the small settlement received the
full force of the storm which swept El-
derslie Severe damage was done on
the property of Mr. M. Triffitt, He was
in the house with his wife and a youth,
Jack Triffitt when the storm broke.
Accompanying the first deluge was a
terrific lightning flash which demolished
one end of a barn. Water rushed towards
the house from three directions down a
hillside, and when Mr Triffitt opened
the back door water flowed into the
house.
Within a few minutes it was knee
deep, and Mr Triffitt, his wife, and
Jack Triffitt had to wade through a
fast flowing stream as they struggled
to reach the shelter of a tree. From
that point they watched two carts
swirled away by the water which rac-
ed through the yard.
The vehicles were hurled against a
large willow tree and buried in silt and
debris. A tree, about 70ft, long, was
uprooted by the rush of water and de-
posited near the house, and potatoes
were washed out of a paddock.
Fences were carried away and huge
boulders were washed on to the pad-
docks near the house. The damage on
Mr. Triffitt's property is estimated at
more than £150
Mr. W. Latham's potato patch also
was washed out. Mrs. W. Blackwell,
who was in a house near the water
channel with six children, had a terri-
fying experience during the height of
the storm.
Heavy hail preceded the rain, and it
is feared apple crops in the district will
suffer considerably.
Damage To Fruit
A heavy thunderstorm broke over the
Gretna district on Thursday. It was ac-
companied by lightning and heavy rain
about 5 pm, when 18 points were regis-
tered in 15 minutes. Steady rain fell
throughout Thursday night and yesterday
morning and at 2 p m yesterday 125
points had been recorded for 21 hours.
That made the total for the month more
than two inches.
In the Black Hills district a few miles
from Gretna the storm was particularly
severe. Considerable damage was done
to small fruit gardens in this area. Crops
of cherries suffered when a hailstorm
swept the fruit from the trees.
After a prolonged dry spell during
which caterpillars played havoc with
pastures. National Park enjoyed a
steady soaking rain. Potato and late
pea crops will benefit considerably.
By 9 am yesterday 145 points had been
registered at Bothwell, making the total
for the month 153 points.
Rain, which was welcomed by orchard-
ists and pastoralists, fell in most Huon
districts yesterday The subsoil in
orchards lacked moisture following the
dry spell and pastures were badly in
need of the soaking rain.
Registrations High
Fairly general rain fell in Tasmania
yesterday and for the 24 hours ended 9
a m , 116 points were registered at Hobart
Other high recordings during the same
period included Bagdad, 175 points,
Glenorchy 133, New Town 133 Bellerive
122 Hamilton 126 and Bronte 110
In Hobart dull overcast conditions pre-
vailed yesterday and light rain fell dur-
ing most of the day.
Further cloudy thick weather, with
rain at intervals, is probable particularly
in the south-east of the State.
Middleton had an extraordinary hail-
storm on Thursday Thunder and light-
ning preceded the storm, the roar of
which was heard five minutes before it
broke. Hailstones as large as mothballs
and jagged pieces of ice measuring an
inch across fell with terrific force, and
sounded like pistol shots as they struck
iron roofs. Apples and pears were
severely cut and bruised by the hailstones
and much fruit was damaged. During
the night 75 points of rain fell. This will
be of great benefit, as very dry condi-
tions had prevailed, water was becoming
scarce, and feed was drying off rapidly.
Beginning at 3 am yesterday rain
fell heavily over the Deloraine district,
and continued during the day, accom
panied by oppressive, sultry weather.
The rain will relieve the drought condi-
tions, which have caused anxiety to
farmers because of the rapid drying off
of grass. In 24 hours 43 points of rain
fell.
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