A MYSTERY SOLVED!

By James Duncan

Recently a lady contacted Malcom at the MOTAT Library seeking help in trying to solve the riddle about the death of a family member who had been an Auckland tram Conductor.

All the lady had was a newspaper article mentioning the death of her relative, Mr. George McLean, and how he was knocked off his Onehunga bound tram by a “cross bar.” She really wanted to know what this “cross bar” might have been. Malcom asked if I could help with this most unusual request.

I had some rough ideas about this, and sought the help of fellow MOTAT Tramway member Vincent Chan. We knew that in the early years of operation, the Onehunga tram line was single line with passing loops and that the Onehunga Borough Council had demanded steel traction poles to hold up the overhead wires, not knobby old wooden poles. So, all the way down the single line sections of Queen Street in Onehunga, the tram line was close to the footpath on the outward journey and these ornate steel poles supported the overhead. After that the line was double tracked and span wires supported the line and the track relocated closer to the centre of the roadway. As this incident took place in 1932, contact with the traction poles would be impossible because by this time the line was double-tracked.

Here is the newspaper story that the lady brought in a bid to help us in resolving the riddle.

Source: Rotorua Morning Post 6 August 1932 (National Library of New Zealand)

So, Vincent and I went searching Papers Past for any details of the incident and the two clippings we found answered all the questions! It was a Time Clock pole that did Mr. Mclean in!!The Time Clocks were attached to steel poles installed between each set of tram lines. Tram Motormen had to stop, then put a small key into the clock with their Duty number on it, to record the time they reached the clock, and this stamped their duty number onto a paper roll. Inspectors later checked the paper roll and the times recorded, to make sure trams were reaching the clock at the correct time. If they had clocked in after the correct time, the Motorman would be hauled over the coals for being late and asked to “please explain.” If it was before the designated time, it indicated that the tram had been speeding and the Motorman would likewise be called to account.

I have included some images of these time clocks, one being in Garnet Road Westmere, but these clocks were all over the tramway system. This was a sort-of speed control, as it had been calculated what the correct journey time would be from one clock to another, taking into account tram stops for passengers. An example of how this worked can be found at Pt Chevalier – when they departed the terminus at Pt Chev beach, the Motorman would record his time using his duty key. On arrival at Hall Corner in Great North Road, there was another clock. The time had to be recorded on arrival and if they had been traveling at the correct speed, they would record the time, then move off. The next clock was at the Surrey Crescent shops……and so on into town.

We have one of these recording clocks at the MOTAT1 Tram terminus.

Below is the story of what befell Mr. Mclean.

HEAD STRIKES POLE

TRAM CONDUCTOR'S DEATH LEANING OUT OF THE CAR ACCIDENT AT ONEHUNGA

Fatal injuries were received by a tram conductor, Mr. George McLean, aged 60, when his head came violently in contact with a centre-pole in Lower Queen Street, Onehunga, at about three o'clock yesterday afternoon. Mr. McLean was leaning from the back platform of the tramcar when the accident occurred.

The tramcar, which was outward bound, was driven by Mr. E. O'Neill, of 41 Onslow Road, Epsom. The motorman stopped at the pole bearing the timeclock and on receiving the signal from the conductor to proceed, drove on to the terminus, a short distance away. Both Mr. O'Neill and the two passengers on the tram, a boy and another motorman who was off duty, were unaware that the accident had occurred, but on arrival at the terminus the driver found the conductor was not on the car. He commenced the return trip and on arrival at the clock pole

Source: New Zealand Herald (1932), © NZME. Reproduced under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 via Papers Past.

found Mr. McLean lying nearby.

The St. John Ambulance was summoned and Mr. McLean, who resided at 25 Quadrant Road, Onehunga, was taken to the Auckland Hospital. He was dead on arrival. He was married and had one adult daughter. He had been in the tramways service for about nine years. The time-clocks on the various tramway routes were introduced nine years ago. Short poles bearing the clocks were erected on the kerb-line, and in order to register the time, motormen had to leave their cars and cross the road. Complaints were received from motormen concerning the danger of being struck by passing traffic, and also the inconvenience in wet weather, and finally a motorman was killed while crossing to punch the clock at the foot of Farmers' Hill, Great South Road, and another was injured similarly in Ponsonby Road. The clocks were then transferred to poles set between the two sets of tracks, the change-over being made nearly seven years ago. The accident yesterday was the first in which a tramway-man has been injured at a timeclock since the alteration was made.

NZ Herald 6 August 1932 - courtesy Auckland Libraries and NZME

STRUCK BY CENTRE POLE

TRAM CONDUCTOR'S DEATH VERDICT AT THE INQUEST

The adjourned inquest into the death of George H. McLean, tram conductor, who was killed on August 5 in Queen Street, Onehunga, was held before the coroner, Mr. F. H. Levien, at Onehunga yesterday. Dr. Leslie Gould, of the Auckland Hospital, said that death was due to a fracture of the skull. Joyce Wiseneski, aged nine years, stated that she saw the conductor of a tramcar lean outward and he was struck on the head by the pole which supported the recording clock between the two lines of rails. He fell from the tram on to the road. John King, aged eight years, also said he saw the conductor struck on the head by the centre pole. The coroner returned a verdict that death was due to shock, following injuries received as the result of falling from a tramcar.

NZ Herald 23 August 1932 - courtesy Auckland Libraries and NZME

Left: 1949 #226 in Garnet Rd Westmere with Motorman recording his time at the clock - note light signals for the single line to terminus (Graham Stewart) Right: 1930s Motorman uses a brass key to record his running time on the recorder clock that notes his Duty number and time (Graham Stewart Coll)