Murchison bomb

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DescriptionNew Zealand - the home of the world's first civilian self deletion with explosives.

For a small, isolated country, New Zealand has achieved numerous firsts. First man to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, first country to grant women the right to vote, first bungee jump, first jet boat, and the first manned powered flight (please don’t tell the Americans). But there is one more first that our wee nation can claim, and that is the first ever use of an explosive vest.

On Friday, 14th July 1905, in the small settlement of Murchison in New Zealand's South Island, two neighbouring farmers were sitting in court to settle a long lasting dispute. The dispute was predominantly over a white-faced heifer, which disappeared in 1903 after Walter Neame had branded her and turned her out with four others. Two years later, Neame spotted the heifer on the 57-year-old Joseph Sewell's property. Neame approached the Sewell’s property and was quickly intercepted by Sewell’s daughter, who stated the heifer was theirs. The dispute quickly ramped up into overdrive.

Police tried to intervene, but little could be done. Neame took the heifer back, but Sewell eventually retrieved the poor heifer again. Eventually, the dispute had to be settled in court.

Fifty people were packed like sardines into the Murchison Courthouse. Sewell and Neame decided to represent themselves, rather than to seek counsel. During the proceedings, there was a lot of backwards and forwards. The court documents shown similarities to a girl's school-yard cat fight, but it was about to have an explosive escalation.

Sewell was showing increased agitation. As the proceedings escalated, Sewell burst out aloud with "There is no sense him (Walter Neame) talking, I've been humbugged with this dammed fellow for 17 years, he will be eating my eggs next time. I'll blow the devil to hell, and I have enough dynamite to do just that." At that point, the police realised that Sewell had not taken his hand out of his pocket for the whole proceedings that day. The magistrate decided it was best to adjourn, to give Sewell time to calm down outside. He was ushered outside by his supporter, with an inspector and a constable closely following behind him. As soon as the men were outside, Sewell swung around, facing towards the inspector, shouting, "Keep back, I don't want to hurt you, you are a gentleman, but don't let Scott come near, he summoned me!"

Sewell then pulled out an explosive charge and stated that he had 50 more of them wrapped around his body and was ready to blow. The inspector approached him with the goal of calming and disarming the agitated man. But instead Sewell detonated his explosive wears. Needless to say, Sewell was no more, nearly being vaporised during the chemical process of gelignite being set off. The inspector and Sewell’s supporter were gravely injured. Many people lay on the ground in a daze, while those who were still inside the courthouse were struck by flying glass. Somehow, no one but Sewell died during the explosive self-deletion.

Sewell had amassed an explosive stockpile of 150 plugs of gelignite for blowing up tree stumps. Sewell’s son, William, told the coroner that on the early morning of the day of the blast, 99 of the plugs as well as 70 detonators had gone missing. The inquest into the blast concluded that Sewel was in a state of temporary insanity at the time of the explosion.

Needless to say, Walter Neame got his heifer back.

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Picture shows a plaque where the event occurred. See lessMap^[1]

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EventMurchison bomb

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Murchison bomb

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