The Star, Friday 26 June 1863
(Ballarat, Victoria, Australia)

NEWS AND NOTES
At three o’clock on Thursday afternoon a fine young man named Samson Mitchell met with a violent and instantaneous death at the One and All Company’s claim, Little Bendigo, by which he has left a wife and six children unprovided for. It seems that while the deceased and three other men were coming up the shaft in the cage, the driver lost command of the engine and the cage was drawn violently up to the poppet heads. The men seeing what was likely to happen endeavored to reach the platform by jumping off. Two of them succeeded in reaching the platform, while one saved himself by clinging to the cage, the iron work at the top saving his hands from being crushed on reaching the poppet heads, but Mitchell fell to the bottom of the shaft, a depth of two hundred and thirty feet, and was instantaneously killed. The deceased was a native of Cornwall, and thirty-six years of age. His youngest child was born but three weeks since. An inquest on the remains of Samson Mitchell will be held this day, and they will be buried in the general cemetery on Sunday.

Contributed by Bob Bolitho