Wreck - Tuys De Wet!

[Bob Molloy]

Re the question: did they attach a new Landrover to the wing mirror?
Tiny eventually calmed down and gave me the keys to another Landy but the Safety Officer, then a character known as Boulderhead Beresford (he was as bald as a billiard ball) found me guilty of destroying company property - without ever speaking to me or getting my version - and proposed that I pay for the damage.
It was a complete kangaroo court jackup. Hard to credit I know, but I was never asked for my report nor given the chance to attend the inquiry.
Unfortunately for Boulderhead I took a pic of the wreck plus the skid marks (which he didn't, reporting only by word of mouth to the enquiry) and knew I had a case. One glance at the almost flattened Landy would have shown that no driver could have survived a forward crash as the impact would have thrown me either into the windscreen (no seat belts in those days) or under the dash. In either situation I would have been minced by the dozer treads. The only conclusion could be that my vehicle was stationary when struck.
Fortunately Hughie Marx who was the mine electrical engineer and my head of department, came in to bat for me. I also knew my way around the Mines and Works Act, one requirement being that in any mine accident resulting in injury or death the Inspector of Mines (a person akin to God in the mining world) could be called in to officiate.
That was my ace in the hole though, as Hugh pointed out, I was clearly not injured and very much alive. My point was that I would decide whether I was injured or not and, if I was railroaded, I would certainly appeal to the Inspector. I was pretty damn sure that mention of the Inspector would send everyone screaming for cover. Hughie took that message back to the Kangaroos. I have no idea what happened behind closed doors but Boulderhead quietly dropped the case.
As for the wing mirror: Tiny gave it back to me as a souvenir. I kept it for years after and was even allowed to take it with me when leaving Omund. It was eventually fitted to an old WW2 Willys Jeep which I rebuilt for use as a dune buggy when living in Hout Bay. Just before leaving SA in 1985 I sold that lovely old vehicle - complete with CDM55 wing mirror - to a jeep freak like myself who lived in Durban. I assume it is still dune buggying around somewhere. Wing mirrors tend to last a long time........