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103:"The hour was not without its heroes who were quick to think and act, and to these heroes, women and men, the salvation of many lives from the waters is due, as well as the winning back from death of many who had to all appearances passed into the shadowland. The work of rescuers lasted through all the afternoon, and by evening the greater number of bodies had been recovered, although it is practically certain that yet others are still to be removed from the fatal waters."
116:"It was wonderful how coolly and energetically men and women worked. Class distinctions and all were forgotten. Delicate ladies whom one might expect to shrink from scenes of horror aided the work of resuscitating the unfortunate victims as one by one they were brought ashore and laid on the lawns of Capt. Grant's house. It was an awful sight as one motionless form after another was brought up on the steep back and placed upon the grass."
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lacking safety standards, poor bridge maintenance, and the overcrowded street car, the bridge collapsed causing the streetcar to crash into the water. The 143 occupants of the street car, as well as two other horse-led vehicles and a gentleman on a bicycle who was crossing the bridge at the same time, fell into the water.
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Bay street was used a primary area for recovering both the living and dead. The dead were laid out on the lawn, and the living were taken into the drawing room where Mrs. Grant had worked quickly to turn it into an infirmary. Other neighbours are recorded as having brought: "blankets, brandy and other restoratives." The
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Many of homeowners who owned property at Point Ellice are recorded as having seen or heard the collapse and jumped into action to aid in rescue efforts. The daughters of Mr. Justice Drake of the
Tyrwhitt-Drake residence are credited with pulling seven people from the water. The Grant residence at 304
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contributory negligence because the bridge had not been well maintained, and because council failed to take steps to restrict the traffic on the bridge to within safe limits. The design and construction of the bridge was also found to have been poor, especially in that the specifications called for
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On May 26, 1896, just before 2:00 pm the
Consolidated Electric Railway Company's No. 16 street car passed over the Point Ellice Bridge. It was overburdened with 143 passengers on their way to view the naval battles that were occurring in Esquimalt in celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday. Due to
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concluded that the tramway operator, the
Consolidated Electric Railway Company, was responsible for the disaster because it allowed its streetcar to be loaded with a much greater weight of passengers than the bridge was designed to support. The city council of Victoria was found to be guilty of
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On the day of the collapse 47 people were recorded as having died, but as the debris of the streetcar was removed and search efforts continued the number of dead rose to 55. Men, women, and children from Port
Townsend, Seattle, Tacoma, Victoria, and Vancouver were among the deceased.
137:"Yesterday the Queen’s birthday was kept, but very quietly – no regatta, no racing, no nothing – I believe…Tomorrow the 26th a day never to be forgotten, when I believed for a while that I have lost my darling child but by gods’ miracle she was spared."
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The register that recorded trolley fares had recorded that 98 fares had been collected, however it is believed that the conductor had not finished collecting fares when the collapse occurred.
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A letter to
Kathleen O'Reilly from Harry Stanhope discusses how the London papers had reported of a death of an O'Reilly, though this was later retracted.
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nearly one year after the bridge disaster he remarks on how he believed that his eldest daughter
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No
Horesecars in Paradise: A History of the Street Railways and Public Utilities in Victoria, British Columbia before 1897
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The
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Seeing the streetcar plunge into the water, many bystanders leapt into action. According to the
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370:"At the Place of Death. Scenes and Incidents of the Disaster and of the Work Rescue"
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320:"Twenty Nine Years of Public Service: British Columbia Electric Railway Limited"
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and spans the Upper
Harbour at the same location today. It marks where the
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in 1805 and was largely responsible for its decision to merge with the
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crowded with 143 holidaymakers on their way to attend celebrations of
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Reprint of articles from the
Victoria Colonist of May 27, 1896
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connects the two halves of Bay Street between Victoria and
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Point Ellice, and the Point Ellice Bridge, were named for
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Peter O'Reilly's 1897 Diary. British Columbia Archives
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Looker, Janet (2000). "Point Ellice Bridge Collapse".
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Francis (ed), Daniel (2000) . Francis, Daniel (ed.).
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to be used, but the ironwork was almost all welded.
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282:The Story of the B. C. Electric Railway Company
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412:(3rd, 1997 ed.), Vancouver: UBC Press,
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404:Akrigg, G.P.V.; Akrigg, Helen B. (1986),
207:List of disasters in Canada by death toll
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298:. Lynx Images. p. 241.
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566:Transport disasters in 1896
431:Parker, Douglas V. (1981).
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517:48.4342556°N 123.3780944°W
341:"VICTORIA MOURNS HER DEAD"
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376:. May 27, 1896. p. 8
347:. May 27, 1896. p. 1
581:1896 disasters in Canada
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