When you refer to certain of the witnesses can I take it that you refer to Mr Ballard? asked Harrison drily.
Mr Ballard is one such witness, conceded Rickman. Out of consideration for him it would be better if he could give his evidence and retire.
Is Mr Ballard a citizen of New Zealand?
No, Mr Chairman; he is a United Kingdom subject.
And would his retirement from this hall be as far away as England?
Rickman bent down and spoke quietly to Ballard who replied in equally low tones. Rickman straightened. It is true that there are certain matters in the United Kingdom which urgently require Mr Ballards attention.
Harrisons voice was cold. If I thought it was Mr Ballards intention to leave New Zealand during the sitting of this Commission I would ask the relevant authority to relieve him of his passport. This inquiry is a serious matter, Mr Rickman.
I am sure it is not Mr Ballards intention to flout the authority of the Commissioners, said Rickman hastily. He bent down again and spoke to Ballard, then he rose and said, Mr Ballard has no intention of leaving New Zealand at the present time.
I would prefer to hear that from Mr Ballard. Harrison leaned forward. Is that correct, Mr Ballard?
Ballard stood, and said in a low voice. That is correct, sir. My time is at the disposal of the Commissioners.
In that case you will have no objection to attending this inquiry with the rest of the witnesses. Thank you.
In the Press gallery Edwards said, My God! Whoever Rickman is representing, hes not representing Ballard. He set him up just to knock him down.
Harrison said, This inquiry will not have the formality of a law court, but neither will it be a free-for-all. Representatives of the interested parties may address the witnesses at the discretion of the Chairman. It will not be necessary to disturb the sacro-iliac by standing each time a mere raising of the hand will suffice. The assessors may question the witnesses in their respective fields of expertise.
He put his hands together. Since we are gathering information in chronological order it becomes necessary to decide at which point of time to begin. From depositions laid before the Commission I gather that it was the appearance of Mr Ballard in Hukahoronui which led to a series of events which may or may not have relevance to the disaster which took place some weeks later. That is for this inquiry to decide. Be that as it may, I think the first witness should be Mr Ballard.
Reed, the secretary, said, Will you come forward, Mr Ballard, and sit down there? He indicated an ornately carved chair a little to the right of the rostrum. He waited until Ballard was seated, then said, Your name is Ian Dacre Ballard?
Yes, sir.
And you are managing director of the Hukahoronui Mining Company, Proprietary, Limited?
No, sir.
A hum as of a disturbed hive of bees filled the air. Harrison waited until it had died away, then said quietly, All present will be silent during the questioning of witnesses. He leaned forward. Thank you, Mr Reed; Ill take it from here. Mr Ballard, at the time of the avalanche were you managing director of the company?
Yes, sir.
Can you give me a reason why you are no longer in that position?
Ballards voice was colourless. I was suspended from my duties a fortnight after the disaster.
I see. Harrisons eyes flicked sideways as he saw a hand raised. Yes, Mr Gunn?
Can the witness tell us who owns the Hukahoronui Mining Company?
Harrison nodded to Ballard, who said, Its a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Zealand Mineral Holdings, Limited.
And that company is just a shell instituted for legal and financial reasons, is it not? Who owns it?
It is owned substantially by the International Mining Investment Corporation.
And who has the controlling interest in the International Mining Investment Corporation?
Mr Chairman! Rickman said sharply. Is there provision in your procedure for objections?
Of course, Mr Rickman. What is your objection?
I cannot see what this line of questioning has to do with an avalanche on a hillside.
Neither can I, said Harrison. But no doubt Mr Gunn can make it clear.
I think the answer to my last question will make it quite clear, said Gunn. I asked who owns the controlling interest in the International Mining Investment Corporation.
Ballard raised his head and said clearly, Ballard Holdings, Limited, registered in the City of London.
Gunn smiled. Thank you.
Well, well! said Edwards, scribbling rapidly. So hes one of those Ballards.
Dalwood chuckled. And Gunn is gunning for Rickman. Up the workers and down with international capital. He smells money.
Harrison tapped lightly with his gavel and the hall became quiet again. Mr Ballard, do you own shares or any interest whatever in Ballard Holdings? Or in any of the companies mentioned?
No, sir.
Does any of your family own any such interest?
Yes; my three uncles and some of my cousins.
Not your father?
He is dead.
How did you come to be appointed managing director of the Hukahoronui Mining Company?
Ballard shrugged. The company is an old family concern and I suppose that...
Can the witness describe his qualifications for the position?
Harrison jerked his head around to identify the source of the interruption. You will oblige me by not calling out in this hall, Mr Lyall. Further, you must not interrupt a witness. In a milder voice he said, However, the question is relevant and the witness will answer.
Harrison jerked his head around to identify the source of the interruption. You will oblige me by not calling out in this hall, Mr Lyall. Further, you must not interrupt a witness. In a milder voice he said, However, the question is relevant and the witness will answer.
I have a degree in mining engineering from Birmingham University. I have done post-graduate studies in South Africa and the United States.
Lyall had his arm firmly in the air by this time. But no practical experience as a mining engineer?
Pink spots glowed in Ballards cheeks but he appeared to be in control as he said to Harrison, May I finish answering Mr Lyalls first question?
Of course. Harrison looked at Lyall. Mr Lyall: you will not interrupt the witness, and you will address your questions through me unless I indicate otherwise. Go on, Mr Ballard.
I was about to say that, apart from the engineering studies, I attended the Harvard Business School for two years. As for practical experience as a mining engineer, that would be called for if I professed to be a mining engineer, but as managing director my field was rather that of business administrator.
A valid point, said Harrison. A managing director need not have the technical expertise of the men he directs. If it were so a large number of our managing directors would be immediately unemployed and possibly unemployable.
He waited until the laughter died away, then said, I do not see the point in further questioning along those lines, Mr Lyall. As Lyalls hand remained obstinately raised, he said, Do you have a further and different question?
Yes, Mr Chairman. I am reliably informed that when Mr Ballard appeared in Hukahoronui he was unable to walk except with the aid of a stick. Is this correct?
Is this relevant, Mr Lyall?
I believe so, sir.
Witness will answer the question.
It is correct.
Lyall, his hand up, remained punctiliously silent until Harrison nodded at him curtly. Can you tell us why?
I broke my leg in a skiing accident in Switzerland.
Thank you, Mr Ballard.
I cant say that I see the relevance, observed Harrison. But no doubt it will appear in time.
It was in an avalanche, said Ballard.
There was dead silence in the hall.
Two
Harrison looked across at Lyall. The significance still escapes me, he said. And since Mr Lyall does not see fit to pursue the subject I think we should carry on. Mr Ballard, when did you arrive in Hukahoronui?
On the sixth of June six weeks before the avalanche.
So you had not been there very long. Was Hukahoronui what you expected?
Ballard frowned in thought. The thing that struck me most was how much it had changed.
Harrisons eyebrows rose. Changed! Then you had been here before?
I lived there for fifteen years from infancy until just after my sixteenth birthday.
Harrison made a note. Go on, Mr Ballard. How had Hukahoronui changed?
It was bigger. The mine was new, of course, but there were more houses a lot more houses. He paused. There was a lot more snow than I seem to remember from my childhood.
Professor Rolandson of the DSIR said, It is a matter of record that the snow precipitation in the Southern Alps was exceptionally high this past winter.
Ballard had been depressed as he drove west from Christchurch in a company Land-Rover. He was going back to his origins, to Hukahoronui which lies in an outrider of the Two Thumbs Range, and which he had never expected to see again.
Hukahoronui.
A deep valley in the mountains entered by a narrow rock-split gap and graced with stands of tall trees on the valley slopes. A river runs through, cold from the ice water of the high peaks, and there is a scattering of houses up the valley, loosely centred about a church, a general store and a village school. His mother had once been the schoolteacher.
He hated the place.
It was a bad place to get to in thick snow. There had been heavy snowfalls and even with snow tyres and four-wheel drive Ballard found the going tricky. As far as he could remember there had not been a snow like that in those parts since 1943, but of that his memory was understandably hazy he had been four years old at the time. But he had particular reasons for remembering the heavy snow of that year.
After a lot of low gear work he eventually reached the Gap and he pulled off the road on to a piece of level ground overlooking the river gorge where he contemplated Hukahoronui.
It had certainly changed, just as old Ben said it had. In the distance was a little township where no township had been. On one side, under the western slope of the valley, was a cluster of industrial buildings, presumably the milling works and refinery belonging to the mine. A streamer of black smoke coming from a tall chimney was like a stain against the white hillside beyond.