The death of a 79-year-old Southland man, caused by old explosives, was a tragedy that could have been avoided, a coroner says.
Donald Gene Woodford died on February 1, 2024 — his birthday — while trying to dispose of a substance called Powergel at his farm near Mossburn.
In a decision of Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame, released last week, she noted Powergel was a "high strength, robust detonator sensitive emulsion explosive" with similarities to gelignite.
Mr Woodford had worked with his brother as a fencing contractor for 50 years and used the substance during his work to blow up rocks in the ground.
After upgrading his equipment, he had stored the Powergel in a shed for "many years", the coronial decision said.
In 2023, Mr Woodford attempted to return the explosives to the store where he purchased them, but staff would not accept them.
He then approached police, but they only advised him to take them to the manufacturer.
The coroner said contacting the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) was the best approach in such circumstances, but Mr Woodford had not received that direction.
"Had he taken advice from the NZDF, Mr Woodford would not have tried to detonate the Powergel himself and the tragic consequence could have been avoided," the coroner said.
In 2024, the pensioner discussed with his wife moving the shed which housed the explosives so it could be used for firewood storage.
Mr Woodford took the Powergel with him to a hut at Waterloo Station, which he had helped his father build, telling his wife he would be back after 1pm the next day.
When he did not return, she contacted Mr Woodford’s brother who went to investigate.
Police later attended and found several small half-exploded detonators near Mr Woodford’s body.
A postmortem revealed extensive injuries to his head and chest, suggesting he had the explosive in front of his chest while he was crouching or sitting when the detonation occurred.
The official cause of death, the coroner determined, was "blast and shrapnel injuries from an explosive device".
A member of the NZDF explained in a statement the dangers of dealing with such devices.
"Explosives, commercial or otherwise, deteriorate over time and become less stable and a lot more volatile, becoming more sensitive to heat, shock and friction as they age.
"Detonators especially pose a high risk as they are highly sensitive when produced."
Mr Woodford’s family expressed a desire for others to learn from the tragedy.
The coroner recommended police issue a reminder to staff that when a member of the public reported unused explosives, the NZDF explosive ordnance disposal unit be contacted.
She commended police for the proactive steps already taken to amend protocols.
