FARMER DROWNED

CAPSIZE OF BOAT

BODY NOT RECOVERED

A well-known resident of the Kaipara district, Mr. Jack Monk, aged 40, single, a farmer at South Head, was drowned at the Kaipara Heads on Sunday afternoon when the boat in which he was fishing capsized in a choppy sea, states a Helensville correspondent, A schoolboy companion, the son of Mr. G. Sinclair, a lighthouse-keeper at Pouto, managed to reach the shore in safety after a long swim in the rough

The pair set out about midday in a 14ft punt with the idea of fishing of! Sterling -Rock, about a mile and a half from Pouto, on the inside channel, when a sudden squall overturned the boat. Both occupants immediately struck out for the shore, the boy Sinclair being ahead of Mr. Monk. The latter, - however, decided to return to the boat, and when the lad reached the shore some time later he saw Mr. Monk waving from the upturned boat. A nearby .farmer, Mr. L. McLeod, was advised of Mr. Monk's plight, and a search was commenced by launch. The upturned boat was found later near Midge Rocks some distance away from Sterling Point, but there was no trace of Mr. Monk. In the meantime, several rowing boats put out from Pouto and joined in the search. They were assisted later by fishing launches.

The search was continued throughout Monday under the direction of the Ruawai police, but no trace of the body had been discovered late in the evening. As the accident occurred on a falling tide it is considered possible that the body was swept out to sea.

Mr. Monk was a returned soldier. He was the son of Mr. P. A. Monk, of Pouto, his mother residing in Auckland. '