DROWNING FATALITY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 303, 23 December 1929, Page 9

DROWNING FATALITY.

ACCIDENT IN MANUKAU. ENTANGLED IN NET. BODY NOT YET RECOVERED. Mr. John Massey Gardiner was drowned in the Manukau Harbour about five o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Mr. Gardiner, who was alone in "a dinghy, was engaged in pulling his fishing net into the boat, when, it is believed, he overbalanced and became entangled in it. He was clad in heavy clothing : " gum boots. Mr. Fraser who, with two other men, was engaged repairing a launch in the vicinity, went out to Mr. , Gardiner's assistance and dived several times but failed to get the body. Dragging operations were carried out until dark on Saturday by two Onehunga constables and again yesterday, but so far the body has not' been recovered. Mr. Gardiner was employed as a slaughterman at Otahuhu and resided at McKendrick's Parade, Te Papapa. He leaves a wife and five children, all boys, the eldest being 15 years of age. The place where the accident occurred was a favourite one for fishermen, and was only a shirt distance from Mr. Gardiner's home. It had been high-water at about 3.15 p.m., and the spring tide had just begun to ebb when the accident occurred. The south-west wind had made the water choppy, while deceased's attempts to free himself from the net would be hindered by the thick layer of soft mud at the bottom of the estuary where the accident took place.