FOUND DEAD IN POOL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 198, 22 August 1932, Page 5

FOUND DEAD IN POOL.

AGED ROTORUA RESIDENT, REPUTEDLY WEALTHY. LIVED IN APPARENT PENURY. (From Our 'Own Correspondent.) \ ROTORUA, Saturday. When Mr. James Thompson, storeman at the Rotorua railway station, was strolling through the Kuirau Reserve with his wife and sisler on Saturday afternoon he saw a naked body floating face downwards in what is known as the Soda Pool. Hastening to the spot, he ascertained that it was the dead body of an old man, and then rang up the police.

Mr. P. Tschopp, the borough landscape architect, who is in charge of the reserve, recovered the body, which was subsequently recognised as that of Mr. William Robert Corcorane, aged about 82, a well-known resident of the town for the last 18 or 20 years.

An inquest was not considered necessary, as Dr. R.'M. Dorsett was prepared to give a certificate of death from heart failure. He informed the police that he had been treating deceased for some time past, and had warned him against taking baths. At the time of his death he was not in a fit condition to enter a hot bath, and the shock undoubtedly caused a heart attack. Owned Twelve Houses. Although possessed of ample means, the old man lived in apparent penury. He owned 12 houses in the town, yet was content with one small room at the rear of one of his dwellings let to a tenant. He was generally seen about town carrying his possessions around with him in a couple of sugar bags slung over his shoulder by a stick. He had these treasured bags with him on the day of his death, and left them with his clothes on the bank when he entered the pool. On searching these bags the police found the sum of £39 in notes, and it is believed that deceased's estate will realise between £10,000 and £12,000. So far as is known he was a single man, with his only relatives in Australia. His affairs are in the hands of the Public Trustee. The old man was a keen lover of sport, and had witnessed many famous battles in the ring. He used to say he had watched thirty Melbourne Cup races. The Soda Pool. In ordinary circumstances the Soda Pool is not a dangerous place to bathe in, but the temperature varies. It was a little above the normal heat on Saturday, and certainly much too hot for an old man with a weak heart. Mr. Tschopp, who entered the pool to recover the body, said the water, which readied up to his shoulders, made him feel faint. Some time ago, at a night bathing party, a girl mistook a nearby bathing pool for the harmless one, and was so badly scalded that she died.

The Soda Pool is very popular as a bathing spot, especially since the Lobster Pool has dried up, as no charge is made, and a bath can lie had at any time. The water, being a dull brown colour, is not inviting, but its effects are very refreshing for those able to stand the heat.