TWO MEN DROWNED.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18241, 27 November 1924, Page 8

TWO MEN DROWNED.

NORTH BEACH TRAGEDY. ONE BODY NOT RECOVERED. Two young men, one of them Clarence E. Seholfield, of Auckland, were drowned in the surf at North New Brighton yesterday afternoon. Seholfield was a commercial traveller employed by A. 11. Nathan and Company, merchants, of Auckland, and his mother resides at Parnell. It is thought that he got into difficulties while trying to save an unknown man, whose body has not yet been recovered. Seholfield was brought ashore after a big struggle with the surf, but efforts to resuscitate him failed, although his rescuers believe that life was not extinct when he was laid on the beach.

Alarm Given. According to Mr H. R. Davison, who keeps the bathing-shed on the Esplanade, two young men about 24 or 25 vears of ago undressed in the shed at about II a.m.. and went out on to the sands. At about 12.45 p.m. Mrs Ethel May Freeborn, of 115 Bowhill road, was standing outside the Surf Club's pavilion when she heard cries, and noticed someone in difficulties. Seholfield, she says, then plunged in and went to the assistance of the man, who was a long way out. Sho called for helpers, and told Mr Davison to give the alarm.

Struggle with Surf. The attempted rescue of Scholfield by Mr H. Eonaldson, a salesman employed by the Todd Motor Company, and a friend, was a fine effort. When sunbathing near the Surf Club's pavilion at 12.30 p.m. they noticed two men calling to each other. The swimmers were a good way out, some thirty or forty yards beyond their depth, and past the channel, bat they seemed to be all right, and so Bonaldson took no notice. About ton minutes later ho and his friend went in for another swim, and then they noticed that one man was in difficulties. Tho tide was low, and the channel and undercurrent made surfing to inexperienced men unsafe. "Wo swam out to the man," said Mr Eonaldson, "and tried to get him ashore, but we could not make any headway, so my friend swam back for a line,, while I kept the man up. It was n. bit of a job, as he had given up hope, and Was saying: 'l'm done, I'm done.' "

The lino was brought out by the other rescuer, who, although almost "done in" himself, could find no other swimmer on the beach. Scholfield gripped the belt, and was dragged to about fifteen yards from the shore, whero ho seemed to collapse, and consequently had to be carried out. Methods of resuscitation ircre at onc-c applied, and shortly afterwards Dr. Glasgow arrived and worked on the man for an hour. Mr Eonaldson said sie thought Scholfield showed signs of coming to, but it may have been the nerves twitching, for the doctor could not bring him back to consciousness. The Missing Man. The rescuers saw no sign of the missing man when they went into the surf, and it is surmised that the body waa swept out and down the beach by tho strong undertow that was running. Two suits of unclaimed clothes were found in the dressing-shed, one belonging to Scholfield and the other to the unknown bather. A slight clue to his identity is a mourning pocket-hand-kerchief with a name which looks like "Mrs Burns" in the corner. Ko papers or coins were in the pockets of the clothes, a description of which is as follows: Fairly light grey check suit, soft white collar with black stripes, dark tie, light velour Stetson hat, size 6J, and brown shoes, size 8. Constable J. Hislop, of New Brighton, waa on the scene shortly after 1 o'clock, and he helped with the efforts at resuscitation. Last night he made several excursions along the beach, but he did not recover tho body. He considers that it will be washed up at Sumner.

The late Mr Seholfield was well known in Timaru and Christchurch. He was a tennis enthusiast, and had played in tournaments in both towns. Suggested Identity. The name of the missing man may be Alexander Wilfred Anderson, who was boarding at 700 Gloucester street, Dallington, but who had not returned to the house since yesterday morning. A description given of his 'clothes to the New Brighton police last night tallies with the unclaimed garments in their possession.

LIFE-SAVING SOCIETY'S RESOLUTION. PERMANENT BEACH PATROL SUGGESTED. A motion of sympathy with the relatives of the two men drowned at North Beach yesterday was adopted by the Canterbury Head Centre of the Royal Life-Saving Society at its meeting last night. At a later stage of the meeting, Mr K. Bassett said that the time was opportune for asking the proper authorities to appoint a permanent patrol-man on the beaches during the week, when volunteer Lifo-Saving Club members could not be present. This was all the more necessary in view of the fact that visitors who did not know the beaches bathed on weekdays. Mr H. S. Feast said that at the opening of the New Brighton Surf Club last Sunday, Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P., had stated that there was a move on foot amongst several members of Parliament to recommend the appointment of a patrol-man. On Mr Bassett's motion, it was agreed to write to the New Brighton and Sumner Borough Councils recommending that a patrol-man should be appointed. It was stated that the Government and outside local bodies should be asked to share in the cost of maintaining a patrol-man, as bathers from outside the boroughs got into trouble more frequently than local residents.