FOUR CHILDREN DEAD

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24797, 11 February 1946, Page 4

FOUR CHILDREN DEAD

DROWNED IN LAKE BOAT CAPSIZES AT WANAKA (From Our Own Correspondent.) DUNEDIN, February 10. Four children were drowned at Wanaka on Saturday. The names of the victims were:— D’Arcy James Horrell, aged 11, son of Mrs Horrell, of Msungawera. Alfred Charles Archer, aged seven, son of Mr and Mrs A. Archer, of Wanaka. # James Neville Collins, aged seven, Anthony Trevor Collins, aged six, children of Mr and Mrs Collins, also oF Wanaka. About 1.15 p.m. Mr George Burgess, who lives a quarter of a mile from the beach overlooking the lake, saw a boat leaving the beach. A’ few minutes later he saw the boat capsize and the children clinging to it. Mr Burgess at once sent his wife to a neighbour’s telephone to give the alarm and made toward the lake. Upon arrival, he saw the boat overturned, but there was no sign of the children. Mr Burgess immediately proceeded by car to Anderson’s shop, where he picked up Douglas Rutherford and returned to the lake. Rutherford swam out to the floating boat, about a chain from the shore, but he could find no trace of the children. Because of the extremely cold temperature of the water Rutherford soon became exhausted and he was forced to return to the shore. By this time the police, three doctors, and five visiting nurses had arrived on the scene besides the local physician. Also present were three members of surf life-saving clubs, Messrs D. A. E. Mathieson, of Dunedin, and P. E. Perry and J. Neal, of tne Island Bay club, in Wellington, who were on holiday in the district. A launch owned by Mr J. W. Smith was obtained and Constable Simons and the three surfclub members recovered the bodies at 2 o’clock. Artificial respiration was immediately commenced and continued until 5 p.m., but without avail. It is understood that the boat, which was lying on the beach, was pushed out into the lake by the children. There were no oars or rowlocks in the boat, but a southerly swell carried it out from the beach.

DREDGE HAND DROWNED

From Out Own- Reporter WESTPORT, February 10. Shortly after 4 p.m. yesterday, while engaged in picking up mooring chains for the dredge Maui in the Buller river, Harold Pearson, aged 29, a dredge hand, was drowned. He. with another dredge hand, Cecil Robertson, were in a boat engaged in uncoupling the dredge moorings near the half-tide wall when the boat capsized. ' Pearson for some time clung to the buoy which indicated the position of the mooring line, Robertson retaining hold of the boat. The plight of Pearson was seen by the crew of the dredge, who immediately lowered a lifeboat to go to his assistance. A youth near the men in the water went to their assistance in a boat, but before he got there Pearson had disappeared. Dragging operations were started at once, but so far the body has not been found. Pearson during the early years of the war had been a member of the Merchant Navy, and had served in convoys to Russia and in Middle East waters. Two of the vessels on which he served were torpedoed. He returned to New Zealand two years ago. He was a married man employed by tne Marine Department since his return to Westport, where he was born.

TRAIN PASSENGER INJURED From Our Own Reporter GREYMOUTH. February 10. John Hamilton, 26, single, of Fockflville street. New Plymouth, a passenger on the ■ mixed perishable goods train from the West Coast to Canterbury on Friday night, received extensive injuries to his right arm, as the* result of which he had the lower portion amputated in the Grey Hospital on Saturday morning. Hamilton apparently fell off the train between Inchbonnie and Jackson’s. In spite of the injury to nis arm and bruising of one leg he walked some distance to Jackson’s, where he was found by a member of a train crew, and received medical attention from Mrs F. Fussell at Jackson’s. His condition last evening was reported to be satisfactory.