STRUCK BY TREE

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30234, 12 September 1963, Page 12

STRUCK BY TREE

Jaycee Worker Died (N.Z. Press Association) NEW PLYMOUTH, Sept 11. The Coroner might consider a rider to his verdict as a warning to other groups to take heed of what could happen when an enthusiastic but unskilled group undertook a hazardous project. Mr R. O. Barker, of Auckland, suggested at the inquest at Taumarunui today into the death of Peter John Lawrence. The Coroner (Mr G. 11. Campbell) found that Lawrence died at Cherry Grove, Taumarunui, on August 10. as a result of injuries he suffered when he was struck by a falling tree during clearing operations undertaken by the Jaycees. Mr Barker, who represented the widow, said he did not wish to decry the Jaycees, but in a town such as Taumarunui, the centre of a timber milling area, there would surely have been many qualified people who would have assisted instead of leaving the work to well-meaning amateurs. Mr B. Hudson, representing the Taumarunui Jaycees, said Jaycees throughout New Zealand felt deeply about the incident. He said the organisation was conducting a careful inquiry into the incident and would do all within its power to ensure that such a thing did not happen again.