SIX FISHERMEN DROWNED

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30794, 5 July 1965, Page 1

SIX FISHERMEN DROWNED

Dinghy Tragedy Near Opotiki

(New Zealand Press Association)

GISBORNE, July 4.

Two Gisborne trawlermen are dead, and two crew members, and two Te Kaha part-time fishermen are presumed drowned after a dinghy tragedy off Te Kaha Bay, on Friday night.

The bodies of the skippers of the trawlers were recovered from the sea on Saturday, about a mile off-shore from Te Kaha, 47 miles from Opotiki. They were: Paul Leon Brabet, aged 40, married with two children, of 2 Willow street, Gisborne, skipper of the Silver Dawn. James Edward Burton, aged about 38, married with two children, of 130 Crawford road, Gisborne, skipper of the Sea Harvest. Missing presumed drowned are:

Neville Stephen Murray, aged about 32, single, whose sister is Mrs V. G. Thompson, of 55 Wi Pere street, Gisborne, crewman of the Sea Harvest

Robert Vivian Atkinson, aged about 50, married, with three sons, of 462 Aberdeen road, Gisborne, crewman of the Silver Dawn.

Con Crawford, aged 40, married with five children, a fisherman, of Te Kaha

Allan Swinton, aged 33, married, with four children, a motor mechanic, of Maungaroa, a few miles from Te Kaha.

Three Whakatane skin-divers after two hours in the water this afternoon found some of the supplies which the men in the dinghy were taking back to the trawlers.

The divers, Messrs B. Marx, A. Haultain and M, Beeching worked under water as a flotilla of 11 small boats kept watch. A marker buoy was placed at the spot and search vessels returned to the beach about 4.30 p.m., in preparation for resumption of the search tomorrow morning. The trawlers Sea Harvest, owned by East Coast Fisheries. and Silver Dawn, owned by M. B. Davis, put into Te Kaha Bay on Friday afternoon, anchoring about a quarter of a mile off-shore. Messrs Brabet, Atkinson,

Burton, and Murray went ashore in a dinghy with some Te Kaha fishermen. They left the hotel about 6.30 p.m. on Friday evening and were joined by Messrs Crawford and Swinton, who offered to take the trawlermen out in a dinghy to their vessels with supplies and return with a supply of fish for the hotel. The dinghy was watched by persons from the shore. They could see the cigarettes of those in the dinghy glowing in the darkness until it was presumed they had reached the vessels, but they were not seen again. At the time there was no wind and the sea was calm.

When the party did not return, the publican looked out and saw the masthead lights glowing in the darkness, and assumed the six men had decided to stay aboard. Body Found The first alarm was raised by the Tauranga trawler, Waimana, skippered by Mr Don McDonald, which about 8 a.m. found the body of Mr Burton floating in the sea some miles away. The skipper alerted Tauranga which advised Constable F. Jamieson, of Te Kaha, who, accompanied by the publican and other fishermen, went out about 8.30 a.m., by dinghy, and found the trawlers deserted. A full-scale search was mounted by trawlers, dinghies, a Gisborne-based helicopter and aircraft, while

parties combed the rocky coast of the bay. Towards noon the body of Mr Brabet was found by local fishermen in the sea about 100 yards from shore and later an overturned dinghy was found on rocks about three miles further round the bay coast. The search went on till nightfall without any trace of the other four men being found. Dozens Search A sweep of the sea made by three Gisborne trawlers and dozens of small craft from Te Kaha and the efforts of many coastal searchers this morning were fruitless. Mr M. Davis, owner of the Silver Dawn, and a Gisborne skipper, Mr F. Shirley, who travelled from Gisborne by car on Saturday to take over the Silver Dawn, took part in today’s search. They were joined in Te Kaha by two new crew members for the Sea Harvest, Messrs F. Dudley and G. Cooper, who flew to the scene yesterday afternoon in a helicopter piloted by Mr J. Mettner.

The third Gisborne trawler engaged in the sweep was the Mercury Belle, which put into Te Kaha on Saturday afternoon.

The fleet of small craft organised by Constable Jamieson, made an intensive search of the bay, coastline, and beaches. Men’s Wives Among those who searched the shoreline were the wives of the two Te Kaha men, who are sisters.

It is expected skin-divers from Whakatane will arrive later today and continue the search. Mr Atkinson, with a stepson, Mr G. Kean, figured in a dramatic sea rescue on December 22 when their 42ft trawler, Rose Marie, sank off Tolaga Bay on a trip to Opoua. The Rose Marie began leaking about Gable End foreland and she anchoret} at Tolaga Bay. They kept the pumps going throughout the night, and next morning began to head for Gisborne. Three miles out the Rose Marie began wallowing, and the two men launched the dinghy which they had nearly given away to a friend’s son in Gisborne. It probably saved their lives, for the Rose Marie vanished within a short time.

The pair rowed towards Tolaga Bay, until the Gis-borne-based trawler Taonui arrived on the scene and took them to Gisborne. Mr Atkinson and his stepson lost most of their belongings.