Party Delayed By Poisoning

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32395, 7 September 1970, Page 1

Party Delayed By Poisoning

(New Zealand Press Association)

ROTORUA, September 6

Food poisoning, causing vomiting and other symptoms, affected nine boys and the leader of the Auckland Boys’ Brigade tramping party which went into the Urewera National Park on August 30, and finally returned home a week late.

Rotorua police said the information concerning the food poisoning was not learnt until yesterday, when the 12 boys and their two leaders were met by police and Forest Service officers.

It is thought the illness was caused by some food packs the party took on what was to be a three-day tramp into the southern area of the park from Ruatahuna, 70 miles from Rotorua.

The party walked to safety and was met by Auckland friends who had travelled to Ngatutahi, on the RotoruaWairoa highway. Sergeant J. Munro, of Rotorua, the police officer in charge of the search, said today that two days after the party went into the bush first one boy and then eight others went down with some form

of food poisoning, and they were quickly followed by their leader, Mr T. Hill, aged 28, of Auckland. At this stage the party was in the Waiau River gorge, 12 miles south of Ruatahuna. Some of the boys tried to make their way out of the gorge but the flooded rivers in the area halted them and they returned to the main party. The party was found in the gorge on Thursday afternoon by an R.N.Z.A.F. helicopter, which returned to the gorge on Friday and gave them messages and ration packs. The helicopter also carried Forest Service hunters, who were dropped some distance from the party and marched through rugged country to make contact.

They led the party to a hunters’ hut where the night was spent. The walk out to Ngatutahi was completed yesterday.