TWO GIRLS DROWNED

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 December 1928, Page 10

TWO GIRLS DROWNED

FRIGHTENED BY SNAKE. SYDNEY, December 7. Circumstances connected with three mishaps which occurred in different parts of New South Wales during the week, were peculiar. One occurrence, at Lockhart, in the Riverina district, spelt death for two young women who wore drowned after being with a few feet of being rescued. The two young women, May Irvine. 17 years of age, and Kathleen Credan, 19 years old, were members of a big picnic party which went from Lockhart on Sunday last to a spot on the Murrumbidgeo River for a swim. With a male companion, the two girls went in a boat to a small island in the middle of the stream, about. 100 yards from each side of the river. Hero they were running about on the grass and eventually the three of them climbed a. tree. They were shouting and swinging from the branches, when suddenly their companions on the river bank heard a scream All three were then seen to be edging out on the edge of the branch and were noticed to be watching intently a particular spot on the tree. Suddenly the branch, with an ominous crack, broke, and the three were precipitated into the water. The young man was a good swimmer, but neither of the two young woman could swim. Desperate efforts were made by the' young man io hold them up, but the girls struggled violently. He managed to pull them to within a few feed of the shore, and though exhausted was in tlio act of getting on his feet in i'.ie shallow water io pick them up ami carry tiiem ashore, when suddenly t’le girls sank. Other rescuers vho wore attracted by the screams of the girls were already on the scene and dived into the river after the girls, but though there gas only a depth of four or five feet of water al. the spot where I hoy stink, they could find no trace of them. The young man managed to reach the shore, and he too took part in the diving operations. Police were called, but. though grappling irons were brought into operation and used for four hours, no trace of the bodies of the two girls could be found. Many snags and mud patches abound in the vicinity of the spot where the girls sank, and it is thought that they have become entangled and held fast by a submerged tree branch. Explaining the happenings on the island later, the young man who was with them told the police that while the trio were in the branches of the tree, one of the girls noticed a snake coiled upon a branch. It had taken up a position which would not allow of the trio returning to the ground unless they pushed the snake off the branch of tho tree. The young man said he tried to push it off with a stick, but without success, whereat the reptile, became angered and advanced on the party. As it advanced along the branch of the tree the three retreated further out along the limb of the tree. Finally, when their weight became too great for the branch to bear, it broke off, and the three were thrown into the water. Later investigation showed that the snake, which was primarily the cause of the drowning, was only a harmless green tree snake, which, although capable of displaying much ferocity, . is not imbued with any powers of poisoning or injuring in any way.

AIRMAN HANGING EROM TREE A second unusual happening occurred at'Mittagong, where a Royal Australian Air Force pilot had ft miraculous escape from death when his machine chashed into a. tree during a fog. The pilot, who was flying alone in the aeroplane, was almost thrown cm', of the seat when the tree was struck by the plane, but managed to grip the sides and save himself. He found, however, that the plane was hanging precariously from the tree while he himself was suspended head downwards from the cockpit. Unwinding his heavy Woollen scarf, he cast it round the limb of a nearby branch of the tree and, grabbing the other encl of the scare as it swung back to him, he used it as a homemade trapeze and swung himself clear of the damaged plan© and clambered onto the tree.

A few seconds after he had got to safety, the plane crashed to the earth. After a. walk of two miles he reached town and I old of his remarkable escape. A third unusual occurrence happened at Lewisham, a near subuib of Syd nc-y. A young boy, named Septimus Toohey, was playing in the backyard of the home of his parents which adjoins the main road, when his mother, who was only a few yards away from him, saw the tyreless rim of a motor car wheel come hurling over the fence. It struck the little boy on the head and knocked him into unconsciousness. The mother gave a scream of fear and rushed to her little boy. Neighbours were called and rushed the little boy to th© hospital, which was only a few cicors up th© streets. There it was found that, ho had received a fractured skull and severe abrasions to the head. Police later appeared on the scene and disclosed that, they were in pursuit of a. suspect who was wanted for the theft of the tyre rim from a garage nearby. It, is thought that the thief, fearing capture by the police, threw the tyre rim over the fence in order to rid himself of the incriminating evidence. The little boy is still in a critical condition in hospital.