SIX DROWNED

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 100, 8 April 1936, Page 9

SIX DROWNED

Vivid Stories of Cars’ Fall Into Sea

TRAGIC FISHING PARrY

Six members of a fishing party of eight were drowned, and the other t"’o had to swim for their lives in sharkinfested waters, when two motor-cais ran off the end of a jetty and plunged into 18ft. of water at Davistown, near Sydney, recently. Vivid accounts of the accident, by the two survivors, are contained in an Australian mail. In both cars the pressure of the water sealed the doors. In one the occupants had no chance of escape. In the other a passenger managed to smash a glass window, and he and one other passenger, a woman, struggled free. The two survivors were caught in a six knot current, and spent nearly five minutes in the water before they were rescued by people from the shore who had heard their cries. VICTIMS OF ACCIDENT. The victims were:—David Missingham, aged 50, of Bondi; Rebecca Missingham, aged 34, his wife; Miss Irene Curtin, aged about 35; George Boulton, aged about 40, of Glebe; Mrs. Lois Acheson, aged 34, of Manly; Hunter Henry Yule, aged 48, of Mosman. Those rescued were:—Otto William Lingham, aged 37, of Manly, and Miss Eve Stebbeds ,aged 25, of Mosman. The accident occurred soon after 1 o’clock in the morning, in almost complete darkness. A patch of fog hid the jetty, and the drivers of both cars, not realising that they had reached their destination, went straight on. Mr. Yule, who was driving the first car, applied his brakes in a desperate attempt to stop; but the second driver, Mr. Boulton, apparently blindly following the tail light ahead, could not check his'speed in time. The second car bumped into the first, and both toppled over the edge of the jerry ahnost together. The two passengers who escaped were in the first car. FOUND BY RESCUERS. According to the survivors, there was no sign on the road to show travellers that they were approaching Davistown. After going down a hill they found a straight flat stretch of road, and continued on it at a moderate speed, until both cars plunged into the water. Mrs. Ellen Settree, the postmistress at Davistown, was awakened by the screaming of brakes, and a crash. A few seconds later she heard faint cries. She called her husband, Mr. Bert Settree, and her son, Ray, and the two men. clad only in pyjamas, jumped into a dinghy and rowed out on to the mistcovered water. They found Mr. Lingham almost at once. He was exhausted, but gasped out, “Find the girl!” as they hauled him on board. They continued rowing, and within a minute found Miss Stebbeds. Although ehe could not swim she had somehow managed to keep afloat in the fierce current. She said faintly, “There are others down there” and collapsed. The .rescuers could see nothing on the water, and had no idea of what had happened. They continued searching in the hope of finding more survivors. and when they eventually learned the full story it was too late to do anything. WOMAN’S TERRIBLE ORDEAL. “When we first set out,” said Miss ■Stebbeds subsequently, “Mrs. Acheson told us that she had a strange feeling that there would be an accident . She said that she was Scotch, and that she was ‘fey.’ We all laughed and she laughed, too, but she stuck to her Mor.v.” “The accident happened, so quickly that I have only confused impressions. One second we were on the road. The next, we were falling, and the, water was rushing in on us. The windows were all closed, except the one which the driver was using, but the water seemed to spout in everywhere. I was swept up and held against the top of the car.

“The water was rushing around me, and all I could see was the red light on the dashboard. This gave mo some idea of my position. X groped round for Mr Yule, who should have been in the driver’s seat, on my right hand side, but I could not find him. Then there was a rush of water and, somehow, I was at the surface. ‘‘ I could not swim, but Mt Y'ujle had told me earlier in the evening that if I was ever in danger of drowning, I should beat the water with my hands and move my feet. I did both these things, and 1 stayed afloat. I cried out for help, amj I heard Mr Lingham calling, ‘Eve, Eve, I’m coming.’ It was very dark, and I could see nothing We seemed to be swept further apart, I calling out again, and then a boat seemed almost on top of me, and I was dragged on board.” ESCAPE THROUGH WINDOW. Mr Lingham said he believed he owed his life to the fact thathe was a consistent surfer and had some experience of swimming under water. “When tho wate rpoured in on us,” he said, “I was swept form my seat like the other passengers. There was no chance of opening the door. I tried it, but the pressure was too great. Ou the floor at the back of the car was a small wooden box, which 1 think contained tools. 1 managed to brace my feet on one side of the car and stood up. It was hard work to hit the glass of the window, but I managed it, and smashed away the edges as well as I could.

“Then I felt around in the water and seized a woman by the hair. 1 thought it was Mrs Acheson, Apparently it was Miss Stebbeds. Somehow. I got through the opening, cutting myself in the porecss, and the girl came after me, but X lost my grip. When we earns to the surface we were separated. “I heard Miss Stebbards calling out and I tried to swim to her, but the current was so strong that 1 couldmake little progerss. I heard her call, 'Helpt Oh, help! ’ Then a manss voice called, ‘Help is coming,’ and 1 was hauled into a boat. 1 do not remember much more. ’ ’ An attempt was made to bring the ears ashore soon after 2 a.m. Several motor-ears were turned so that the beams of their headlights illuminated

the water and residents went out in boats with torches. While this work was going on those on shore noticed an unusual disturbance of the water and the fins of several sharks were then seen cutting the water not tar from the boats. The attempt to bring the cars ashore was abandoned until later in the morning.