BOATING TRAGEDY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4951, 4 February 1937, Page 6

BOATING TRAGEDY

THREE MEN DROWNED. Sydney, January 21. A dramatic story of a boating tragedy on the Manning River, near Wingham, on the North Coast, was told by the sole survivor, Harry Baines, 16. Baines reached the shore exhausted after his three mates had disappeared from view in the darkness. The bodies of the three victims were r&covered by the police after an all-night search. The drowned men were: George Hector Robertson, 23; „unn Williams, 19, and Myles George McKay Findlay, 28.

The party left in a rowing boat to go fishing, about a mile below the .vharf at Wingham. An hour and a half later Robertson changed his position to relieve Findlay at the oars. In moving along the side of the boat, Findlay dislodged the anchor. The boat was rocking, and the sudden jar as the lanchor fell to the full length of the rope without touching the bottom caused the capsize.

Baines said that the rowing boat, having a round bottom, was hard to manage, and on ia couple of occasions earlier in the night it had nearly capsized. When the boat tipped over, all were thrown into the water, and the boat sank just below the water level.

"Findlay and Williams were splashing to reach the shore on the side of the river opposite to Wingham," Baines said. "I could hear Robertson, who could swim a little, gasping. I asked him: \'Are you all tight?' He replied: 'Yes,' but appeared to have a mouthful of water. I told him not to struggle so much, and to try and float. He then asked how Jack was doing, meaning Williams. I grabbed a rope hanging from the boiat and tried to pull it to the shore, but could not do so. It was dark and the others had gone from view. When I saw I could not do anything, I swam for the bank on the Wingham side, and pulled myself up on a willow tree. The lights of an approaching train showed me where I was. I called out to Robertson from the top of the bank, but received no reply. I did not hear Findlay or Williams call out when they struck the water." Baines reached shore on the verge of collapse. A party of 200 residents spent the night searching for the three missing men.