Young Woman Fatally Scalded Near Rotorua

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 5, 7 January 1941, Page 4

Young Woman Fatally Scalded Near Rotorua

GROUND GIVES WAY NEAR THERMAL POOL (Special to “Times.’’) ROTORUA, Jan. 6. When apparently solid ground in ono of the lesser-known thermal arcus collapsed and precipitated a young Auckland visitor into a cavity filled with thermal steam, she received severe scalds from which she died in tho Rotorua Public Hospital a few hours later. • The victim was Elizabeth Hardie Bredner, aged 24, daughter of Mr. A. F. Bredner, of Mount Eden. The tragedy occurred about 12 miles from Rotorua, near Tikitere, late on Sunday afternoon. Accompanied by a Maori guide, a small party including Miss Bredner had inspected some hot pools and were skirting the edge of a sulphur bed when Miss Bredner suddenly disappeared through the crust of the earth. Although immediately rescued, she was severely scalded by the dense clouds of steam which arose from the cavity. The scene of the fatality,- which is well off the beaten track usually visited by tourists, was inspected by the police to-day. It waa found that thermal activity had eaten away the ground, leaving & crust only an inch and a-half thick.