Marooned Men Rescued By Breeches Buoy

Northern Advocate, 11 August 1938, Page 12

Marooned Men Rescued By Breeches Buoy

[Per Press Association. Copyright.] WANGANUI, This Day. Six Public Works men who were working on a metal deposit in the bed of the Rangitikei River at Vinegar Hill, seven miles from Hunterville, yesterday morning, were marooned when the water rose rapidly about 9 a.m. and cut them off from the mainland. It was not until about 6 p.m. that the last of them was brought to safety through the medium of a breeches buoy on a rope carried across the torrent by means of the Wanganui Harbour Board’s rocket apparatus. The men were engaged screening metal, which was to be loaded on lorries. The portion of the river bed on which they were working is connected with the mainland when the water is at the normal level, but if the river floods it fills one channel which is normally dry. and another portion of the stream also cuts across the island thus formed.

Earlier in the day those on the shore had managed to get a rope across the stream, but one man who attempted to escape from his predicament had to be hauled back by his companions after he had got more than half-way across. Although the water had gone down by about three feet by the time the breeches buoy commenced to operate, the-level of the river was still very high. Tire marooned party counted 15 bullocks which were washed down the stream.