DROWNING FATALITY AT THE PORT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 4 July 1911, Page 6

DROWNING FATALITY AT THE PORT.

WOMAN'S ISODV FOl'NI) IN Till: HARBOUR. A drowning i'atalit'v •ccurred in the harbour yesterday afternoon, flannal Harrow man. of Capo Foulwind. meeting her death. Mrs. Barrowman. who was a widow, and a. sister-in-law of Mr. John Barrowman, vf Nelson, had been dn Nelson for a fortnight .and was staying with Mr. and Mrs. Hoise. of W ashValley. She left home at 11.3 C yesterday morning and as she had not returned l>v 2.30 0.-ni. a search was made. Shortly before 5* p.m. . 1> ys observed a body floating in the liarbour near th-e Pilot Station, which proved to be that of Mrs. Barrowman. Deceased was 63 years of age. and she leaves a family of sevef. -«ons and daughters. THE INQUEST. SUICIDE WHILE MIND UNHINGED An inquest was held this morning before. Mr. J. S. Evans, S.M., Coroner. John Barrowman .engineer, deposed that tlie body found was tha.t -of his sis--1 tei'-in-law, Hannah Barowman. Deceased. who belonged to Cape Foulwind, was on a visit .to witness's daughtei for her health. He accompanied deceal. town on Saturday night, anc he <i.d not see her again. She was tc meet witness yesterday at 2.30 to go tc the Po-t Office. When she did not meet witness he went to Washingtor Valley to his daughter's, to ascertair where deceased had gone, and was told that deceased had left with the inten tion to meet witness. He then hurried back ' ver the road deceased would be likely to lake, and saw 110 sign * f hei until he went on to the Rocks Road, w-hen he found deceased's <-ap. Deceased's youngest daughter joined him. and witness' grand "■on also arrived a\ 'i -coo nine need marching. Witness, 'was coming along to report the matter to the police when he was attracted by a crowd of people at the boat shed, and he then saw the body of deceased. The cap was found half a mile from where the body was found. It was lying on the kerbing. He had not expected anything serious to occur : but three month? ago deceased had a fall and deceased's mind was affected, and she had to be humoured. H-r daughter had takon deceased to a medical man. who had stated that deceased was all at times deceased was peculiar. Oei.va.si'<! was quite well oil Saturday night. There was no occasion for deceased to trvy over finances, as she had a little money of her own and her family wer ( . all working.. "•Jane Heise. a daughter of the previous witness., stated that deceased had been residing will her for the past fortnight. Deceased had been despondent, and her daughter had sent her to stay w:th witness for three months.' She observed a change in deceased, who was not so livejly or intellectual as formerly, but she did not think a stranger would have noticed anything wrong. Deceased ■ was al ways worrying' whether she Would hav< enough money to provide for herself. De ceased was going to the Post Office yes t-erday to arrange for the transfer of money from Westport to Ne'.son. "Witness had been told ina-t deceased ; had about £4O in tho bank. . Deceased worried and said that she would never get her money. On leaving witness' houre yesterday deceased went over the hills tc the Port. D-eoeased Tiad said that witness was very kind to her. and that she was a lot of" trouble '.to witness,.. There was no need for deceased to worry about this. Deceased had said that -she thought the f-i'l had made her queer. Deceased's youngest daughter (aged 18) was also staying with witness. Dr. Johnston deposed that he had seen deceased once, about a week ago. She was suffering from marked depression, without any signs of delusion of . my kind. There was nothing in her mannei to indicate that she would do herself harm. Deceased did not mention money matters to him. The depression wa-= not in hi's opinion due to the fall but to another cause.' There was no question tha.t deceased's mental condition was unstable—that was to say, at times she would be lively and at- other times depressed. due to the cause mentioned. Frank Reeves (12 year.s of age) deposed that lie was playing football with a companion near the J?ilot Station and the ball was kicked into the water. They got ilito a dinghy to go after .the tiall. and when returning .they saw the body float In? face downwards about five yard? from the slip. The water was six or eight feet deep.- He informed the police, and the other boy (Gabrielson) told witness' father.

George Henry Reeves, boatman, stated fhat about 4.45 he was called from home.' and on- going over to the slip found the body of a woman, floating neai the Pilot Station slip. He wrought the body ashore. Constable Tonkin then ar rived. In his opinion decea.-ed Tiao' fallen over the Pocks Read wall, and the body had been carried up the harbour by the flood tide, and was being carried out by the ebb tide when it was discovered. The Coroner returned a verdict that deceased met her death by drowning, but there was nothing to show, how she got into the wa.er. The evidence shewed that on the morning of the occurrence the condition of her mind vva.3 un:table, and in the Coroner's opinion- deceased was temporarily insane: "