A PLUCKY RESCUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11954, 1 May 1902, Page 5

A PLUCKY RESCUE.

THOSE residents of Deyonport who had occasion to brave the elements on ■ Tuesday evening were struck with the fierceness of ; the gale nd the heavy sea that broke on j the foreshore. About ten minutes before midnight Constable William Miller was standing near the head of.the Victoria Wharf, Devonport, when he heard a cry for help. He immediately ran down the wharf, and peering over the eastern end noticed, with some difficulty, owing to the blackness of the night and the heavy sea that was running, a man struggling in the water. The constable, who had been divesting himself of his boots, at once threw a lifebuoy to the man, but he failed to grasp it. Miller then procured and fastened one end of a rope to a pile, and looping the other end, leapt into the tide with it. The man grasped him by the legs, but after an exhausting struggle he managed to disengage himself and place the loop under the man's arms. Miller then climbed along the rope to the wharf, and, notwithstanding that he was in an exhausted condition, hshiled the man out of the water. There was not a soul about at the time, and the act was an exceedingly plucky one, taking into consideration that Miller is unable to swim a stroke. After summoning the aid of Constable Williams, the man, who was unconscious, was taken to the police station, and restoratives applied with success. The man, who afterwards gave his name as Frederick Alburn, a jeweller, residing in Kerr-street, DeVonport, stated that he came over from town by the late boat, and after standing on the wharf a little proceeded to go home, and, being shortsighted, mistook the way in the darkness and walked over the wharf. This is the second person that Constable Miller has rescued from drowning this year, and his conduct is deserving of recognition.