FOUR DROWNED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22941, 20 January 1938, Page 10

FOUR DROWNED

capsize: of dinghy OCCUPANT LOSES LIFE RESCUE OP COMPANIONS ACCIDENT AT DEVONPORT Four moro denths by drowning are reported, one in Auckland, one near Wanganui and two in the South Island.

A man was drowned and two others had a narrow escapo from a similar fato when a dinghy in which they wero fishing capsized about 200 yards off tho sandspit at Devonport at 3.30 o'clock yesterday afternoon. The victim was:—

Mr. George Housuman, labourer, of Owens Road, Devonport, an elderly widowe::.

Tho plight of the deceased and his two companions. Mr. James S. Miller and Mr. James Patterson, of Devonport, was first seen by two young men, Messrs. Allan D. Harris and J. A. McKenzie, of Devonport, who were also fishing some distance away in a speed boat. Quickly arriving at the scene of the accident the young men found Mr. Miller and Mr. Patterson clinging to the dinghy, supporting with difficulty Mr. Houseman, who was unconscious. The three men were taken on board the speed boat, after which the dinghy overturned and sank almost immediately. Efforts at resuscitation wero made upon Mr. Houseman at the Devonport beach, but without success. He was attended by Dr. S. G. de Clive Lowe, of Devonport.

Ail inquest will be opened before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., this afternoon. INFANT IN WATER TROUGH DISCOVERY BY MOTHER [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WANGANUI, "Wednesday Drowned in a water trough near the homestead, Helen Doreen Gray, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. Gray, of Longacre, met her death to-day. Her mother found the body after it had been in the water only a few minutes. FATE OF A FARM HAND SWIMMING IN RIVER [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] DUNEDIN, "Wednesday A farm hand, Mr. Lan Elliott, aged 22 years, was drowned in the Pomahaka River, near Clinton. Ho went for a bathe with his. employer, Mr. McHaffe, who dived in and swam to the opposite bank. Mr. Elliott jumped in after him, but, after crying for help, disappeared. BODY IN DEEP POOL BOY'S DEATH ON HOLIDAY [by "telegraph— PRESS ASSOCIATION] NELSON, "Wednesday The body of Douglas Alan Thomas, aged 12 years, whose parents live at Motueka, was recovered from a deep pool in the Matiri River near Murchison to-day. The boy was spending a holiday at Matiri. He went for a bathe on Sunday afternoon, but got into difficulties and disappeared, in spite of his companion's effort to save him.