TERRIBLE DROWNING ACCIDENTS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 934, 24 January 1890, Page 17

TERRIBLE DROWNING ACCIDENTS.

A SAD COINCIDENCE. It is with dpep regret that we. record the ! death 1 by’ drowning' of Mr Thomas Kebbeff, j a well-known citizen, whioh occurred, “dpri^ ; the prbgress of the First Class Yapbjb Ij/aqh at thd Regatta bn Jubilee Day. Mf who haU taken great interest ip. yachting for many’ years, was^ nn sailing the Florence, wtpolV wa.q’dWnecl by him, when the accident occurred, The yacht, which was leading, had completed her second !|ouiney round the course, and shortly after passing the flagship Mr Hebbell took the tiller from Dr Fell, who formed one of th®> party, remarking, strangely enough, “-that this would be the last race he sail.”, He was sitting on the qrpather gunwale o£ ; the boat holding qu to.th.e tiller lines,'when, he was obqerv.ecl by tho doctor to suddenly fall backward into tlie water. It is supposed that’ the lines which Mr RebbeU wac holding on to either slipped or were broken, and Mr Kebbell thus lost bis balance and fell overboard. Dr Fell, who appears to have been the only one on board who observed the accident, made a j grab at Mr Kebbell, but failed to reach him. i A bo.ithook was thrown to Mr Kebbell, but j

he did not succeed iu reaching it. The yacht, which was travelling at a great rate, was put about as speedily as possible, and in the meantime Mr Cecil Kebbell jumped overboard with the intention of assisting his father. While the vessel was going about the peak halyards were carried away, aud the management of the yacht was rendered more difficult iu consequence. She was, however, brought round as speedily as possible aud a line was thrown to young Mr Kebbell, who had failed to reach his father,, and as he was in a very exhausted state he was hauled on board. A small rowing boat, manned by two boys, which had been cruising about-, had been brought up alougside the drowning man, and the lads succeeded in holding his head above water until the Florence was brought up alongside. The unfortunate gentleman was then hauled into the boat as speedily as possible. In the meantime a boat had put off from the steamer Aorangi with the ship’s doctor, and he and Dr Fell tried all they could to restore animation, but unfortunately without success. Mr Kebbell had evidently been dead some time before he was taken out of the water. When he fell overboard he struck out for the yacht, appearing quite cool and collected ; but the breaking of the waves quickly overpowered him, and when last seen by Dr Fell he was floating face downward, with his shoulders sticking out of the water, and he was subsequently picked up in that position. The body was brought ashore and taken to the deceased gentleman’s residence iu Manners-street, where the Coroner held, an inquest at 9.30 next morning. The party on board the yacht consisted of Mr Kebbell and his two sons, Messrs Higginson, Tiller, Dr Fell, aud two sailors. The deceased gentleman, who was 71 years of age, arrived id New Zealand by the ship Mandarin in 1841. In co-operation with his brother he built a steam sawmill (afterward a flour mill) in the Manawatu, from which place he was driven by the earthquake of 1855, which destroyed the mill. The brothers then obtained new machinery from England, and carried on business a 3 flourmillers in Manners-street until 1874, when they retired. At the time of his death Mr Kebbell was living in Mannersstreet. He leaves a widow and six children. Three sons are lining in the Wairarapa, and the three daughters are Meadames H. P. Higginson, A. de B. Brandon, and Tilly (Wanganui). Inspector Thomson received the following telegram from Constable O’Rorke, of Otaki, on Wednesday : —“Catherine Mary and Dora Ann Kebbell, 10 and 8 years old respectively, daughters of Mr J. Kebbell, J.P., Ohau, were drowned while bathing in the Ohau River at 11 a.m. to-day.” Mr J. Kebbell, father, of the two children who have thus met with a terriblo death, is a nephew of Mr T. Kebbell who was drowned on Wednesday. We feel sure the people of the district generally will sympathise with the members of a highly esteemed frmily iu their severe bereavement. THE INQUEST. An inquest into the circumstances connected with the death of Mr Thomas Kebbell, was held yesterday before Mr H. W. Robinson (District Coroner) and a jury, of whom Mr Michael Bohan was chosen foreman. The first witness called on was Dr Fell, who was one of the orew of the Florence when the accident happened. Dr Fell said deceased was in his usual health and spirits, and was steering the boat himself at the time the accident happened. Deceased was sitting on the weather gunwale, steering by means of a tiller line. The bight or hoop of the line was pasced round the tiller and back to the hand. A roll of the boat caused the loop to slip off the end qf the tiller, so that a j the deceased bent back to pull on it and did not meet the expected resistance, he lost his balance, and fell backward in the water. The yaohb was at once put round, but she was going very fast through the water, and' a few seconds sufficed to put a very wide space between the deceased and the vessel. Cecil Kebbell, a son of the deceased, jumped overboard to endeavour to save him, but before he reached his father he was exhausted, and when the yacht cama up they threw a rope with which he was hauled on board. A rowing boat Boon after rescind the spot, and. the occupants held the deceased’s tSad out of the watejp until the yacht got ftlhngside, when he was lifted on hoard. The doctor of the. R-M.S. Aoyangi at that moment cam,©, on, hoard the yaoht, and with witness t?iqd to restore animation, but Without. success. The deceased w&i quite iusensible when he was hauled on board., "Witness saw plainly that deceased, took a few strokes after he f©\\ overboard, but his head dropped water and after that nothing but the hack of his shoulders was visible abovq i(h,e surface. There was considerable at the time, and it was blowing hard. Mr H. Pi Higginson deposed that ho was. On, the yacht when the accident occurred, but di,d not actually see the , accident happen. Mr Higginson’s evidence 1 was similar to that of the last witness as to what was dope aftap Mjr Kebbell fell overboard, Thp jury, after a, short consultation, retupwjd, of- accidentally drowned.