CASUALTIES,

Otago Witness, Issue 3574, 12 September 1922, Page 29

CASUALTIES,

A sad tragedy occurred on the Ist, resulting in the death of a young man named Thomas Hawke Barrett, son of Sidney Barrett, Balclutha, It appears that the young man left his home at 1 p.m on Friday, telling his mother (hat he was going shooting. lie had with him a .22 calibre rifle, with which he often went rabbit shooting. When he did not return at the usual time in the evening his mother became anxious, and a search party went out, and found the dead body of the young man on a track leading to Te Houka, about two miles and a-half from Balclutha. There was a bullet Wound on the right temple, evidently caused by a rifle such as deceased carried. The place where the body w'as found is a lonely one, the track at the spot leading through manuka scrub, with the river on one side and a high hill on the other, and it. is only used by pedestrians, being too narrow and rough for wheeled traffic. No one witnessed the tragedy, and the manner of death could only be conjectured. At the inquest evidence was given by the mother of deceased, R. A. Smith (a coal miner, who found the body), and Constable Weir, of Balclutha. The jury, without retiring, returned the following verdict:—“After hearing the evidence the only conclusion wo can. come to is that deceased met his death through the accidental discharge of a rifle while out shooting. and we desire to express sympathy with the parents.” The body of Frederick Stearn, who has been missing since July 29, was found in the Waipaoa River at Ormond. The bodies of the boys, Thomas and Colin Lyons, aged 14 and 12 years respectively (sons of Mr Joseph Lyons) were recovered from Te Hauke Lake, Hawke’s Bay —the former on Friday and the latter on the 3rd. The boys were boating on the lake on August 13, and persistent search has been made since. At the inquest a verdict of “Found drowned” was returned. Two men named Milner and Pike, in a launch, had a narrow escape from drowning at Wairoa on the 4th. In attempting to cross the Wairoa bar a heavy sea roller struck the fishing launch, and before it could right itself another struck the boat. The men were washed off twice, and were rescued in an exhausted condition. The damaged launch was washed up at high tide. Mr H. W. Bundle, *S.M., held a formal inquiry on the 4th into the death of Jacob Loudon, an unmarried man of 82 years, who was found dead that morning in the Newmarket boarding house. Deceased, who had no relatives here so far as is known, had been sent into the Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, but he left there about the end of last week, and went to stay at the Newmarket board-ing-house, in Manor place. Dr Carswell gave evidence of identification. Witness first knew deceased some four years ago, when he was an inmate of the Hospital. lie was then suffering from prostatic disease, for which he was operated upon. Witness saw him last on August 14, at the Home of the Little Sisters of the Pool - . Witness examined him then, and found that he was suffering from rupture, and showed indications of general break up from senile decay. Witness considered death was due to cardiac failure, following on senile decay of the heart muscle. The coroner returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence. The police received advice on Monday afternoon that an elderly man named John Taylor Boyer was found dead that morning in a hut on. the mountain track near Merton. A. Laurie, married, about 60 years of age. was killed at Auckland through falling down a lift well. The base of his skull was badly fractured. The lift was automatic, and it is surmised that he opened the door under the impression that the lift was there. He died within a few minutes of discovery. Deceased formerly resided at Kingsland, and bad just removed to Green Lane. A Maori child, barely two years old. died at Napier on the 3rd. At the inquest the father" said that on Saturday night the child was given ice cream mixed with milk, and then lemonade. On Sunday it ate meat and potatoes for dinner, and spongecake in the afternoon. The inquest was adjounned pending the analyst’s report regarding the contents of the stomach.