WEEK-END TRAGEDIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3798, 28 December 1926, Page 15

WEEK-END TRAGEDIES.

SYDNEY’S TOLL. DEATH among pleasure seekers. (From Oub Own Correspondent.) J SYDNEY, December 10. With the coming of summer, the roll of tragedies at tho week-end among the open-air pleasure-seekers of Sydney always increases. Last Sunday brought an unusual number of deaths. Two surfers were drowned, two boys were drowned in a disused quarry, and three lost their lives in motor accidents’ Perhaps it is a sign of onr city’s ferowth, perhaps of our increasing rashness, perhaps of our modern craze for speed and for living our lives. at full blast, but whatever it is, the week-end list of tragedies seems ever to be growing larger. Our roads on Sundays are trowded with motors speeding to favourite picnic resorts and beaches. The latter themselves are crowded from dawn to dark. ■ There is only one object with practically half the population on Sunday, and that is to get into the open. The tragedies are the price the populace in general pays. One of last Sunday's surf * tragedies occurred at Narrabeen, about seven miles north of Manly, and the other at Newcastle. In the former case, two young men, William Dawe and Sydney Brothers, went into the surf about 5.30 p.m., wlnn the beach was practically deserted. The life-saving patrol had gone off duty, and the warning flags had been taken down. Two men on the beach suddenly noticed that Dawe and Brothers had been swept into a channel, and were in difficulties. One of the men rescued Brothers, and his mate caught hold of Dawe, who became panic-stricken, and frantically clasped liis rescuer. The latter was forced to relinquish his hold. By that time a general alarm had been raised. Men rushed from nearby cottages in all stages of undress, and entered the water without hesitation. Five of the ..best-known frequenters of the beach organised a search, diving in turns to search for Dawe, hundreds of yards from the beach. ‘They were in a bunch, when one of them, looking down, saw a shark making for one of his mates. He gave the alarm, and the whole five splashing desperately, swam furiously for the shore. The splashing seemed to frighten the shark, and the swimmers were helped from the water exhausted. The drowning at Newcastle occurred early in the morning. Three young men went into the surf, and one got into difficulties. One of the others went to his assistance, but while the one in trouble extricated himself, the other himself got into difficulties, was swept away by a vigorous undertow, and drowned. This tragedy, as was the one at Narrabeen, was marked by the gallantry of others to chance their lives in the hope of rescue. The hero of the Newcastle case was n swimming instructor named Read, a former champion swimmer, who dived for half an hour in an effort to locate the man. Two lads, Edward and Harold Castles, aged eight and six years respectively, were playing on a raft floating in a disused waterhole at a crowded working class suburb, when the raft upset. They were drowned before the horrified gaze of two other playmates. In the day’s motor accidents, two in riding on a motor cycle crashed head on with a motor car on Sunday morning. They were both killed. A boy riding a bicycle along a busy . North Sydney road leading to the bathing beaches became nervy when confronted with an oncoming bns, and swerved directly into the heavily-laden vehicle. He was killed instantly. Picnickers travelling in a motor bus down a steep incline at the popular National Park were more fortunate. The brakes of the bus failed, and despite the desperate efforts, of the driver to steer it round a number of bends, it crashed* over at tlic last and flung its passengers into a struggling heap. Fifteen of them were injured, hut none seriously. Almost every accident that occurred was directly attributable to human foolhardiness or recklessness, and it seems that a great official “safety first” movement must soon be initiated if lives, so economically valuable to Australia, are to be saved. Our Sunday “red records” are becoming all too common. Typical instances of foolhardiness arc seen every day on the beaches. Despite repeated warnings by experts that sharks are more plentiful off our beaches this summer than ever, and are likely to be mdre so after the new year, dozens of young fellows can be seen hundreds of yards out from practically every beach. “Sharkbait” they arc called, and they seem to glory in their role, but saner surfers would gladly see them haled before a magistrate and fined for breaches of beach regulations.