DROWNING FATALITY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 15742, 6 February 1922, Page 4

DROWNING FATALITY.

ARDKEEN SETTLER LOSES LIFI A sad drowning fatality is reportc by our correspondent at Eraser town have occurred at 1 p.m. yesterday at point sixteen miles from Wairoa on tl Waikaremoana road. Two of the Ardkee settlers, Frank Meagher and W, Nice were crossing the Waiau river on a cap at Mr. T. Hall’s property when one < the supports from which the wire cany iug the cage was suspended gave waj letting the cage down gently into th river. On reaching the centre it caj sized and the two men were precipitate into the stream, which was in hal flood. Meagher was barefooted bu Nicol had hi& gum boots on. Neverthe less Nicol managed to scramble aslior but Meagher was carried over som rapids and had his neck broken. His hod; was found in a backwash 300 yards dowi 1 stream from the site of the acciden , a short time after by Mr. Arthur Martin who rode into the water and recovered it News of the accident quickly spread anc a- number of settlers meantime had gone to the rescue. ' Meagher was a returnee soldier of about 27 years of age who was much respected, and came from tin Dour.evirke district. He and his brothel drew adjoining sections at the/Ardkeen ballot. An inquest was held to-day and the body was to bo sent to Dannevirko for interment.- . ispecial to the Herald.i WAIROA, this day. At 1.45 p.m. yesterday a telepnom message was 'received by the police iron •Atr 1. Hull, of- Te Mataf, stating tha an • accident bad happened at Ardkeen resulting in two men being precipitatec from a cage iiito the Waiau river, am tnat one was missing. • Sergeant Wade and Constable Hunt ley proceeded to the scene of the acci dent, reaching there in half an hour anc made investigations. As they arrived Mr A. Martin, who had been out. in the river on horseback, noticed deceased floating face down m some shallow water. With the assistance of another man he got the body out of the water and, placing it across his horse, took it ashore. Those present, including, the \. police, tried artificial respiration for 2] hours till the arrival of Hr Somerville, who pronounced life extinct, expressing a belief. that deceased’s neuc was broken. Tiie facts, as ascertained by the police, were .that Francis Patrick Meagher, a soldier settler at Ard- «•* keen, aged, 28 years, and single, with, a friend, William Harold Nicol, also a soldier settley, left to visit Mr Hall tit Te ifatai, on.,the opposite side of the W aiau. . To do, so they had to cross in a cage suspended over the river. Ap- ' , patently, the. post on the opposite side ’ broke under the weight of the two men, and after having gone part of the way they, were precipitated into the river* Nicol, who could swim a little, managed to get ashore, but Meagher, who could, not swim, was carried down stream which, though usually shallow, was flooded about four feet. Nicoi struggled to Air Hall’s house and gave the alarm and the police and medical assitsance were sought. Deceased, who was one of two brothers, was to have been married shortly. His parents reside at' Dannevirke. The body was brought to the morgue at Wairoa by the police.