BODY FOUND ON BEACH

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17607, 24 October 1931, Page 8

BODY FOUND ON BEACH

PASSENGEIt ON KOTITI LIFEBUOY IDENTIFIED (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, last night. A Colling wood party /of 11 men, accompanied by' Constable' Audley, proceeded to Cape Farewgll this afternoon and brought hack a body discovered there by 'Mr. R. B. Cooper of thfe* Farewell Spit lighthouse. It is believed to be the body of Hamilton Matthews, 28, a telegraphist, of Picton. A wrist watch worn by the deceased bore the inscription: ' froiii A.J.C., Xmas, 1920.” The glass on the face df' the watch was broken, and the remains of the hand pointed to 3 o’clock. The body was lying face downwards on the sand at spring tide high watermark, and bore the appearance of hav-’ ing been dead for abqut 10 days. It was povered with sand when the search party passed that way some days ago, but tlie high winds prevailing caused it to become exposed. / ... The position of ’the body corresponded with that of a person swimming and the entire absence of qlothing Suggests that 'Matthews' stripped off and lpft the boat in an effort to reach the shore. The body was •discovered where a sand spit, which runs' for 18 _ miles begins. Deceased’s parents' reside in Ruder .street, Picton. . One brother is believed to be iii the Gisborne district but the other two and three sisters arc in Marlborough. The inquest opens in Collingwood to-mor-row.

The Secretary of Marine to-day received advice of the finding of the body off, ’Farewell Spit to-day. The ship’s lifebuoy .found oil the Makara Reach on (Wednesday: by Mp. Smith, an Island Bay "fisherman, has reached, the . Marine Department! It was almost definitely identified as being one of the . Kotiti’s by Captain Simpson, Government surveyor of Ships.fe," , ‘ Captain Simpson was, for many years, an officer on both the Ilinemoa and the Tutanekiu articl,;' iii , consequence is familiar with the currents round. the few Zeiiland coast and he considers that 'Makara is a vei-y likely spot for any floating remains of tlie Kotiti to reach, Tfie Kotiii’s two lifebuoys were attached do the vessel’s stern rail and atfached to each buoy and lo the ship were 15 fathoms of lino. Oil the lifebuoy that has been, found, this line has been cut off, Apparently hurriedly, near the lifebuoy.

Crtptain ‘Simpson considers that the crew bf the Kotiti launched their boat, which was done with the aid ,of tilt! derrick and hurriedly ’ cut (he lifebuoys free from the vessel lo take with them iii tlie dinghy. Subsequently the dinghy must have swamped and its crew been thrown into the water.