DROWNED

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21559, 23 January 1940, Page 4

DROWNED

Holiday Death Roll Thirty-two Lives Lost With the emphasis that current overseas news places on the lists of casualties in war, earthquake, fire and flood, it is easy to overlook the steady loss of life from less spectacular causes at home. Day by day there are reports of fatal accidents of many kinds which seem relatively unimportant in themselves, but which in their cumulative effect represent the sacrifice of many valuable lives. A tragic case in point is the rapidly mounting roll of persons who have lost their lives by drowning during the holiday period that has just closed. Since the school vacations began about the middle of December no fewer than 32 accidental deaths from drowning have been recorded in New Zealand. The ages of the victims range from childhood to maturity, and the distressing nature of the accidents has varied only in the actual circumstances. From Auckland to Bluff the toll of surf and river has been grimly steady, and the details of many of the tragedies serve to emphasise once again the vital need for a continuance of the “learn-to-swim” campaigns which have lately been launched throughout the Dominion, and for the prosecution of which the Government has made a grant of £lOOO to the Amateur Swimming Association. It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that many of the lives lost could have been saved had many of the victims or their friends been more proficient in the art of swimming and life-saving. A Tragic Roll The list of tragedies from December 18 to date requires no comment. Few days have passed without news of some fatality, and the press reports on some days have recorded several deaths at a time. The list is as follows:

December 18: An elderly man. aged 68, was drowned while fishing off the Otago Heads. Young woman, aged 19, drowned while bathing in the Waikato River near Puni. December 19:

Boy, aged nine, drowned in a water race at Kerrytown, Teinuka, after striking his head on a rock while diving in to rescue a friend in difficulties. December 20: A young lance-corporal, aged 21, on his final leave drowned at Tewhakarae, near Taumarunui. December 26: Boy, aged nine, drowned in the Hole-in-the-Wall, near Gisborne, while bathing. Married man, aged 35, carried away by a heavy undertow at the Waiterere beach, near Palmerston North. December 27: Youth, aged 19, got out of his depth in the Ruamahana River, near Featherston, and was drowned. December 29: Young man, aged 20, carried out to sea from a stream at Red Rocks, Wellington. December 30: Boy, aged 11. drowned in Hokianga River, while eeling. January 3: Young man, aged 21, fell from Miramar wharf while fishing, and was drowned. January 6: Boy, aged 14. drowned in the surf at Castlecliff, Wanganui. January 8: Married man, aged 35. drowned while bathing with his family at Tomahawk Beach. Single man, aged 29, drowned while bathing in the Boat Harbour. Boy, aged 14, struck his head while bathing in a swimming hole in the Mataura River, and was drowned. Young girl, aged 13, carried away in a strong sea while bathing near Raglan. January 11: Two young girls, aged four and a-half and seven, drowned at Pounawea, near Owaka, through the swamping of a boat in a squall. They were accompanied by adults. January 13: Child, aged two, drowned at Kerikeri Inlet, North Auckland. January 15: Four men lost their lives in the wreck of a yacht at Matakana Island, off Tauranga. Two were married and two were single. Small boy, aged 10, lost in surf at Kaka Point. January 17: Two boys, aged 11 and 10, drowned in the Taruheru River, near Gisborne, when their canoe capsized. January 18: Two Dunedin girls, aged 16 and 16i drowned in the Aparima River, in Southland. Januaiw 19: Father and son drowned in Akaroa Harbour, Banks Peninsula, when a home-made boat overturned. Two boys, aged 10 and 5 drowned in tidal creek at Okain’s Bay, Banks Peninsula. Middle-aged man drowned in Auckland Harbour.