GIRLS HELP.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20202, 12 January 1934, Page 8

GIRLS HELP.

PLUCKY PART IN NORTH BEACH RESCUES. Dash Through Surf. PAID OUT AN-1 HAULED IN LIFE LINE. Two young women, Miss Marjorie Clements and Miss Eileen Clements, played a prominent and most creditable part in the North Beach rescues last evening. Throughout the operations they were stationed at the deep end of tfie life-line with which Mr Alan Dalton performed such gallant work. The Misses Clements, who are members of the ladies' section of the North Beach Surf Club, are well conversant with life-saving methods, an 1 paid out and hauled in the line in expert fashion, remaining perfectly cool while many excited spectators in their misdirected enthusiasm made rescue operations difficult. The young women, with four other girls, were at the residence of Mr L. R. Moore, 37, Tonks Street, North Beach, when the alarm sounded. At the time —8.20 o’clock—they were engaged in trying on swimming suits in preparation for their entry as a North Beach bathing beauty team in the New Brighton carnival contest. Wher> the alarm bell on the Surf Club pavilion sounded, the two girls slipped on cardigans and rushed out with Mr Moore and Mr Dalton, who had been discussing arrangements for the carnival. Thoughtless Spectators.

Messrs S. Rich and P. Butler, Surf Club members, also appeared on the scene, and the dash of a quarter of a mile up the beach was commenced. Messrs*Moore and Butler had to pull the reel through heavy sand and were almost exhausted when they reached the scene of the tragedy; though there were hundreds of people crowding round them, no one attempted to assist them in dragging the reel. Mr Dalton then half-stripped and set out to the rescue, with the young women and Mr Butler on the line. Mr Moore took charge of the reel and superintended the line work, and here again trouble was experienced with the crowd. Instead of some of the men forming a circle to keep the crowd off, excited spectators rushed the line, and at one time there must have been fifteen persons hauling in vigorously, whereas when the line was clear the work was being done in excellent fashion by the two girls and Mr Butler. Mr Moore had his hands full looking after the reel and endeavouring to keep the line free from interference. On one occasion, in fact, he had to rush to the seaward end of the line and pull off it a man who was further out even than the two girls, and was hauling the line in fast and also pushing it down. Such a proceeding drags the beltman under the breakers; there have been instances of beltmen being drowned through rapid pulling in. Where to Bathe. Mr Moore was very critical this morning of the behaviour of the crowd, and declared that if the bathers had been in the sea in front of the pavilion there would have been no fatality, as by the time someone ran a quarter of a mile to the bell and the rescuers rushed up the beach many valuable minutes had been wasted. Mr Moore was loud in his praise of the work performed by the Misses Clements and of the wonderful endurance and calmness of Mr Dalton in the belt. He added that if the alarm had been given five minutes later he and Mr Dalton would have been on their way to New Brighton, in which case there would probably have been two or three persons drowned.

Mr Moore said that the two girls were the only two of the rescue party in bathing costumes. The men concerned were fully dressed, and when they discarded some of their clothing it became a loss, in addition to which the clothes they wore while working in the water were practically ruined. Several pairs of shoes and trousers were lost. Mr Dalton was perhaps the heaviest loser, although Mr Rich, in addition to losing his trousers, lost a £1 note that was in one of the pockets. Materially, the members of the club would be the chief losers. Search For Body.

Mr George Brass and a party were down at the beach this morning searching for Mr Freeman’s body, but without success. Constable 11. Irwin is keeping a look-out and this evening he will be assisted in scouring the more northern portion of the beach by members of the Waimairi Beach Surf Club. At midnight last evening Mr Ray Blank drove along the sand at the Waimairi end of the beach, with his spotlight on the water near the land, but saw no trace of the body. With the nor’-west wind at present blowing it seems that the body will come ashore at New Brighton, or perhaps further south, although there is the possibility of it remaining at sea, as the body of the last bather drowned on the Brighton beach was never seen again. The sea at North Beach was again in an ugly mood to-day, although it had improved since yesterday. Care is necessary. Surf Club members strongly urge members of the public to bathe between the flags in front of the pavilion, where the patrolman, Mr F. Foster, is watching the beach. Mr Freeman’s parents will probably arrive to-morrow from Wellington, where Mr Freeman, sen., has been for many years a well-known watchmaker and jeweller.

BATHING DANGERS.

Surf Club Instructor’s Advice. " KEEP WITHIN SAFETY AREA." “ It is essential that the public realise the danger of bathing outside the safety area,” said Mr V. G. Spiller, honorary instructor to the North Beach Surf Club, when discussing last night’s rescues at North Beach. “ The danger of this practice has been illustrated on a number of occasions, and it is probable that the serious consequences of last night’s accident would have been avoided if the swimmers had kept within the safety limit. There was time

lost, both in the sounding of the alarm and in the time spent by the team in running along the beach with the reel. Use of the Reel. “ The reel has a great practical value in surf w r ork, and without it it would have been practically impossible for Mr Dalton to have made so many splendid rescues. In mentioning the reel, a word of warning may be given to the public of the danger to the beltman of untrained persons misguidedly attempting to assist on the line unless requested to do so by members of the team and acting under their directions. Last evening,” said Mr Spiller, “ several persons, in their enthusiasm to be of assistance, took hold of the line when thd beltman was being brought in with' the rescued persons, and knowing nothing of control necessary, pulled the beltman and patient under the water. Some time ago an unfortunate beltman, in attempting a rescue on an Australian beach, was drowned owing to the efforts of members of the public on the line. “It is difficult to tell whether or not the beach is in a safe condition, and inexperienced persons who are in doubt should make inquiries before going bey'ond their depth. This warning should be heeded particularly' in north-west weather, when the surf is liable to be treacherous. There is danger, also, in bathing when the light is failing. The Club’s Position. “ Although the Surf Club is under no obligation to protect the beach, members regard it as a duty to safeguard bathers. A warning bell is part of the club’s equipment, and any person ringing it can always be sure of getting the assistance needed. The club has a permanent patrolman on duty during the school holiday's from 9 o’clock in the morning until 5 o’clock in the evening, and after that hour there are usually members near the club. With these precautions being taken for their protection, the least the bathing public can do is to keep within a reasonable distance of th« club and to take ordinary precautions for their own safety.” (A report of the rescue appears on Page 4.) _____