DEATH FROM EXPOSURE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19364, 22 July 1925, Page 9

DEATH FROM EXPOSURE

, THE PELORUS TRAGEDY. |! FATE OF MR C. CRAIGIE. j ' '. I < Details of the circumstances sur- ' . rounding the death of the late Mr Colin < Craigie, formerly orchard instructor at Blenheim, and more recently stationed • at Mapua. in the Nelson district, show . that Mr Craigie had suffered a nervous , breakdown, on account of which he was granted three months’ leave of absence '• by the Department. His health improved considerably, and at the begin- j ning of June he was apparently fit and : well, but announced to his wife that he | proposed to spend the remainder of his , holiday on a tramping tour. In accord- I ■ ancc with this plan he left Nelson by a < service car on June 6, and was last seen alive after leaving the car at Pelorus Bridge, whence he made his way into the bush. Mrs Craigie. who thought that her husband would spend < a good deal of time with his many

I friends in the Pelorus and Blenheim ; districts, did not have any apprehenI sions until June 20, when, owing to no word of him being received, she be- , came anxious. Finally Air J. H. Thorp, lof Nelson, a friend of Mr and Mrs

Craigie. and the police undertook a ! search for the missing man, but without avail until July 12, when Constable Mitchell, of Havelock, organised a big search party consisting of upwards of 40 experienced bushmen. who scoured ; the bush in the vicinity of the Pelorus Bridge . Finally, about 3 o’clock in the ' afternoon, a party consisting of Messrs Frederick Gardner. Stanley Thorne, and 1 Frederick Luff discovered the body in ! the bush, only about 500 yards from [ the main road. It was lying in a depression in the ground, caused by the ; uprooting of a tree, and was fully dressed. A folded rug under the head served as a pillow and the lower part of the body was covered with an oil sheet. The body was lying in a natural reposeful position, there being no signs of violence or struggle, and it was quite apparent that Mr. Craigie had

died in his sleep. The sum of £lO in notes and various papers were found in the pockets. The bush in the locality was very rough and thick, and great difficulty was experienced in getting the body out. It had to be left where it was found until the next day when a track was cut through the undergrowth and a coffin carried in, in which the body was removed. Experienced bushmen expressed the opinion that it would have been easy for Mr. Craigie to have become confused and have lost his sense of direction in bush of this character. An inquest was held before Mr. W. H. Smith, coroner, of Havelock, on July 13 and full evidence was taken. Dr. McClymont, who had examined the body, said that death had taken place at least 30 days previously and, in his opinion, was owing to exposure and occurred during sleep. This evidence coincided with that of the bushmen who had been in the locality, and the Coroner returned a verdict of death from exposure.