THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT WANGANUI.

Westport Times, Volume X, Issue 1349, 28 January 1876, Page 4

THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT WANGANUI.

At the inquest on the bodies of the two young girls lately drowned at Wangan'd, a verdict of accidental dettth was recorded. Referring" to th« evidence ot Mrs Carlyle, the. Herald says "hersimpla story is one of the saddest things it has ever been our lit to record, and the desperate efforts she made to save the lives of the drowning jjirls was one of chose heroic acts which deserve to be recognised and rewarded. Nothing that we could say would add to the pathos ot the story and we refer our readers to Mrs Carlyle's evidence, and there will be few who will be able to read it unmoved." The evidence was as follows: —" I was down at the Wanganui beach in the company of Miss Hackett, Miss L°.ura Hackett, and my two daughters; we were bathing; one of my daughtersMargaret —and Laura Hackett were bathing, and Miss Hackett and I went in afterwards, while they were still in the water ; when I thought that they had been in long enough, I told them to come out oi the water; they followed me along the beach for a few yards; Miss Laura Hackett stepped into the water again to wash her feet ; I cautioned her, as I knew there were quicksands and whirlpools there; I turned round, and saw Laura Hackett in the water on her back, and my daughter rushed into the water and caught her by the hand, but was pulled in. The whirlpool drew them both out a good distance from the shore; I swam out to the place where they were; 1 lifted up my daughter's head, and told her not to press on me or we should all be drowned ; she was quite sensible then; she quite understood the danger. I told her to take Laura's hair ; she got hold of Laura's hair and said, 'I have got her mamma' ; I drew them close to me with one hand, and kept myself afloat with the other; my daughter got frightened and jumped ou my shoulders, pressing me under water ; I still had hold of my daughter's band, until I found myself becoming exhausted ; I then let go and managed to swim ashore ; I was so exhausted that I could not speak ; one of the children gave the alarm I think ; some men then came down without any means of. getting them out of the water fat last they brought a boat, and eventually succeeded in recovering the bodies."