Tragedy At Dunedin Beach
(PA.) Dunedin, Feb. 20.
Three pupils of Columba Girls' College, Dunedin, were drowned at Allan's Beach, one of the small beaches on the Otago Peninsula near the end of Hooper's Inlet, shortly before noon yesterday. They were Winsome Taylor., aged 16, of Wairuna, Clinton: Heather Copland, aged 16, of Kaka Point, Balclutha; Robin Ramsay, aged 14, of Hyde, Central Otago.
They were all boarders at the school. About 80 pupils were at the beach and seven were caught in a strong undertow. Six were brought ashore and artificial respiration was applied by one of the mistresses and an occupant of the only house in the vicinity. This was unsuccessful in two cases. -Bay of Plenty Times, 21/2/1949.
MEMORIAL SERVICE
DROWNING TRAGEDY
WIDESPREAD SYMPATHY
In the crowded hall of Columba College yesterday morning tribute was paid to the memories of the three pupils of the school who were drowned last week-end. The widespread sympathy of the community was expressed in the large attendance of former pupils, parents and representatives of other schools. Messages were received from schools throughout the country, as well as from numerous private individuals.
The city was officially represented by the Mayor, Sir Donald Cameron. Others present included the chairman of the Board of Governors, Mr James Hogg, and members of the board; the chairman of the John McGlashan College Board of Governors, Mr A C. Cameron; representatives of the ExGirls’ Association, and prefects from other secondary schools in the city.
The sense of personal loss was intense and deep, said the Rev. J. M. McKenzie, chaplain to the college, who conducted the memorial service. Heather Copland and Wynsome Taylor had been talented members of the senior school, while Robin Ramsay had given promise of becoming a brilliant musician. The girls of the college had been deeply moved by the tragedy and the parents had suffered an inestimable blow. The girls were now in the hands of God, and the tragic occurrence would serve to bind those who were left in an even closer fellowship and a greater appreciation of the mystery of life than ever before.
A prayer for the bereaved parents and for the school was offered by the Rev. J. J. Cairney, and the service concluded with the singing of the school hymn. -Otago Daily Times, 23/2/1949.
INQUIRY INTO SURF TRAGEDY
ALLAN’S BEACH
SCHOOLGIRLS DROWNED
FULL STORY OF ACCIDENT
BRAVE RESCUE EFFORTS
Had it not been for the efforts of the sports mistress, there would have been a greater loss of life, commented Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M., sitting as coroner, when returning a verdict of accidental drowning at the conclusion of the inquest yesterday to inquire into the death of three young girls who were drowned at Allan’s Beach on February 19.
The three girls, Heather Copland, Robin Mary Ramsay and Wynsome Mason Taylor, were surf bathing with other girls from Columba College when they got into difficulties. The sports mistress, Miss Berridge, brought two girls ashore, one of them the deceased, Robin Ramsay, but the other two were not recovered until later. The evidence showed that the tide was on the ebb and that a strong backwash developed. The inquiry was conducted for the police by Sergeant H. J. Squires.
Evidence was given by Dr R. W. Edgar, Port Chalmers, who said he arrived at Allan’s Beach in response to a call about 1 p.m. When he arrived resuscitation measures were being taken with one young girl, to whom he injected a heart stimulant. Later, two other girls were brought ashore. Resuscitation measures were carried out until 3 p.m. without success. Valuable assistance was given by all present.
Katharine Buchan, vice-principal of Columba College, told the coroner that 71 pupils and 5 members of the staff attended the picnic at Allan’s Beach. Only girls able to swim were allowed into deeper water. The day was calm, there was no wind, and the sun was shining. Miss Berridge, the sports mistress, was standing in the water to seaward of the girls.
Diagonal Wave Witness noticed a high wave sweep diagonally across the beach, and some of the girls were having difficulty in getting in. Three did so, and Miss Berridge was helping the others. Of the two whom the latter brought ashore, one was unconscious. Artificial respiration was applied for three hours, but without result. The other two girls were seen floating in the water and these were brought ashore later. Measures taken to restore these two to life were also without success. The school had not been at Allan’s Beach before, Miss Buchan said, but inquiries prior to the picnic had been made as to its suitability.
To Mr W. J. Meade, for the relatives of the deceased, Miss Buchan said she had asked Miss Loudon, the principal, about the beach. The latter told her it was a safe one. Instructions were that the girls were to keep away from either end of the beach. She was not a swimmer, but for 20 years she had taken the girls for beach picnics. No inquiries were made on the morning of the picnic as to the state of the tide, nor did she know the state of it when the girls were in bathing. It did not occur to her to make inquiries from Mr Neill’s house when they arrived.
No one, witness said, went out as far as the sports mistress, to assist the four girls in difficulty. There was no other adult who was a sufficiently strong swimmer and capable of doing so.
To Mr K. W. Stewart, representing the Board of Governors of the college, witness said all the girls were, boarders. There were about 50 of them in the water at Allan’s Beach. The majority were in shallow water at the edge, with the staff supervising them. The girls had been told to keep together on the beach and in the water.
Referring to the cross wave, Miss Buchan said it threw the girls over. The other members of the staff, with the exception of Miss Harris, who was in the water, were assisting the younger pupils out.
When Miss Berridge was assisting the two girls out of the water witness was not sure whether-there were any other girls still in the surf, and an immediate count was made. It was then found that two girls were missing. Several girls had said they did not know if Heather and Wynsome were out.
Eleanor Gertrude Berridge, sports mistress, said she had a life-saving certificate and was an experienced swimmer. She thought the water was safe. The first indication of trouble was when she saw a girl, Ann Vule, in difficulties. She assisted her ashore. It was then that a wave knocked her down, and when she came up she had been swept out some distance with a number of the girls, several of whom called for assistance.
Robin Ramsay, one of the deceased, could speak, but when witness got to her she went limp, and was unconscious all the way to the shore. While taking the girl in, said Miss Berridge, another girl sought her assistance, and she got her on to her back and managed to get both ashore. On the way in she had instructed other girls how best to get ashore.
Miss Berridge said that while she was in the water watching the girls she was to seaward of all of them, and was able to stand on her feet without difficulty.
She had great difficulty getting in with Robin Ramsay, witness added. They seemed to have a long way to go, and there appeared to be a strong backwash. She did not see Heather Copland in the water at all, but she passed Wynsome Taylor on the way out to take up her position. She did not see either of these girls in difficulty.
To Mr Meade, Miss Berridge said the girl Yule had lost her footing and appeared upset. While she was assisting her ashore some of the other girls might have got to seaward of her.
Rescuer Exhausted It was when she was knocked down by a wave and carried out that she saw Robin Ramsay. She knew there must have been other girls out, for she heard them calling. It took her a long time to get ashore with the two girls.
Mr Meade: Was there a belt and line on the beach? — No.
Mr Bundle: That is all very well.
Mr Meade. If there had been one, it does not follow that the girls could have used it. It needs experience for that sort of thing.
In answer to Mr Stewart, the witness said it was very rough when she was bringing the two girls ashore. She did not think she would get in at all. “I was exhausted when I got in but quickly recovered,” Miss Berridge said. “I asked if anyone else was in the water, and the girls said they thought everyone was ashore.”
Alfred George Neill, solicitor, resident at Allan’s Beach, said he was summoned to the scene, and upon arriving saw some people coming out of the water about a quarter of a mile from the usual bathing place. The beach was safe if one knew where to go, and the state of the tide. The girls were not bathing in the usual place, but it would be fair to say that people not knowing the beach would think the centre of it the safest place. The spot where the girls went in lends itself to backwash in an ebb tide, and the current scours out holes there,” he said.
Mr Neill said the behaviour of everyone was splendid. There was no panic. The children were obedient and under wonderful control.
Hugh Donald Gillies, president of the Otago Surf Life Saving Association. who was called by the police to give expert evidence, said all beaches were safest during an incoming tide. When the girls were bathing the tide was going out. Patrols, he said, were available for large picnic parties on application to the association. In any event, where there was a large crowd he would advise that bathing be done in smaller groups.
Up to the present it had not been widely advertised that patrols were available for outside beaches, witness told Mr Meade, but patrols had been going out with picnic parties for the past two years. If an application had been made, a patrol would have been supplied.
“Having regard to the nature of the beach and the personnel of the party,” he said, “one strong swimmer would have been adequate to see that swimmers did not get out to a dangerous distance.”
In answer to Mr Bundle, witness said that all Dunedin coast beaches, from Taieri Mouth to Karitane, were dangerous on an outgoing tide. They scoured and could not be depended on from week to week.
On behalf of the Surf Life Saving Association, Mr Gillies said he would like to commend all those who took part in the rescue, especially Miss Berridge. whose actions should be recognised.
At this juncture, the evidence concluded, Mr Stewart said that, with the coroner's permission, he would like to call Miss Agnes Lang Loudon, the principal of the college. Certain inquiries she made had not come out in the evidence.
Miss Loudon said that Brighton beach had been considered, but its reputation was not of the best from a safety point of view. Smaill’s Beach had also been suggested for the picnic. She herself had visited Allan’s Beach and was impressed with it, and on the two following Sundays she visited it solely for the purpose of judging its suitability as a place to take the girls for the day. She had considerable surfing experience herself, but was not a competent swimmer. At Allan’s Beach she had talked with a man just out of the surf, and he had informed her that it was quite safe. Everyone she spoke to subsequently assured her the beach had a safe reputation. Had one view to the contrary been expressed, she would not have considered it as a suitable place.
On the Thursday before the picnic she talked to the girls about the dangers of surf bathing, and warned them to take the greatest care. “I told them they all had to be shorewards of Miss Berridge, and I arranged with the latter to take a whistle to use as a signal for the girls to leave the water. She also arranged for a rope to be taken with the party, and this was placed in the bus. She considered she took every precaution under normal conditions. She did not go out to Allan’s Beach herself until after lunch, and when she arrived the tragedy had occurred. She had no knowledge that a patrol could have been procured.
In answer to Mr Meade, Miss Loudon said she made no inquiry about the tide or its effect on the beach. She saw the rope in the bus, but she could not recollect whether she told the other members of the staff about it or not.
Miss Loudon added that she had every faith and confidence in Miss Berridge and Miss Buchan.
An Ebbing Tide Mr Bundle said that so far as the public was concerned, the beach was generally considered a safe one, and Mr Neill, during the 16 years he had been living there, had said there had been no fatality. Unfortunately the tide was ebbing.
“The difficulty with a large number of people bathing is that it is impossible to keep an eye on everyone,” he added. Miss Berridge was watching. Apparently there was a nasty backwash, and when trouble arose Miss Berridge did everything possible. “If there is anything more difficult than another when saving a person in the water it is for someone else to ask for help,” he said, when reviewing the work of the sports mistress.
“I can only find on the evidence before me that each of the deceased was accidentally drowned at Allan’s Beach on February 19,” he said, giving his finding.
I suggested to the police that they should call expert evidence as to the steps that could be taken in future to safeguard against accidents of this nature,” continued Mr Bundle. “That evidence was given by Mr Gillies. There can be no doubt that all the beaches adjacent to Dunedin are dangerous at certain periods. They are open to the sweep of the wind and ocean.
“Miss Loudon took all precautions, after making all reasonable inquiries. The action of Miss Berridge is to be highly commended. She did everything practicable. Had it not been for her there would undoubtedly have been a greater loss of life.
“I can only offer to the relatives of the unfortunate girls the sympathy that must be felt by all members of the community,” he concluded. -Otago Daily Times, 22/3/1949.