SERIOUS MOTOR SMASH.
CAR FALLS OVER CLIFF.
DROP OF 130 FEET.
DUNEDIN GIRL SEVERELY INJURED.
YOUNG MAN MISSING.
(FROM Our Own Correspondent.) OAMARU, April 22. A serious motor accident occurred at an early hour this morning on the road beyond Wharekuri, between Kurow and Omarama, Philip Hudson, aged about 20, a son of Mr Robert Hudson, biscuit manufacturer, of Dunedin, was driving in a two-seater Austin car to his brother's station at "Longslip." He was accompanied by Miss Olive Rutherford, aged about 17, a clerk in the employ of the Otago Farmers' Union, whose parents reside at Caversham. The car ran down an incline for about 100 yards and then fell over a cliff about 130 ft high and was dashed to pieces on the rocks below.
A man who was proceeding to work at 7.30 discovered the car on the rocks and the young lady on a ledge 20ft above. She was later removed to the Kurow Hotel in a critical condition, but the nature of her injuries could not be ascertained. She was attended by Dr Watt.
The road is unfenced where the accident occurred. The tracks of the car show that the brakes were applied 40 or 50 yards from the edge of the cliff. It is presumed that the car ran off the road in the fog.
A search party was out all day, but no trace of Hudson could be discovered. It is possible that he is wandering about the country in a dazed condition. The young lady's watch, which was broken, stopped at 7.25. -Otago Daily Times, 23/4/1925.
WHAREKURI TRAGEDY
DEATH OF GIRL MOTORIST.
STARTLING DEVELOPMENTS.
BULLET FOUND IN SKULL.
OAMARU, April 26. Olive .Rutherford, the 18-year-old Dunedin girl, who was found injured near a wrecked car on the Omarama road, near Kurow, North Otago, on Wednesday, died at Kurow on Saturday night without having regained consciousness.
The post-mortem examination was completed at a late hour to-night.
The examining doctors refused to give any information, in view of their evidence being required later at the inquest, but it was learned that a bullet had been found at the base of the skull and that the other injuries were not sufficient in themselves to cause death.
Philip Hudson, of Dunedin, who was the driver of the car in which both had been travelling, has not yet been found.
Approaching the scene of the accident, the country is very desolate. Nine miles above Kurow is Wharekuri, with the road passing precipitous cliffs. The place where the car left the road is hardly where one would expect an accident to happen. A gradual slope leads from the road about 103 yards, and terminates in a steep cliff with a drop of 150 feet.
The car apparently was not under control. It did not follow the natural slope of the ground, but kept to the right of the shallow gully. The marks show that the car just missed an iron telegraph pole on its way. It was first thought, owing to some plainer marks, that the brakes had been applied nearing the cliff, but this theory has not been verified by the police. Apparently moving at a fair speed, the car dashed over the top, striking the cliff at a point 50 feet below with the radiator, then turning a somersault and continuing another 30 feet, where it struck earth again, and finally came to rest 25 feet below. It was upturned and wrecked beyond recognition. The car in which the couple travelled was a two-seater Austin, with a dickey seat at the back. Portions of the car were distributed over a wide area. The impact was so severe that it smashed the car to atoms. The spare wheel on the rear of the car was all that escaped damage.
Young Couple's Movements.
Olive Rutherford (18 years) and Philip Hudson (19 years) had been keeping company for four years, and were formally engaged, with the full approval of the parents. They had been away together on several previous occasions. Miss Rutherford, on the day preceding the accident, had a difference with her mother concerning certain details of the former’s employment. It is understood that the girl left home on Tuesday morning, taking a dress basket, and did not go to work. It is believed that a room was taken in a Dunedin hotel, and the dress basket left there. Mrs Rutherford did not see her daughter up to the time of the accident.
Consent was given to Hudson by his parents to use the car about 6.30 on Tuesday evening. Hudson was a careful and experienced driver. There is no official information as to the time the pair left Dunedin, nor their movements up to the time of the accident.
Mr Condon, a resident of Kurow, when passing along the road at 7.10 a.m. on Wednesday, saw the car pulled up on the side of the road, near where the accident subsequently happened, and ascertained from Hudson waving his hand that all was well. A shepherd who passed on a horse at 7.30 a.m., in a heavy fog, noticed a disturbance of metal on the road where the car had left it. He went further up the road, and on returning investigated. Looking over the cliff, he saw the remains of the car and a body lying on a ledge 25 feet down. Dr. Matheson, of Wharekuri, was communicated with, and, assisted by his wife, dressed the wounds and conveyed the girl to the Kurow Hotel.
Cartridges Found.
The police, including Detective Le Seuer, commenced enquiries on Wednesday afternoon. They found Hudson’s watch stopped at 7.25, beside the body of the girl; also a hat, glove, and a man’s handkerchief soaked with blood. A man’s hat was found nearby with a hole in the top. An empty cartridge was found beside Olive Rutherford and another near the wrecked car. Empty chocolate boxes and broken lemonade bottles were also found.
The bloodstains led from the body of the girl down the side of the hill past the debris of the car, and on again over the stones down to the water's edge. The stains were not extensive, but sufficient to show the direction in which Hudson went. The police have endeavoured to formulate theories, but none can be established in the absence of Hudson and owing to the death of the girl. The rifle if used, was not discovered, and it is thought that it may have been taken to the river by Hudson. Whether Hudson and the girl were in the car when it went over the cliff will probably never be determined. When discovered the girl had a bleeding wound in the top of the skull, and there was a small round hole in the head. An operation was performed on Wednesday evening at 11 o’clock. Her face was scratched, apparently through striking on the rocks, and there were severe abrasions about the body. The girl though unconscious, spoke several times, but made no reference to the accident, excepting to say that her neck was sore.
Police Dragging River.
The police are continuing the search for Hudson, and have unsuccessfully dragged the river in the hopes of recovering the rifle, which, it is learned, he sometimes carried with him. Portions of the river were dynamited in the hopes of raising the body, but with no success. -Ashburton Guardian, 27/4/1925.
TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.
THE KUROW TRAGEDY.
The special correspondent of the Otago Daily Times, telegraphing from Oamaru last night, stated the search for Philip Hudson was continued today but without result. In view of recent developments, the settlers in Wharekuri are somewhat concerned, though it is still believed that Hudson was drowned in the Waitaki river. It is established that he was possessed of a Winchester rifle when he left the scene of the tragedy. Why he took this weapon if he intended drowning himself is a matter for pure conjecture. He may have swum the river and got into the hill country or he may have retraced his footsteps after finding the river difficult of negotiation. The blood stains leading to the river side do not indicate excessive bleeding. Hudson was a student of Otago University. It is understood that he drew £50 from the bank on the day of his departure from Dunedin. No papers which could throw any light on the tragedy were found on the body of Miss Rutherford. She took a room in the Leviathan Hotel at Dunedin on the day of her departure, but did not occupy it. A warrant was issued at Kurow to-day, charging Philip Richard Hudson with the murder of Olive Jean Rutherford. -Lake Wakatip Mail, 25/4/1925.
POLICE STILL BAFFLED.
FRUITLESS SEARCH FOR HUDSON.
SEVERAL THEORIES ADVANCED.
(Per Press Association.) OAMARU, April 28. There were no developments to-day in regard to the Wharekuri tragedy. The search for the missing man continues, and the back country is being scoured by police and civilians, as there is thought to be a possibility of Hudson, who knew the district well, making for the country. A fresh posse of police went out to Kurow to-day to search the river, as it is thought if Hudson was drowned his body would appear on the surface on Wednesday or Thursday. No reason is given why Hudson should have shot the girl. Some advance the theory that she was badly injured in the fall with the car, and that Hudson shot her to put her out of pain. This is discounted by examination made by the doctors at the post-mortem. Another theory is that the girl was shot and then thrown over the precipice, and the car was afterwards sent over. This theory, however, is not widely held. The general opinion is that the two resolved to die together, and that Hudson first shot the girl and then committed suicide. Unless Hudson is found alive, the mystery may never be solved. -Ashburton Guardian, 29/4/1925.
SEARCH FOR PHILIP HUDSON.
WAIMATE, Last Night. Is Philip Hudson, wanted on a charge of murder of Olive Rutherford at Wharekuri, still alive? The police are still searching the Waitaki river, but one woman in Waimate believes him to be alive. A stranger called at her house on Friday morning for a cup of tea. He stated he came from Kurow (near Wharekuri) and apologised for his lack of appetite by saying that he had been badly knocked about and had been sleeping out. He was young and well-dressed and appeared very shaky and nervous. He had a number of fresh cuts on his face and kept his hat over his eyes. His conversation appeared significant to the woman, and on leaving, he picked a bundle from a hedge, which, by its shape, may have concealed a rifle, and asked the direction to the main South road. He had apparently approached her house across the paddocks, as he was not seen passing on the road.
NO TRACK.
OAMARU, Last Night. No trace has yet been found of Philip Hudson, who is wanted on a charge of murdering Olive Rutherford at Wharekuri last week. -Horowhenua Chronicle, 30/4/1925.
KUROW TRAGEDY
NO TRACE OF HUDSON.
(By Telegraph. — Press Association.) OAMARU, May 1. No further developments have occurred in regard to the Wharekuri tragedy. The police are still searching for Philip Hudson, but no trace of him has yet been found. There is a possibility that if he is in the fast running Waitaki River his body may never be recovered. The report from Waimate that a young man with scratches on his face had called at a house and asked for food, and that this man might be Hudson, is not regarded seriously. -Waikato Independent, 2/5/1925.
FOUND IN THE RIVER
HUDSON MYSTERY CLEARED
[Per United Press Association.] OAMARU, May 20. The body of Philip Hudson, aged nineteen, who disappeared after the Wharekuri tragedy four weeks ago, was found this afternoon in the Waitaki River nearly twenty miles down from the scene of the tragedy. The body was taken to Kurow, where the inquest will be held. The inquest on the body of Olive Rutherford, the other victim, will also be resumed. -Evening Star, 20/5/1925.
DEATH PACT.
CORONER'S FINDING.
WHAREKURI TRAGEDY.
(special to "the press.") DUNEDIN, May 27. That the lives of Olive Jean Rutherford and Philip Richard Hudson were ended in pursuance of a suicide pact between the two young people was the view taken by the Coroner (Mr H. W. Bundle) when the enquiry into the sad happening of five weeks ago ended at Oamaru to-day. Their reasons for entering on the arrangement by which they both would die were, he said, known only to themselves.
His conclusion was that, with the girl in it, the car was driven over the cliff above the Waitaki river. The fall left her still alive, and Hudson shot her with the rifle. He then shot himself, and wandered into the river. Dr. Douglas said all the girl's organs were quite normal.
The Coroner said there could be no doubt but that the car was intentionally driven over the cliff, for, though the morning was foggy, the road was quite clear ahead. There was no breaking away of the cliff, indicating that the car must have gone over at a fair rate of speed. Everything possible had been done for the unfortunate girl, but without avail. There was no sign of the other occupant of the car, and various rumours were current, but there seemed very little doubt that the unfortunate boy had gone into the river. That turned out to be correct, and the body was recovered on May 19th by watchers employed by the Hudson family.
"I may here say," said the Coroner, "that there is no possibility of any third party having connected with the death of these two young people. I need not go into details as to my reasons for that conclusion, since there can be no possibility of a third party being implicated. It seems hardly necessary to touch on that point, and I merely mention it in passing.
"Looking at all the circumstances, having viewed the scene of the accident, and having heard the medical evidence," he proceeded, "I am forced to the conclusion that these two young people had decided on suicide, for reasons best known to themselves, and known only to them. It would seem that the girl remained in the car when it was driven over the bank. I do not think that Hudson could possibly have been in the car, for the fall would without doubt have rendered him unconscious. From the evidence of the witness Bell, it is plain that the rifle was in the car when it left Dunedin. Hudson must have carried the rifle down the cliff. His watch was found above, and it must have been detached during his descent. Miss Rutherford was not killed by the fall, and finding her still living, Hudson, in pursuance of their 'arrangement,' discharged the rifle and ended her life. He then shot himself, and in a semi-conscious condition wandered into the river. Neither party can have been in a proper state of mind at the time.
"I can only find that Philip Richard Hudson committed suicide by shooting and drowning himself, and that Olive Jean Rutherford died at Kurow, on April 25th, from the effects of a bullet wound inflicted by Hudson on April 22nd. In the interests of the parents these sad details should as far as possible, and as quickly as possible, be forgotten." -Press, 28/5/1925.
Dunedin Doings
The Hudson Mystery.
The Hudson mystery is still a mystery. Perhaps when all is said and done, the finding of Hudson's body was the best thing that could have happened — better by far than the dreadful ordeal of trial by jury that would doubtless have followed his finding alive.
During the month that elapsed between the tragedy and the discovery of Hudson's body in the river the tongue of scandal wagged furiously. It was freely asserted that he would never be found — that the police had been bribed — with a thousand and one wild rumours, each more ridiculous than the last. But with his finding these rumours were laid once and for all.
Nevertheless, the story of the tragedy is still wrapped in a veil of mystery, and there is no hint as to the dreadful happenings on the Wharekuri cliff at that early hour just past the dawn when the crime was committed. The inquest has thrown practically no light on the affair, and it looks now as though it will sink into oblivion with many another unsolved mystery of crime.
The funeral of Hudson took place quietly on Thursday of last week. It is an interesting and pathetic circumstance that by an arrangement between the parents he was buried in a grave adjoining that of his fiancee, Olive Rutherford. -Cromwell Argus, 1/6/1925.
WHAREKURI TRAGEDY.
OAMARU, July 13. The last phase in the Wharekari tragedy was revealed to-day, when the rifle by which Philip Hudson took his own life and that of Olive Rutherford on the eventful day of Wednesday, April 22, was discovered in the Waitaki River in the vicinity of the sensational occurrence. Owing to the heavy flood waters coming down from the hills, the Waitaki River changed its course. This is not an unusual occurrence, as the river frequently changes its course during a flood. A prospector (Mr W. B. Appleby), who was prospecting near the scene of the fatality, saw the rifle in the water at no great distance from the shore. Mr Appleby recovered it, and it was found to be the rifle used by Hudson. Constable Melville, stationed at Kurow, took charge of the weapon. It is a repeating Winchester, and still had seven undischarged cartridges in it. -Otago Witness, 21/7/1925.
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