LAKE TRAGEDY
FOUR YOUNG BOYS DROWNED
LAUNCHED OARLESS BOAT AT WANAKA
SAD END TO BOYISH ADVENTURE
(P.A.) INVERCARGILL, Feb. 10.
Four boys, the eldest of whom was 11 years old, were drowned when a boat capsized in the lake at Wanaka on Saturday afternoon.
They were: —
Darcy Horrell, aged 11, the son of Mrs D. Horrell, of Maungawera.
Alfred Charles Archer, aged seven, son of Mr and Mrs Alfred Archer, Wanaka.
Neville Collins, aged seven, the son of Mr and Mrs Albert Collins, Wanaka.
Anthony Collins, aged six, a brother of Neville Collins.
The Horrell and Collins boys were cousins. The boys untied a boat (in which there were no oars or rowlocks) at the jetty about 1.15 p.m., and pushed it out into the lake. They had no oars. A southerly wind sprang up, and the boat capsized.
From a hill about a quarter of a mile away. Mr George Burgess, a resident of Wanaka, saw the boys clinging to the capsized boat. Being unable to swim himself, he got the assistance of another man, Mr Douglas Rutherford, a Dunedin visitor, who swam out to the boat, which by this time was about a chain from the shore He could see no sign of the boys.
Mr J. W. Smith's launch was secured, and the party located the bodies, which were all close together in about 9ft of water.
Three doctors and five nurses applied artificial respiration from 2 o'clock until 5 o'clock without result.
No time was wasted in going to the assistance of the boys. They were first seen by Burgess at 1.30 p.m., and by 2 o'clock artificial respiration was being applied. -Evening Star, 11/2/1946.
DROWNING FATALITY
Gloom was cast over Arrowtown on Saturday last when word came through that four young boys had boon drowned at Wanaka. The victims were: James Darcy Horrell, aged 10, only son of Mrs Horrell, of Wanaka, and the late James Horrell, who was killed overseas; Alfred Charles Archer, aged 8, oldest son of Mr and Mrs A. C. Archer, Wanaka; Neville James Collins, aged 6, eldest son, and Anthony Trevor Collins, aged 5, second eldest son of Mr and Mrs A. D. Collins, Wanaka, both grandsons of Mrs Feehly, Arrowtown. These children, who had with them Mr and Mrs Collin’s third son, Robin, aged 4, went to the lake. It is understood that the boat, which was lying on the beach, was pushed out into the lake by the children. There were no oars or rowlocks in the boat but the southerly swell carried it out from the beach. Robin refused to go into the boat. Mrs Collins is an Arrowtown girl and before her marriage was Miss Tessie Feebly.
The funeral took place at Wanaka and was one of the largest known in that district for years. All four children were buried in the one plot. The Rev. Father Moynighan of Cromwell held a service in the home of Mr and Mrs Collins and read the burial service at the graveside over the two Collins’ boys. Rev Mr Milligan read the burial service over the other two boys. Many floral tributes were laid on the graves. -Lake Wakatip Mail, 14/2/1946.
No comments:
Post a Comment