DOUBLE DROWNING IN MURUPARA WHIRLPOOL: BROTHERS PERISH

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 10, 6 January 1948, Page 5

DOUBLE DROWNING IN MURUPARA WHIRLPOOL: BROTHERS PERISH

Two young half-caste Maori boys were drowned in a pool of the Rangitaiki River near Murupara on Friday afternoon. They were caught in a particularly treacherous section of deep, swirling water and their brother watched helplessly from the bank. The two boys were / Michael Joseph Dunn, aged nine. Patrick Toroa Dunn, aged five. They were the sons of Mr R. Dunn, a Public Works Department employee, of Murupara. The whirlpool which is typical of many very deep holes in this section of the Rangitaiki River, prevented the bodies from being carried away downstream, and from the bank they could be seen lying in 15ft of water. Two Murupara residents, Mr Ernest Tilley and Mr Harry Twist, volunteered to dive for the bodies and, after several attempts, recovered both at about 2.30, an hour after they were drowned. Courage Commended The courageous „ action of nine-year-old Michael Joseph Dunn was j warmly commended by the Rotorua coroner, Mr W. L. Richards, at the inquest on Sunday, when a verdict of accidental drowning was returned. Without hesitation Michael went to the assistance of his younger brother and made a gallant and meritorious effort to save him, but, unfortunately, it cost him his life, said the coroner. His conduct was deserving of the highest prai&.

Mr Richards also commended the action of Messrs Tilley ang Twist, who, he said, at great personal risk, dived into the deep pool to retrieve the two bodies.