AN AMAZING STORY

Gisborne Times, Volume LXI, Issue 9855, 7 November 1924, Page 5

AN AMAZING STORY

ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD BOY’S EXPERIENCES.

FAILS TO ATTEND SCHOOL

AFTER MESSAGE.

; NUMEROUS SEARCH 'PARTIES SCOUR DISTRICT. LAD FOUND TWO HUNDRED YARDS FROM HOME. HANGING FROM FOWLRUN ROOF FOR TWENTY-NINE HOURS The old adage that fact is stranger than fiction is borne out by the almost •incredible experience of an eleven-year-old schoolboy named Robert H admen, of Mangapapa, who is now at home after" hanging downwards from i\ roof in his father’s fowlrun for •about twenty-nine hours, exposed to a storm, with at times exceptionally heavy rain. He met with Ills accident about 9 a.m. bn Wednesday, and throughout the day and night and till nearly 2 p.m. next day was tightly wedged in manuka scrub which is laid on the roof of the fowlrun. During that time his head and body as far as the chest were through the manuka, some twelve feet above the ground. He could neither speak nor move his body a single inch. Had the manuka given way the lad would have been precipitated to the earth head first with probably serious if not fatal results. To add to the irony, he could hear the voices of search parties near at hand nnd in brio? cessations of rain in the evening, numerous bombs -could be heard in all directions, happy children celebrating the downfall ■of one Guido Fawkes. Robert Haclwen is the son of Captain Hadwcn, of the tug Tawera, and resides with his parents- in Valley i Road, Manngpapa, the property being adjacent to Cook Hospital. In a gully between the hospital ail'd the lad’s home arc large fowlruns, for Captain and Mrs. Hadwen’s poultry farm is well-known to residents of Gisborne. Some of the runs in this gully' are fairly extensive, and to protect the birds from the sun and to a certain •extent from the rain, the tops of these runs are laced with stout manuka scrub. It was this manuka, scrub that was the cause of the accident, and it was their stoutness that prevented a serious fall, and perhaps a fatality. An additional danger is the fact that if the boy had been discovered a few hours later he would probablv have been 'dead from exposure. Yet all the time the boy was within hcarshot of his home, but could not speak. Mr. and Mrs. Hadwcn have a contract to supply eggs to the Cook Hospital, and it was in the carrying out of that work that the accident occurred. In company with his elder brother and a sister, Robert set off about 8.30 o’clock on Wednesday morning, with the usur.l basket of eggs to leave at the hospital on the way to fcliool. 'The path which the children took lay along the hack hospital road and through the hospital grounds. When xlie children were about half-way to the hospital rain commenced to fall and the cider boy sent Robert back home for his (Robert’s) coat. Thus Robert parted from his brother and sister and was returning home when misfortune hefel him. Brother and sister went on to the ’hospital, delivered the egg s , and went off to school, expecting''Robert to overtake them on the way. .But Robert did not arrive nor did he put in an appearance at school that day. At about 3.30 the girl was the first to arrive home, and immediately asked her mother what was wrong With her brother. The mother was surpris- ■ ed and asked the reason, and was told that Robert had. not attended school -■that day. Mrs. Hadwcn was alarmed, .-sinil after inquiries reported the inaticr to the police. Constable McDonnell, of Whatatt■poko. assisted bv some members of the hospital staff, the hoy’s parents, -relatives, and friends all joined in the search fo the missing boy. All through the night, amid heavy showers of rain, the search was maintained but to no avail; the lad was not to he •seen or heard. Early yesterday morning the parities were increased in number and towards noon a number of lads from the upper standards of the Manapapa •school, under the headmaster, Mr. R. 'Cole, .joined in the search. The first alarm of the boy’s disappearance, and the consequent fruit- • less search until midday yesterday .gave rise to thoughts in the mind of fihis parents of possible tragedy. About half-past one,the almost fren*ztcd mother was anxiously awaiting i 'news, for she had been persuaded-to "return home. Then suddenly there -came into view up the back garden the lad’s uncle, Air. George Brown, of 'Haiti, with the missing hoy across his i shoulders, hurrying towards the house. The mother, fearing the worst, rush- . ed to meet him, and found that the hoy was still alive. He was taken inmi do and Dr. Angell veas sent for and ••was soon in attendance. . , The uncle stated that during the searching work he noticed a clump of "manuka in one of the fowlruns some 1200 yards from the house. Determined to leave no stone unturned, ho • decided to investigate. _ When ho reached the spot he accidentally loon- , ed ur> and then saw the unfortunate lad, hanging from the roof of the run, his head and chest being visible from below. His head was about twelve 'feet above the,ground. The uncle immediately got the hoy down and conveyed him homo. The boy s face was of a darkish hue, and his lips were : black and almost twice their normal •size. . For several hours after his return' ‘ the lad could not sneak, hut by ee--orees an almost incredible story was unfolded. His first words were to his mother, as with a sob he. cried : ■ thought I was there to die, Alum'. Then! little by little, he told the story -oF his ninazTig experiences. . Robert said that, after leaving -Ins brother and sister to go home lor lus overcoat, he liml crawled through a fence near the fowl'un, when lamcommenccd to fall heaviiv. He. n.iiuo for the shelter of a big tree OtCihanging the fowlrun, and nvgctt.iig there misguided his nearness to a \ strep hank overbalanced, and was > precipitated on to the manuka, scrub with which the fowlrun is covered. Some of the manuka gave way and suddenly he fell backwards, and before he realised it lie was hanging head downwards securely wedged m fthe manuka, which pressed tightly - hi'4 ohesT,- "K£e ec/uidenertlier ■move an inch nor could he- call out. "Hour after hour, and the day seemed 1 long, he remained there. Rain fell at times heavily. He heard the searchers -cr.il out to each other, but could not" reply. At dusk the fowls were fed in the fowl house only n few yards away -from where he was hanging, but despite every endeavor he could r.ot •shout out. Throuhgout the night his position -vras unchanged, and he waited vri+h - anxious eves for the dawn despite the fact that it brought more rain. In the morning the fowls were aga'n fed. As the dry wore on he hea.nl the ; searchers again shouting his name, yet he was utterly incapable of replying. Then toe almost distracted lad -saw - his undo close at hand, saw him come nearer, and then through to his mind ■what appeared to he Providence, his • vnjrie looked up and saw him. Since Wednesday morning lie had nothing to cat. the lunch which had been prepared for him prior to leaving home being still in lus school bn.". Last night the hoy was stdl sufferin severely. His lips are swollen end ■ black, hut .he was being carefully tended and fed with milk foods. De--mkepite his awful'experience'he is nc,t fin any serious danger. N .