THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE RANGITATA.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 209, 9 February 1875, Page 3

THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE RANGITATA.

The v 'following additional particulars regarding this sad accident are taken from Monday's HPimdriir Herdtd ' ' •'' ■ ; In our first account of the drowning of Mr flunt, >Mrs Hunt, and Mrs Cunningham, in the ,J Hangiiata,-oh Thursday, we mentioned that one of the bodies had been recovered on the On the following the body of the other lady had been recovered between six t and seven miles below, the ferry, ahd later on that Mr : Hunt's body had been found somewhere near the same spot.. At about two.o'clock,on the .same day the Inspector left town ;in" ah; express with three shells in which to place the'bodies. The bodies of the two ladies had been conveyed from the Rangitata to the Orari before the Inspector; arrived -there, and rMr .Hunt's body raW in thefday,iThe three" bodies were then placed in the express, and very early on the following morning u a * start;' was made, Timaru being reached at a little after 9 a.m. The bodies were deposited in Mr. Hunt's, late residence! in."lJorth ;atree j, (and :at 3 o'clock a coroner's inquest was commenced into the cause of their death at the Resident Magistrate's Court Office. After three witnesses had been examined, the inquest was adjourned until Friday next,, in order that the police in the meantime might make some further inquiries as to the circumstances of the accident. For some reason not made public, we are prohibited by the coroner, at the request of the Inspector of Police, from publishing the.,ey,ideuee yet. We may,,however, <say 'that nbthihg *of' an interesting character was elicited beyond what has already appeared in our columns. We shall therefore confine Ourselves to giving a correct account of the accident as far as we hare been able to ascertain the particulars. It -appears that before the buggy went ; into the river the luggage was shifted on to the down stream side, in order that jt ' should' not get weti, lThe ! river was then : entered, the ferryman, .Wragg, leading the way a few yards ahead of the buggy. After ! proceeding some distance, the ferryman seeing •that satisfactory progress was not being Imade wanted to lead the horses, but the /driver requested him not to do so. • Wragg Itfie'h Started forward again, andtlpon looking i back soon after, saw the buggy lock and then 'overturn, precipitating the occupants into the ; stream. He rushed his horse towards the • ladies, just touched Mrs Hunt's .arm, but j failed to hold her. He pursued her, but {finding that he could hot come up with her. ttook his horse out to the north bank, and

galloped down stream till he caught sight of her again, when he went into the water and fetched her out. Believing that phe was dead, he left her on the bank, and returned to Mr Hunt, who was standing just below where the buggy capsized up to his knees in the water. Mr Hunt said to him, "you've drowned my wife, drown me." Wrasg endeavored to get him to a spit which waz on the north sida of the stream, a few yards away, but Mr Hunt struggled with him, got away from his grasp, and floated away out of his eight. Mrs Cunningham, the ferryman says, disappeared from bis sight shortly after the buggy turned over. Immediately after the accident the two horses broke away from the buggy, and went to the accommodation house. The huggy was recovered on the following day, but the pole was broken, one wheel a good deal damaged, and the hood broken away from the body of the vehicle. It having been circulated that Mr Coppin's connection with the ferry had ceased on the day of the accident, we have been requested to deny the report. It seems that Mr Oorapton wished to take possession of the ferry on Monday last, but that Mr Coppin would not give it over to him. Compton then went to Christchurch, and returned on Friday, the day after the accident happened, with authority from the Government to take possession of the ferry, but will not be able to do so until Mr Coppin, who is absent, returns. THE FUNERAL. The funeral of the bodies was held yesterday afternoon. Mr Hunt having been a member of St John's Lodge, the Freemasons took a prominent part in the burial of his body and those of h's relatives. The members of that Lodge and those of the Caledonian Lodge to the number of about seventy, assembled at the hall of St John's Lodge in Churoh street early on the afternoon, and in full dress with their regalia draped with crape, started for the late residence of the deceased, arriving there shortly before 3.30 the time fixed for the funeral to leave for the church. By this time, the members of the School Committee, and Mr Hunt's late pupils with their teachers, to the number of fully three hundred, had arrived in processional order, and there were also present a large number of others, who evidently took a deep interest in the proceedings. The hearse drawn by four black horses, was already at the gate, and steps were at once taken to convey the bodies to it. Mr Hunt's body was borne by Bros G. H. Wildie, G. Cliff, F. Hobbs, G. Buchanan, W. Zieslpr, and Cotter; Mrs Hunt's by Bros F. A. Kims and J. Fpld wick, and Messrs Jackson and Pyfe; and Mrs Cunningham's by Bros Wade, Robert Stansell, and B. R. Taylor, and Mr J. Mee, the pall-bearers being boys belonging to the Timaru school. At the appointed time the procession started in the following order:— The members of the Caledonian lodge and members of the St John's lodge, two by two; the chaplain of St John's lodge, the Rev L. L. Brown; the hearse; Mr Sutter, chairman, Messrs Le : Cren, Cain, Wakefield, Tate, Jackson, and Fyfe, members, and Mr L'>ugb, secretary of the school committee; other friends of the deceased; the boys attending the school; the school girls; and the general public, many of whom were in carriages. The procession moved slowly along North street, Barnard street, Sophia, street, and into Church street. Arriving at St Mary's Church, each file of the Freemasons opened out, and the three bodies were conveyed along the avenue thus formed into the church. The church was speedily filled, holding but a very small proportion of the attendants at the funerals. . The burial service was conducted by the Rev G. Foster, the incumbent, and the Rev L. L. Brown, the chaplain of the Lodge of St John. The Rev Mr Foster read the introductory portion of the burial service while proceeding along the aisle, and the organist, Mr Dugdale, then played the Dead March in Saul. After another portion of the service, including the hymn " Days and moments quickly flying," had been gone through, the bodies were re-conveyed to the hearse, and the procession re-formed. The route taken was along Church street and the Great South road.- Taking a view of the procession when it had fairly got on the the main road, the sight was most impressive, and one that will not easily be forgotten by those who witnessed it. The procession extended from the Church as far as the Bank of New Zealand, the prevailing sombreness of the costumes generally worn by the assemblage being relieved by the regalia of the Freemasons and the white dresses of the school-girls. After leaving the main road the cemetery was soon reached. Here a considerable number of people had collected, Who, with those just arrived, made up a concourse of fully 1200 persons. After the remaining portion of the funeral service according to the rites of the Church of England had been concluded atthegrave3 by the Rev Geo Foster, the Masonic burial ceremony was conducted by tht Rev L. L. Brown, the assemblage dispersing, shortly before six o'clock, The body of Mr Hunt was placed, in one grave, and those of Mrs Hunt and her mother in another close by—an arrangement which, we understand, has caused considerable regiet. ; Mr Hunt was beloved by allthe school children, and he was also highly respected by the grown up portion of the community for his ability and high character. Socially, both he and Mrs Hunt were warmly regarded I by la large circle of friends, who deeply feel the loss they have sustained.