Death of Mr Thomas Edwards.

Manawatu Herald, 27 March 1900, Page 2

Death of Mr Thomas Edwards.

We very much regret to have to record the death of Mr *• Thomas Edwards, of Moutoa, by drowning on Sunday afternoon. The deceased was a well-known and highly respected settler, and had resided in the Manawatu district for a number of years. It was away back in 1871 that the deceased started a flaxmill on the section he lately resided on, and to show the immense difference in the neighbourhood between now^ ■md then, he used the water from the \lotoa Estate as -a power, being ledby a drain to the river. After some ' years the deceased purchased a fine . block of land near Palmerston which he greatly improved and then sold and returned to pass the remainder of his life on the bank of the river. Prior to coming to this Colony the deceased was in business as a plumber in Melbourne, and also, travelled round Australia. The deceased was 72 years of age, and leaves a widow and a grown up family of two sons and several daughters, One of whom is Mrs A. C. Stansell, to mourn his loss. Following are the particulars of the accident : — About three o'clock on Sunday afternoon Messrs Fred. Easton and •T. Burr were on the eastern side of the Manawatu river opposite the deceased's land, and called out to a " child for some one to bring a canoe across. It appears that earlier in the day these two had ridden across the river, but a flood coming down they could not ride back and therefore drove their horses across and walked down the river bank opposite Mr Edwards' to cross by a canoe. Mr Edwards came to the river and baled out a canoe and commenced to paddle her over. When he had got a quarter of the way across the canoe began to fill with the waves on the river and the deceased jumped out and swam towards the bank again. Finding he could not reach the shore he turned back to reach the canoe, which, however, had floated away. He then sank and those who witnessed the accident were unable to do anything to save him. Up to now all efforts to r cover the body have been unsuccessful. Messrs Easton and Burr walked up to Walden's

■ mill and got a canoe there, and Easton came into town and informed Constable Forster. Prior to that Mr Arthur Edwards had been in and told the police. Mr Easton then took a boat out in a cart and put it in the river ready for searching yesterday morning.