Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1929. LIFE-SAVING CLUB.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3898, 24 January 1929, Page 2

Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1929. LIFE-SAVING CLUB.

THE distressing- drowning fatality at the local seaside on Sunday has directed attention to the necessity for some organised effort to deal promptly with such cases in future. Some years ago a reel and line were procured and a Wellington lii'esaving club sent a team to demonstrate the methods of its use and the art of •l-esucitation. The reel is at the seaside, some distance above high-'water mark but knowledge of its location is not clearly indicated. This could be overcome by. housing it in a more prominent and convenient position. Special training is necessary in the use of the reel and line and here lies the difficulty as there are not sufficient young men resident at the beach to form a club. The majority of those who visit this popular resort at week-ends and holidays come from a distance. The formation of a local elulb, in the circumstances, seems impossible. Still instructions in the use of the hue could be displayed prominently on the reel shelter. Visitors could then make themselves familiar with directions at their leisure and with advantage indulge in practice.

The local ocean beach is considered to be one of the safest for surf-bathing in the Dominion provided bathers exercise proper precautions and do not venture beyond the first line of breakers. Outside this limit there are risks of exhaustion to any but the most experienced, particularly if the tide is on tho ebb.