CANOE CAPSIZES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 391, 28 November 1932, Page 3

CANOE CAPSIZES

BOYS DROWNED IN AUSTRALIAN RIYER. COULD NOT SWIM. Sydney, Sunday. Two lives were lost in the Richmond River at Casino yesterday when a canoe capsized in deep water. Kevin Mahomet (11) and Mervyn Thomas Bodicott (9) were paddling in the morning. Two hours later their bodies were found not far from where they embarked. Robert Bodily, in a canoe with another hoy, saw a body, which' he recognsed as that of Mahomet, floating below the surface. He dived in and brought it to the bank, leaving his companion to attempt resuscitation while he ran to the police station, a quarter of a mile away. The news soon spread throughout the town, and when it was learned that Bodicott had left with Mahomet, a chowd of 50 hastened to the river, and several dived in to look for him. After a few minutes Bodily rose from a long dive, clutching his hody. Unable to Swim. The dead lads were great pals. Always together, they were generally known as "Darby and Joan." Neither could swim, but the police believe, judging by the positions of the bodies, that one had fought to save the other's life. Seen in Water. Bodily told the police that about a quarter of an hour before he found Mahomet's body, he and his comp'anion saw the two boys from a considerable distance, moving about in the water as though th'ey were swimming. _ He did not take much notice at the time, as he was not aware that they could not swim.