AS DUSK FELL

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 22, 18 April 1927, Page 1

AS DUSK FELL

SWAMPED DINGHY RANGITOTO TRAGEDY SEA CLAIMS THREE LIVES Grim Rangitoto, outlined in th e gathering darkness above Auckland harbour, witnessed a tragic struggle for life last night. Clinging to an overturned dinghy a party of five people were at last everpowered by the seas, and three lives were lost.

The victims of Auckland’s Easter fatality were: ROY KIRKWOOD MATH lESON (22) Great North Road, City. MRS. DORIS ETHEL LONGUET (23) Rutland Road, Devonport. MISS ANNIE AMELIA FRANKLIN (20), Rutland Road, Devonport. Mrs. Longuet (who is said to be the wife of the captain of a collier) and Miss Franklin, resided together at Devonport. Water police efforts to find the bodies of these women, also that of Mr. Mathieson, were unsuccessful up till 1 o’clock. It happened through missing the last boat from Rangitoto. Harold Walby, an ex-British soldier, who was accompanied to the island by two friends, Mrs. Longuett and Miss Frankland, exclaimed with dismay when he heard the whistle call from the departing steamer. Walby had left a leg at Passchendaele and could not hurry. It was impossible to reach the steamer in time. Presently they saw the ferry boat on her way back to the mainland. The Yorkshireman, who related the story from his bed in No. 1 ward at the Auckland Hospital to-day, is still suffering intensely from shock as a result of his terrifying experience over night. “It would not have been the first time that I had slept in the open,” he told THE SUN. “But I was very worried on account of my lady friends.” CHANCE TO RETURN Walby was quite prepared to make a shelter for the girls, when he heard that a dinghy from St. Heliers was about to return to the mainland. Assistance was proffered by Walter Noyes and Roy Mathieson, two young men who had rowed across from St. Heliers earlier in the day. Mr. Walby and his friends were only too glad to avail themselves of this opportunity of returning. The prospect of spending the night on the island was not altogether alluring. The marooned excursionists were taken aboard the dinghy. Five passengers were not considered too great a load when the party left Rangitoto at 6.30 p.m. Heavy seas were encountered, however, about a mile from the island. Before long the plight of the party was an extremely perilous one. In a few moments the dinghy was swamped. Clinging fingers grasped the boat when it returned to the surface. A strong off-shore wind had gathered seas, which appeared to be mountainous to the people struggling for dear life in the water. NEVER FORGET SCENE! “I shall never forget that scene as long as I live,” said Harold Walby. “It was worse than anything he had ever witnessed in France. “I cannot think of it even now,” he

added, when describing how he saw his friends disappear under the water “It is too terrible even to visuWalby shuddered. He closed his eyes. For a few moments he was unable to speak. "But it is all over now, he remarked quietly. “Nothing can ever make any difference. The ex-soldier was considerably handicapped by his artificial leg. It was a great hindrance to him as he attempted to keep his hold on the boat. Eventually it sank and left all m the water. “Help! Help!” The voices rang out m the windswept darkness. But help did not appear to be near. **l attempted to paddle after I saw the girls disappear,” continued Walby, who refreshed himself with sips ot cocoa as he told his tragic story, “and with Noyes called for help. HANGING BY FINGERS “I was only hanging on with two fingers, and my head was actually in the water, when I heard a voice say, ‘Keep up! Hang on a little l° n p r - With all my remaining strength I did so, and eventually we were hauled out of the water in a state bordering on C °Such C was the condition of the little Yorkshireman that he had to be taken to the Auckland Hospital on arrival in the citv. THE SUN representative found him this morning still suffering acute mental as well as physical distress as a result of his adventure. During the war WalbjT served with the chemical department of the Brit

ish Army producing poison gas. His experience in France was extensive. On arrival in New Zealand tour years ago he purchased a motor business. He did not prosper in his enterprise, however, as conditions were against him.

Walby had to dispose of it for less than he gave. For some considerable time he has been out of work. “I always understod that the people who kept the refreshment store at Rangitoto were compelled, under the Devonport Borough Council’s by-laws, to render assistance to anyone marooned on the island,” said Walby. NO SHELTER AVAILABLE When he appealed for shelter for the women with him, he says, he was told that no assistance could be given, as accommodation was not available. Walter Noyes, who resides at Aitken Terrace, Glenmore, has also suffered from shock as a result of ms eyperience. Despite this fact, however, he was an early caller this morning at the home of his dead friend, Roy Mathieson. Mathieson’s father, who is a baker in Great North Road, did not want his son to go boating yesterday. He asked him not to go, but the lad, who was keen on outdor life, would go. Roy Mathieson was not a particularly good swimmer. “We were nearly done when he were rescued,” said Walter Noyes who, with Walby, the Englishmen, were the survivors. Noyes said that he frequently rowed with his friend Mathieson from St. Heliers to Rangitoto in the seven-foot dinghy. FLOAT OFF BOAT Walby and Noyes floated off the boat when it capsized in order to lighten the load. Both were handicapped by their clothing, and had to return to the boat. Noyes had the appalling experience of seeing his chum, Mathieson, and the two girls disappear beneath a wave. “We never saw them again," he declares. “I was nearly done when we heard someone tell us to keep up. Walby was quite exhausted.”