TRAGEDY FEARED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 539, 17 December 1928, Page 1

TRAGEDY FEARED

CAPSIZED CANOE LAUNCH PARTY’S DISCOVERY DEVONPORT MAN MISSING Yesterday Mr. Horatio Ivan Hawkins, of 175 a Victoria Road, Devonport, went cruising in the Gulf in a small canoe. Late in the afternoon his canoe was found capsized at Black Rock. There was no trace of Mr. Hawkins, and it is feared that he has been drowned. The overturned canoe was found at 4.50 o’clock yesterday afternoon by Mr. Frederick George Wilson, of the National Bank, and Mr. A. Sandford, of Campbell’s Motors, Anzac Avenue. They were out cruising in the launch Swanee, which is owned by Mr. Sandford. They picked up the canoe, which bore the namo Rebel, and brought it into St. Mary’s Bay. The paddles were inside the canoe. Mr. Hawkins left Duder’s Wharf, Devonport, at 12.30 o’clock yesterday in his canvas canoe Rebel. He frequently goes out in this small craft, and lias stayed out in it as late at 9 o’clock in the evening. The canoe was found floating one and a-half miles from Black Rock, which is opposite Milford Beach. This morning there was no trace of Mr. Hawkins. Parties will search the beaches.

Mr. Hawkins was about 50 years of age, six feet in height, with dark hair. He was wearing white trousers and a white shirt.

The missing man is a brother of Archdeacon Hawkins, of Auckland, who is at present visiting Norfolk Island. Mr. Wilson stated to-day that the curious thing about finding the canoe was that the paddle was tied inside and that the anchor was hanging in the water. • It was too deep, however, for the anchor to hold the canoe, which was drifting further out to sea. The.re were no marks on the canoe, which seemed to be a new one. The sea was very calm and there was no difficulty in getting the small craft on board the launch. Mr. Wilson estimated that the distance from Duder’s Wharf to where the. canoe was found would be about five and a-half miles.