SUDDEN DEATH

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 319, 9 January 1909, Page 5

SUDDEN DEATH

ON THE KAUAWA. A gloom was cast over the linrawn. '!■ from Onehunga tu New Plymouth, yesii terday morning when it was discovered - Hint a lady passenger for New Ply- ,. uiimtli named .Mrs. Hallett had dieu 1 about ."> o'clock. On the Rarawa's arrival I at tin- breakwater Dr. MeClelaud, Port . Health Officer, was communicated wild. , After examining t!n> body lie allowed is to lie brought ashore. She. had shown i no signs lit unusual sullcring mi the trip. Jlis. Hallett, who was 62 years old, came down to visit her daughter, .Mrs. A. C. ■.UaeKwan, of New Plymouth, who , was 011 the wharf to meet her mother, and received a painful shock on learning the sad intelligence. THE INQUEST. An inquest was held yesterday afternoon before the Coroner, .Mr.' 11. S. Fitzhcrbcrt and the following, jury: .lolm Ihiltiiuore (loreman), E. iiuuges, W. Evctts, Ji. Tippcns, A. Hawkc, and I'. Andrews. Agnes Drown, stewardess on the s.s. Rarawa, deposed that -Mrs. Hallett was a passenger ojj the liarawa from One'hunga on Thursday evening. She attended .Mrs. Hallett up till IU.;IU p.m. The deceased seemed very cheerful, and was not sick up till then. Witness went into deceaseds cabin about 5.10 a.m. and: spoke to her, but got no answer, and thought she was asleep. Twenty minutes later she went again to the cabin and spoke to deceased, but, receiving no answer, found that she was dead. She had been sick during the night. There was no appearance of any struggling. She seemed to be asleep. Lewis Furrier, employed on the Kara iu, said lie was on watch from 11 p.m, to 5 a.m. He saw deceased at 1.40 a.m., when she asked the time and appeared to be all right. About 3.50 a.m. he saw her again, when she said she had pains and had been sick. She asked witness to piai'e some pillows behind her, as she wished to sit up. He asked de- ' ceased if he would call the stewardess, lint she said not to trouble. Up till S a.m. he saw her several times, and she seemed asleep. He saw nothing about her condition to cause alarm. ' Ladilau McDonald, second officer on the Karawa, said he was on watch from midnight till 4 a.m. Deceased asked at 4.30 whether they were far from .New 'Plymouth, and was told not very far. He asked whether she had been sick, and she said she had been. The body ■was taken ashore by friends. ' Dr. Fookcs deposed that he made a post-mortem examination of the body. There were no marks of violence. He ! ■found that there was fatty degeneration of the heart. Sudden death was brought on by syncope, through the condition of the heart. The excitement of coming dowa to see her da-ughter and being sick probably caused death.

• Arthur MacEwan said the deceased, (Mary Ann Hallett, was his wife's mother. She was a widow, 03 years of age. She was to leave Onehunga for New Plymouth on Thursday night, ami in consequence he went to the breaK'water that morning to meet her, but found her dead on the Rarawa. She was generally a healthy woman.

! Tlie jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical testimony.