FLOOD VICTIM

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 July 1942, Page 2

FLOOD VICTIM

CLERGYMAN DROWNED NEAR HAMUA CAR SWEPT OFF ROAD. HARROWING SCENE BEFORE EYE-WITNESSES. Under harrowing circumstances, the Rev. G. E. Williams, an Anglican clergyman, of Eketahuna, was trapped in his car near Hamua yesterday and swept off the road, to perish later when the vehicle was engulfed in the flood waters. Mr Williams was driving a light car from Eketahuna to Pahiatua, and at Hamua his car was washed off the road by flood waters. Assistance was sought from Pahiatua, and Constables A. G. Hogg and E. Barry went to the scene. They found the driver still seated in the car, which had been washed up against a fence on the roadside. Just as they reached the scene the fence burst under the pressure oq the water, and the car was washed away for half a chain. A ladder on the end of a rope was floated to the driver, who opened the car door. Just as he was getting out the car shifted suddenly, and he closed the door again. The car was then washed further away, leaving only three inches of the top of the window above water. The driver was seen to be struggling frantically to keep his head above water level, but he appeared to be caught by something inside the car, which was then washed into deeper water, where only the top was visible. Rescue efforts were unavailing. The body was recovered later. The late Mr Williams had been a resident of Eketahuna for about 12 months. He leaves a wife and two-month-old baby.